Farewell to waterfalls? - rapid application development - includes product directory

Mary Hanna

Today, few companies can afford to use the time-consuming waterfall model for their software development. With the waterfall model, the development team has to complete each development stage before moving on to the next. Some observers say the massive specifications associated with this development approach are simply not practical anymore; organizations want to "code and go."

Perhaps this explains why rapid application development (RAD) has become so popular. "Companies can no longer afford the six-month requirements collection phase that was typical of older development methodologies," said Burt Rubenstein, vice president, technology services at Cambridge Technology Partners (CTP), a consulting and systems integration firm in Cambridge, Mass. "The frameworks and tools available today allow developers to work without having to know all the details of an application. RAD is the natural way to do things."

The ability to deliver quickly can mean success for a development effort. "It is important to get something up and running quickly," Rubenstein said. "We have found that projects that last longer than six to nine months risk either the loss of the user's interest or a change in the business process itself. If more features or enhancements are needed, they can be added in a later phase of the project."

Today, RAD is an iterative approach to development that delivers working pieces of an application incrementally, all the while incorporating feedback from end users. According to Carma McClure, vice president of research, Extended Intelligence Inc., Chicago, rapid prototyping coincided with the advent of Case tools and code generators. As tools became more sophisticated, she said, the process became more iterative.

RAD, and the iterative process, are "more popular than ever," said McClure. "Users want to see something and the sooner they can, the more comfortable they are."

Still, she cautioned, RAD is not always the way to proceed. If developers know a great deal about the systems they are about to build, the waterfall model remains the better bet. "If you know everything up front, waterfall is better. If you're going to 'discover,' RAD is better."

Driving the RAD phenomenon are visual, point-and-click programming tools that allow users to develop GUIs quickly. It is in the area of GUI development that RAD has hit its stride. "If you're talking about the generating of user interfaces, then RAD is very widespread," said Tony Picardi, group vice president, worldwide software at International Data Corp. (IDC), Framingham, Mass. "If you think RAD means automating the entire application from specifications, then it's not that widespread."

Low-end GUI builders, said Picardi, are not adequate for automating event logic and state transition logic. Developers who attempt to use such tools for the entire life cycle end up doing some hand-coding, he said.

Get Users Involved

Still, while some observers maintain that RAD should remain in the coding sphere, others believe it is possible to speed up the entire development life cycle, from requirements gathering to construction.

A typical RAD project for CTP, said Rubenstein, includes a week of "scoping," a three-week joint application development workshop to determine the business case for the system, and six to nine months for application development. This time frame is sufficient for developing a system of medium complexity, such as a decision support system (DSS), a customer service system or a trading system, he said.

The fast pace of development means that a consultancy's ability to work with the customer "on the fly" is crucial. Until they see working models of applications, many end users don't really know what is possible, said Jim Henry, principal at FrontEnd Systems Inc., Fairfax, Va., a consulting and training firm that sells a class library. "User requirements are more well-defined when a good analyst works along with the users and observes how they operate. Once the business rules of the system are understood, the actual processing details are not needed immediately. These can evolve over time."

FrontEnd uses its own class library with SQLWindows from Gupta Corp., Menlo Park, Calif., for development projects. "Our class library provides standard GUI objects, tables and forms with transaction frameworks, which include features such as commitment control and rollback," said Henry. "Developers have only to code in the special validations they need to complete the application."

Using these tools, Henry said he has developed complex applications, including an online bank loan origination and collections system, and a hospital management system that can service 300 simultaneous users.

Like FrontEnd and CTP, Adage Systems International Inc., Westport, Conn., uses RAD techniques to collect system requirements as well as for later phases. Adage develops manufacturing and distribution software. "Our methodology includes RAD techniques in the analysis and design phases as well as in the construction or development phase," said Adage Director Dave Phelan. Development comprises three phases: The first is the design phase, or the rapid prototyping of data models and database. The second is the development stage, which means coding the front and back ends and completing the first level of testing. The final phase is deployment, which includes documentation, script development, development of utilities to generate back-end tables, packaging and product release.

RAD, said Phelan, is a whole new way of developing systems. "Our RAD procedures include the use of prototyping and running pseudocode. We also step the end user through the application in order to finalize the user interface and the navigational paths before any time has been spent coding." Adage uses CA-OpenRoad, a graphical tool from Computer Associates (CA) International Inc., Islandia, N.Y., for Windows GUI development. CA-OpenRoad, said Phelan, offers a database driver that can link to Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server and CA-Ingres databases. Adage has developed its own data modeling tools for back-end development.

