Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Intersolv Inc has announced Version 2.2 of its Cobol application generator, Application Productivity System – or APS. The new product provides programmers with a new graphical user interface and automatic code splitting. Intersolv believes APS 2.2 has the edge on other development tools as it caters for both mainframe and personal computer local networks. It can be used to write programs that use a local networks database server, that connect to one or more generated server programs, or combine the two. It can be used to develop standard client-server applications with remote data management, or for co-operative processing where application and data are distributed between host and client. When generating code from a unified specification, the Application Productivity System automatically splits the logic into the components required to fit the targeted client and server architectures – including the APPC and CPIC communications protocols needed to link them. Enabling developers to write client-server applications without having to know these complicated communications codes is a major advantage of the system, Intersolv says. The product builds co-operative transaction processing applications by using IBM Corp’s Advanced Peer-to-Peer Communications to provide access to DB2, and using CICS and MVS to open up mainframe data to production personal computer applications. This is superior to accessing DB2 through a gateway like a database server, Inrtersolv says. Alternatively, it provides the option of converting conventional systems into client-server or co-operative processing systems later and can be used to regenerate existing Cobol programs.
Workgroup development
It runs on 80386 and 80486 personal computers under OS/2 1.3 or 2.0, and PC-DOS. Workgroup development is supported through the APS repository and through integration with Intersolv’s PVCS configuration management product. It generates graphical user interface client programs for O/S2 1.3 or 2.0 and remote server programs for OS/2 1.3 or 2.0, CICS and native MVS. Database targets for co-operative processing servers are OS/2 Database Manager, for personal computer and DB2 for mainframe applications. APS 2.2 has undergone nine months of field tests in the US where it has been used successfully by the Sears Group, the Aluminium Company of America, medical insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina and electrical company Valero. It is available now worldwide. It costs UKP6,400 per developer and is offered free to existing users. It can be fully integrated with Intersolv’s software configuration management product, PVCS; its Design Recovery solutions; and Intersolv local networks Repository. An AIX implementation of the system is expected in a year’s time. Future enhancements include access to Oracle, Ingres and Sybase and the option of generating the C language.
