Profound Logic Software announced at COMMON the upcoming availability of Profound UI V3.0. Profound UI is a full-featured graphical user interface platform based on IBM's RPG Open Access, the recent enhancement to RPG that opens it up to Web interfaces. The platform offers developers an easy, natural method for creating connected IBM i applications that deliver rich user experiences. With this release, the offering has undergone significant development, including approximately 850 fixes and enhancements documented in the Profound UI version log since V2. 

The Modules 

Profound UI 3.0 now consists of six modules that work together: 

• Visual Designer—a module that allows developers to design rich browser interfaces in a point-and-click manner
• Profound UI Handler for Open Access—a module that uses traditional RPG I/O operations to output a rich user interface
• Refacing Module (Genie)—a module that modernizes 5250 screens on-the-fly
• DDS Conversion—a module that modernizes green-screens at the DDS source level, thus achieving a greater level of functionality
• Menu Framework (Atrium)—a module that provides an easy way to organize and secure converted, refaced, and new applications
• Preprocessor—a module that provides RPG Open Access functionality on operating system releases where it is not available (V5R3 and V5R4)

Depending on the requirements, customers may or may not need all of the modules. 

Integrating Various Modernization Efforts 

Perhaps the most important enhancement in V3.0 is the new tighter integration between refacing, conversion, and new development efforts that can be accomplished with the various Profound UI components. Developers can run refaced, converted, and new programs within the same session, seamlessly sharing library lists and other resources. A refaced program can directly call a converted or a new Rich UI program, and vice versa. 

“There are many uses for this,” explains, David Russo, product development manager at Profound Logic.  “For example, customers that modernize their RPG code to a Rich UI can still call system screens, such as Work with Spooled Files, even though they have no source code for these screens.  On the flip side, some customers will choose to quickly reface their applications, and modernize only the heavily-used screens at the code level.” 

Also shared between the various components of Profound UI 3.0 are the look and feel artifacts, such as HTML templates, Cascading Style Sheets, and Rich UI widgets.  This provides a seamless experience to the end-user as they switch between refaced, converted, and new applications. 

Other Enhancements 

Other notable enhancements in 3.0 include:

• Drag and drop.  Developers can implement drag to sort functionality within grids, allow dragging of records between grids, as well as allow dragging and dropping of various widgets, all without client-side coding, or any knowledge of JavaScript.
• New widgets.  Profound UI includes hundreds of widgets, or graphical user interface components that can be implemented within applications.  Profound UI 3.0 now includes several new widgets, such as sliders, separator lines, Google Maps, and custom panels.
• iPad / iPhone emulators.  Profound UI supports touch-screen and mobile device development.  The new version also includes emulators that developers can run on their desktops to emulate their applications running on an iPad or an iPhone.
• Support for new DDS keywords.  Profound UI’s DDS Conversion now supports many new DDS keywords, including RTNDTA, EDTWRD, EDTMSK, SFLSCROLL, SFLRNA, CCSID, SYSNAME, CLRL, SLNO, DFT, DFTVAL, PUTOVR, OVRDRA, ERASE, INZRCD, ALIAS, SFLRCDNBR, LOWER, TEXT, ASSUME, CLEAR, VLDCMDKEY, WINDOW, WDWTITLE, WDWBORDER, RMVWDW, SFLDROP, SFLFOLD, SFLMODE, CHANGE, SETOFF, FLDCSRPRG, PROTECT, SFLCSRRRN, RTNCSRLOC, CSRLOC, SFLEND, SNGCHCFLD, MLTCHCFLD, PSHBTNFLD, CHOICE, PSHBTNCHC, CHCAVAIL, CHCCTL, ENTFLDATR, MAPVAL, CNTFLD, ALTHELP, HLPTITLE, HOME, HLPRCD, HLPPNLGRP, HLPARA, and HLPID.
   
• Improved refacing speed.  The refacing module (Genie) has been reworked significantly to improve performance and integration.  Refaced screens are now rendered using AJAX and Dynamic HTML, eliminating lengthy page reloads that are typical in traditional Web applications.
• Single sign on support for all modules.  Profound UI’s Atrium Menu Framework, Refaced Applications, Converted Applications, and New Applications will now support a variety of methods for authentication including support for single sign on.
• Calling PC applications.  Profound UI now supports calling PC applications directly from refaced, converted, or new browser applications.  This can be accomplished both with client-side code through a JavaScript API and with server-side code by using the command STRPCCMD.  Existing applications that already use STRPCCMD will require no changes when refaced.

Getting Started 

To get started with Profound UI 3.0, visit www.ProfoundUI.com and sign up for a Profound UI account.  With an account, you can access white papers, recorded webinars, instructional videos, code samples, a demo area, and a Profound UI trial download. 

You can also visit www.profoundlogic.com to sign up for our newsletter, which will notify you of any new updates, including company events and product enhancements.

Profound Logic is the only IBM i technology partner that takes you beyond modernization and into AI-enhanced futurization. For over 25 years, we've equipped IT teams with cutting-edge solutions in natural language AI, system transformation, API creation/management, and application development. With Profound Logic, the future is flexible, and coexistence is always built-in.

 

To find out more about Profound Logic Software, Inc. and its products see their listings in the MC Showcase Buyer's Guide.