As at Adage, specification documentation remains important for HBO and Co., an Atlanta-based healthcare systems provider. RAD practitioners often neglect to document system requirements, said John Crawford, executive director in HBO's research and development organization. "Documenting the requirements is important in order to know when a system is completed and then how to test it properly," Crawford said.

HBO is using RAD techniques to develop a missioncritical system that automates patient admission, identifies procedures covered by insurance, and bills patients.

"Often [system] requirements are not well-known," said Crawford. "When this situation arises, we do quick prototypes using VisualWorks from ParcPlace [Systems Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.]. The user can decide very quickly what functions must be provided in the system."

Easy Pieces?

Not everyone, however, thinks RAD is appropriate for all phases of the development life cycle. Some developers believe that software assembled from pieces -- not designed as a whole -- will have significant problems. One is George Cagliuso, chief executive officer and founder of Visible Systems Corp., a business process consulting firm in Waltham, Mass.

"The cost of getting requirements is high and it is essential to get them before coding takes place," said Cagliuso. "RAD will work only if the analysis and design work has already been done."

Philip Fasone, president of PowerSolv Corp., a consultancy in Norcross, Ga., agrees. "Despite RAD's high levels of user involvement, developers are still making the same mistakes they did years ago. They jump into coding without sufficient analysis and design. They end up building systems that don't match what the user wants." The RAD approach, he said, can be successful for smaller systems that are two or three screens deep.

Despite the RAD shortcomings he cites, Fasone does not recommend going back to the waterfall method for complex applications demanding significant analysis and design. Instead, his consultancy implements the client/server and RAD methodologies supported by Houston-based LBMS Inc.'s Systems Engineer product. "SE's Client/Server Life Cycle is a robust methodology that includes the user as part of the development team. Because the analysis and modeling are done first, the coding can be accomplished quickly," said Fasone.

PowerSolv uses Powersoft's PowerBuilder for GUI development. LBMS's SE/Open for PowerBuilder allows a bidirectional exchange of design objects between LBMS Systems Engineer and PowerBuilder, said Fasone.

Giving RAD Some Roots

Also using PowerBuilder for GUI development is the IT group at Montreal's Canadian National Railways (CNR). According to Glenn Chafe, CNR's systems manager of IT, RAD tools provide a low-overhead approach to client/server developemnt. "We use RAD for decision support systems that access data from an online transaction processing system that was implemented using classical development methodology," Chafe said.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

PowerBuilder is well-suited for this type of application, he said. "Our decision support systems measure areas such as customer satisfaction, shipping, and the on-time performance of trains. PowerBuilder's graphs and maps are very useful in representing these items." The DSSs run on Windows PCs and are connected via TCP/IP to a mainframe running DB2.

Another group that defines requirements prior to preparing the prototype is the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, West Palm Beach, Fla. After determining an application's specifications, the development group uses the Natural Construct product from Software AG of North America Inc., Reston, Va., to generate the screens and application code. "We chose Construct because we have been using Software AG's product suite for the past four years," said Gary Cornn, director of IS. "Construct offers a high-level language that saves us from writing a lot of Natural code. It automates screen development and helps us develop programs in half the time we formerly required."

Cornn said they used this method of development for a property control application that tracks the bank accounts of Palm Beach's prison population. The system, comprising 15 screens, manages the accounts the prisoners use when purchasing goods from the prison canteen. The application executes on a mainframe and supports 300 PCs running Microsoft Windows and 200 dumb terminals.

It is unlikely that the main criticism surrounding RAD tools -- they let developers bypass the detailed analysis that well-made systems demand -- will die out anytime soon. What's needed, some say, is a foundation that allows the tools to do what they do best, while keeping them on a defined path. Said Anthony Jules, vice president of Sapient Corp., Cambridge, Mass., "The visual tools have had a dramatic effect on how work gets done. They let people see what they need through prototypes, rather than by reading through textual descriptions of the system. However, because of RAD's lack of a clear methodology or process, the end product is not always well-made."

One of the reasons is that RAD tools users, with their front-end focus, often ignore the larger issues of database design and back-end processing, said Chris Davey, vice president of sales and marketing at Sapient. "Tools are just one mechanism for delivering a system. There must always be a structure."

