Sunnyvale, California-based ParcPlace Systems Inc will this week roll-out a new version 2.0 of its flagship VisualWorks SmallTalk application development environment. The environment sports a Database Application Creator, which the company says enables developers to create basic database applications without any SmallTalk or SQL programming. The Database Application Creator includes an ObjectLens, claimed to enable relational data types to be viewed and manipulated as objects. The company says object classes are automatically created from existing relational tables and tables created from existing object classes. Initially VisualWorks 2.0 supports Oracle and Sybase databases – Open Data Base Connectivity and DB2 gateways are planned. A Visual Data Modeler in Database Application Creator creates the map used by ObjectLens which shows visually how relational data and objects are linked. The map is stored in a data model rather than in the database itself.
Still emulations
Applications are linked to the model, rather than the database directly, so changes to the model can be made in one place rather than in many places in the application. It also enables databases to be switched without having to re-write applications, ParcPlace says. It’s also offering re-usable DataForms as part of Database Application Creator, objects built from customisable templates it says can create, retrieve, update and delete relational data. DataForms can be used stand-alone, within an application or as the basis of more complex applications. With VisualWorks 2.0 ParcPlace now supports Windows NT and says the new version offers binary portability across Unix, Windows, OS/2 and Macintosh implementations. ParcPlace reckons the new release can compete with market leaders such as PowerSoft Corp’s PowerBuilder environment. The software is $3,000 on Windows, NT, Macintosh and OS/2 – $5,000 under Solaris, AIX, HP-UX and Dynix/ptx Unix from next quarter. Oracle and Sybase database connects are $500. ParcPlace Object Support customers can order free upgrades from now until the software ships, other upgrades are $1,000. VisualWorks is already incorporated in Hewlett-Packard Co’s SmallTalk 2.0 environment, Digital Equipment Corp is doing its own conversion for OSF/1 and NT on Alpha and links to its Common Object Model. Object Design is still working on a VisualWorks interface to ObjectStore. ParcPlace will supply connections to IBM Corp’s System Object Model and Distributed variant Common Object Request Broker Architecture technology by year-end, by which time it will also have links to the SunSoft Distributed Objects Everywhere object request broker. In the next VisualWorks releases, ParcPlace will be targeting legacy application users moving to client-server – especially management information system and transaction processing environments – with an environment it says will make SmallTalk application development much easier for programmers used to Cobol than them having to learn C++. VisualWorks users will also be able to create applications that can access data in CICS environments. It is also working on native host support – currently its Windows and other clients are still emulations.
