Client-server environments with a graphical user interface and a centralised database are outmoded and as restrictive as the mainframe ever was, claims New York-based Magna Software Corp. This two-tier version, where the client makes a request for data from the server which then sends down the requested data, is fine for decision support but not for users wanting heavy duty transaction processing, claims the company. Instead, says Magna, users should be moving to a three-tier system in which the application is partitioned across three environments: a desktop machine that runs only the graphical user interface; a server or servers where the logic resides, which can access various data sources; and a database server. This would offer a scalable and secure system, says Magna. The problems with the current environments are that applications are inflexible and monolithic and the technology is proprietary. The company’s claims are backed by Digital Equipment Corp, IBM Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co, Novell Inc, Tandem Computers Inc and Transarc Corp. Magna argues that the way to gain database independence, network efficiency and heterogeneity is with three-tier message passing. To do that takes middleware between the database management system and the application’s front-end. In steps Magna X (CI No 2,498), as the middle tier of the three-tier architectures being proposed. It has a graphical system for designing the application and its relationships; a data definition facility to specify messages used, and Extended Programming Language – XPL – source editor to build applications using Cobol-type English language statements. It works with Tuxedo and will shortly be available for Encina.