Sapient has attempted to address criticisms by providing a RAD methodology -- the Rapid Implementation Plan. Sapient's approach is to identify a business problem and to implement a solution as quickly as possible, said Jules. "During the conceptual phase of the project, visual tools can move a cross-functional group of people to consensus on the business process and on the look and feel of the application," he said. "Developers benefit from RAD tools' iterative ability to draft a solution without going through the 'analysis paralysis' that makes them wait for the perfect solution to their business problems. No one should worry about having to do things over. Scrapping 20% of an application is not a lot for RAD tools, unlike the older development tools that had to measure and account for every line of code."

Sapiens International Corp., Durham, N.C., also offers a RAD methodology -- The Sapiens Way -- along with development tools for both mainframe and client/server platforms. "Tools without a methodology are useless," said Peter Barber, senior vice president. "RAD requires a rigorous methodology that focuses on the mechanisms and metrics of the application development process, helping users understand what is needed from them. Users often need help both stating the application's requirements and then critiquing the system during its development."

Sapiens, said Barber, has shifted away from an end-to-end solution; they are open to use of other vendors' tools, especially user interface builders. "We view Powersoft and Gupta as client-side tools that can rapidly create user interfaces," he said. "If the scale of the application is more mission-critical, then the system needs to be more than just a front end. RAD goes beyond the front end in order to manage the business process." The vendor offers Sapiens for mainframe development, and Sapiens ObjectPool for client/server development.

Texas Instruments' methodology for rapid development seeks to align IT views with the business view, said John Reilly, principal methodologist, Software Business Division of the Plano, Texas-based firm. Reilly said the rapid development of complex applications requires both perspectives throughout the development process.

"The business perspective is introduced at the beginning of the development cycle as the users conduct event analyses, scenario walk-throughs, and user task analyses to determine the requirements. Once the conceptual layer has been modeled, the system is stable enough to lay out the functionality. The techniques used to manage the information technology perspective include parallel decomposition of the functions, partitioning the application, and analyzing the user interactions with the system workflow. Coding and testing comprise the final stages of development," said Reilly.

The iterative techniques enhanced by visual tools are an important part of TI's new approach to RAD, which is manifested in its new Composer by IEF tool. Key to customers, said Reilly, is that development can be done by multiple teams and does not have to be done sequentially; it is not necessary to complete analysis before moving into screen design. Reilly's rule of thumb: "If the whole application can be kept in your head, it's alright to start with design and screen building. However, as you move into more industrial-strength applications, you need to do analysis and you need a framework on which to hang all the required interfaces."

There's no question that RAD tools have had a significant impact on application development over the last few years. Witness movement in the vendor ranks: Cognos Inc., Burlington, Mass.; Progress Software Corp., Bedford, Mass.; Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif.; Open Environment Corp., Boston; Digitalk Inc., Santa Ana, Calif.; and IntelliCorp Inc., Mountain View, Calif., are all coupling visual tools with database management systems. This growth trend will likely continue as tools gain the strength needed to handle complex, enterprisewide applications.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

REPRESENTATIVE RAPID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

For more information about a particular product, circle the corresponding reader service number on the reader service card located elsewhere in this issue. Compiled by Products Editor Deborah Melewski.

Company

Andersen Consulting Chicago, IL

Product/Circle No.

Method/1

Circle No. 280

Foundation for Cooperative Processing

Circle No. 281

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

Methodology is platform-independent

* OS/2

** OS/2, Windows, Unix, OSF/1, CICS

GUI Development

N/A

Windows, NT, OS/2

DBMS Support

N/A

Informix, DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Database Mgr.

Comment

Development methodology, RAD support Development toolset with rapid application builder

Company

Blyth Software Foster City, CA

Product/Circle No.

Omnis 7

Circle No. 282

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Mac, Windows

** Unix, OS/2, Windows

GUI Development

Windows, NT, OS/2

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Prototyping, RAD for client/server

Company

Borland International Scotts Valley, CA

Product/Circle No.

Delphi; Delphi-Client/Server

Circle No. 283

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, 32-bit support, Novell

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Interbase, Oracle, Informix, Sybase, SQL Server, Paradox, dBase, ODBC

Comment

Object-oriented visual RAD; reusable components

Company

ClientSoft Inc. Tarrytown, NY

Product/Circle No.

