Adding further confusion to the various IBM Systems Application Architecture-compliant claims that are currently being bandied around (CI No 1,082), Walker International has released what it describes as full SAA versions of its general ledger, accounts payable, purchase order, and application enabling tool set software. The company also says that the new releases, currently being distributed to customers, offer a 20% functionality boost. In reality, full SAA compliance turns out to be an adoption of the screen and navigation specifications set down for one component of SAA – the CUA Common User Access. In addition, Walker asserts that the new releases place it ahead of its competitors in the SAA race – a claim strongly denied by Management Science America which points to the announcement of its BrightView application range way back in November (CI No 1,062). According to Walker UK general manager Steve Daggett, user demand for real-time, database applications led the company to develop a layered software architecture during the 1980s, which conforms identically to IBM’s Systems Application Architecture specifications. Long term, this may prove the essence of any head start; MSA reckons that genuine SAA compliance is very much a case of Back to the drawing-board, and doesn’t envisage offering fully compliant software for another 18 to 24 months. Either way, users aiming to exploit the crucial portability aspect of SAA – being able to pick up an application and run it equally well under OS/2 on a PS/2 or MVS on a 3090 – are in for a long wait.
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