Boasting faster development speeds and performance improvements, IBM Corp yesterday announced the third release of SanFrancisco, its series of pre-built software components for developing Java- based applications. Version 1.3 features a new framework designed to enable developers to build accounts receivable/accounts payable applications, as well as simultaneously track transactions in multiple currencies; an essential feature for applications that support the new Euro currency, IBM said. The San Francisco frameworks comprise roughly 800 Java components that provide the foundation and common business objects for developing business applications. The frameworks include the Foundation for Distributed Applications, Common Business Objects, GUI, and core business applications. That’s almost 750,000 lines of code that developers don’t have to write because we’ve done it for them. We provide components for assembling applications, rather than developing them from scratch, said John Swainson, general manager, application and integration middleware, IBM software group. Swainson said SanFrancisco is a major element in IBM’s e-business application framework; an architecture for enabling organizations to conduct e-commerce over the internet. The other components include IBM’s Websphere, incorporating its application server technology, and VisualAge for Java. Specifically, he said San Francisco was the part of the framework that enables companies to facilitate rapid application development using pre-built software components, such as general ledger, order management and warehouse management that mask the complexity of the underlying plumbing. In addition, Big Blue said it has expanded support to include Sun Solaris, HP-UX and Siemens Reliant Unix platforms. The company also announced a number of enhancements to the existing frameworks. To boost performance in the GUI framework, the company has added JavaBeans component support class replacement, clipboard support, and persistence settings. To improve the efficiency of application development, it added JavaBean business object samples, authoring wizards, and a component catalog. The Order Management framework now supports back-to-back orders, quotes, re-planning, shipment, stock movement, credit sales, multi-client support, and direct sales. Also in Version 1.3, the Warehouse Management framework has been updated with quality control, re-planning, shipment, stock take, multi-client support, and product kit definitions, according to the company. Platform support has also been expanded, with the addition of Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and Siemens Reliant Unix to the initial set of AIX, Windows NT, and OS/400. IBM also reiterated its plans to migrate SanFrancisco to support EJB, as the specification continues to take shape. As EJB matures to offer function equivalent to SanFrancisco, IBM will add native interfaces to SanFrancisco, making it possible to easily migrate SanFrancisco applications to an EJB base, the company said.
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