Ensuring compatibility with IBM i V6R1 is a major undertaking since it requires the conversion of all programs that use the IBM i MI (machine interface). This conversion enables programs to take advantage of forthcoming operating system enhancements that improve its reach and performance. Going forward, BCD's customers can be confident that programs created with WebSmart V7 will be compatible with, and full take advantage of, future operating system releases.

WebSmart's support for LDAP (lightweight directory access protocol) now gives the ILE edition the ability to interact with an LDAP server. These new features allow you to create connections to different LDAP data sources, and create, display, modify and delete entries in those sources. The WebSmart PHP edition received support for LDAP in a previous release. LDAP is a cross-platform client-server protocol that is becoming increasingly popular for querying and modifying directory information such as authenticating for user and password and storing email addresses.

SmartSnippets have been added to WebSmart 7 to accelerate program development. SmartSnippets are wizards that help you code PML and PHP functions. They are dynamic prompts that guide you through creating dropdown boxes, calling RPG programs in PHP, and generating Smurf IDs, among other things. Several additional SmartSnippets will be added to WebSmart in future releases.

Another new feature--Copy Templates--accommodates WebSmart users who create their own custom template families. While WebSmart ILE ships with over 150 application templates that can be used to define the appearance and functionality of Web pages, most customers create their own custom templates by copying the existing ones. With the new copy template family feature you can accomplish this task more quickly. The copy feature will create a new template family and prompt you for your logo and it includes the template files on your PC, related CSS files on the IFS, and will properly reference the new CSS file and directory in the new templates.

With V7, each time you install WebSmart ILE on a new IBM Power System running IBM i, WebSmart will create a separate repository for all of the programmatic components used on that server. You can easily toggle between the repositories with a drop down box in the WebSmart IDE Repository window.

Support for multiple Developer Environments enables you to set up entire Web application development environments in a single WebSmart IDE. An environment consists of configuration settings for the servers you can work on in WebSmart including the System i, FTP, and Database servers. This feature is useful for customers who work on multiple System i machines. Alternatively, you would have to change your default settings to display this information.

Significant advancements have also been made in the area of WebSmart's support for JDBC (Java Database Connectivity). The JDBC API has become a key part of the Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) and Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platforms. It is the primary mechanism used to programmatically access relational databases such as MS SQL and MySQL.

Additional enhancements include new date and time functions, custom variable name options, and an option to use a green screen debugger, among several others.

Availability

ClearPath Modernization Suite

Modernization means different things to different people and now everyone can simplify their entire modernization process by selecting integrated components from one integrated suite.

BCD's ClearPath Modernization Suite is a complete solution that fully modernizes software applications that run on IBM i. BCD has integrated six, nearly all award-winning solutions, to form the suite. Users can select one component, a couple of integrated components, or BCD's complete ClearPath Modernization suite. With ClearPath, the savings increase as you select additional solutions. BCD's integrated ClearPath Modernization Suite includes WebSmart PHP or WebSmart ILE, WebSmart Presto, Nexus Portal, Clover Query, SmartCharts and Catapult.

Anyone interested in validating one or several ClearPath components on his or her own system on a free trial basis is invited to contact BCD.

About BCD

BCD has received more than 35 industry awards, including 13 for WebSmart, for software excellence. It has 30 years of experience in the IBM midrange marketplace. Over 30,000 copies of its software products have been licensed worldwide by more than 10,000 organizations. BCD is a long-term member of IBM's System i ISV Advisory Council and is an IBM Advanced Business Partner. All of BCD's key solutions are included on IBM's System i Developer Roadmap and are IBM ServerProven. BCD solutions are sold globally directly from BCD and through a network of more than 100 Business Partners.

BCD is a Quadrant Software company and one of the most successful software organizations in the IBM i marketplace. The companies have a combined 60 years in the IBM i marketplace and have successfully helped thousands of organizations worldwide modernize. Together, Quadrant and BCD help customers maximize their investment in IBM i with their industry leading web development, mobilization, spool file beautification and document distribution tools. Their customers and partners around the world are leaders in key markets such as finance, manufacturing, transportation, retail and healthcare.
Quadrant and BCD are part of the Quadrant group of companies that also includes Netlert, which develops an Avaya call center performance analysis solution, and SoftBase, which provides application testing and tuning solutions for IBM's DB2 database utilizing the OS/390 and z/OS operating systems.
For more information, please visit http://www.bcdsoftware.com and http://www.quadrantsoftware.com.