ClientBuilder

Circle No. 284

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, OS/2, Mac

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, OS/2, Mac

DBMS Suppor

SQL, ODBC

Comment

Legacy extension software

Company

Cognos Inc. Burlington, MA

Product/Circle No.

Axiant

Circle No. 285

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OpenVMS, Unix, Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Sybase, SQL Server, Interbase, Oracle, dBase, Rdb, ODBC

Comment

4GL, client/server application development, RAD

Company

Computer Associates International Inc. Islandia, NY

Product/Circle No.

CA-OpenRoad

Circle No. 286

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, PM, Motif

DBMS Support

Oracle, Open-Ingres, Sybase, SQL Server

Comment

Repository-based 4GL, graphical OO client/server development

Company

Compuware Corp. Alameda, CA

Product/Circle No.

Uniface Six

Circle No. 287

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* DOS, OS/2, Windows, NT, Unix, OpenVMS, OSF/1, Mac

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, Motif, OS/2, Mac, character mode

DBMS Support

DB2/2, DB2/6000, Informix, Sybase, Ingres, Oracle, Progress, Rdb, RMS, dBase, others

Comment

4GL, client/server and GUI RAD

Company

Corporate Computing International Bannockburn, IL

Product/Circle No.

RADPath

Circle No. 288

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

Windows, NT-based

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

N/A

Comment

Client/server GUI RAD methodology

Company

DataEase International Trumbull, CT

Product/Circle No.

DataEase

Circle No. 289

Platfrom Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* DOS, Windows, OS/2

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, DB2

Comment

4GL application development with RAD support

Company

Digitalk Inc. Santa Ana, CA

Product/Circle No.

Parts

Circle No. 290

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, OS/2

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, NT, OS/2

DBMS Support

Sybase, Oracle, DB2/2, dBase

Comment

Object-oriented tools, component assembly

Company

Dynasty Technologies Inc. Naperville, IL

Product/Circle No.

Dynasty Development Environment

Circle No. 291

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** DOS, Windows, NT, OS/2, Mac, Unix

GUI Development

PM, Windows, NT, Mac, Motif

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, MS-SQL Server, SQLBase, DB2/2, ODBC

Comment

Repository-based, object-oriented RAD

Company

Easel Corp. Burlington, MA

Product/Circle No.

Object Studio

Circle No. 292

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Widows, OS/2, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

OS/2, Windows

DBMS Support

SQL, ODBC

Comment

Object-oriented visual toolset, supports RAD

Company

Forte Software Oakland, CA

Product/Circle No.

Forte

Circle No. 293

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, OpenVMS, OSF/1, Windows, Mac

** Same

GUI Development

Motif, Windows, Mac

DBMS Support

Oracle, Rdb, Sybase

Comment

Repository-based object-oriented RAD

Company

Four Seasons Software Edison, NJ

Product/Circle No.

SuperNova

Circle No. 294

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, Unix, OpenVMS, VMS

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, Motif, OpenLook

DBMS Support

SQL, ODBC

Comment

4GL, RAD for client/server and standalone applications

Company

Gupta Corp. Menlo Park, CA

Product/Circle No.

Gupta SQLWindows

Circle No. 295

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

SQL RDBMSs

Comment

Includes Quick Templates, Quick Objects, 4GL compiler

Company

IBM Corp. (Contact your local IBM sales office)

Product/Circle No.

VisualGen

VisualAge Team

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2

** OS/2, Windows, MVS, AIX, VSE, OS/400

* OS/2, Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, OS/2

Windows, OS/2

DBMS Support

DB2 family

DB2 family

Comment

4GL, RAD; support for both traditional and RAD methods

Object-oriented RAD for client/server

Company

Inference Corp. El Segundo, CA

Product/Circle No.

ART*Enterprise

Circle No. 296

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, OS/2, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, OS/2

DBMS Support

SQL Server, DB2, Oracle, Sybase

Comment

ArtScript supports OO RAD

Company

Informix Software Menlo Park, CA

Product/Circle No.

Informix NewEra

Circle No. 297

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, Motif, Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Motif, Windows

DBMS Support

Informix, Oracle, Sybase, ODBC

Comment

Graphical, object-oriented development

Company

Intek Technologies Inc. Atlanta, GA

Product/Circle No.

Clarity

Circle No. 298

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** PowerBuilder, Oracle, Sybase, ODBC

DBMS Support

ODBC, Sybase, Oracle

Comment

Visual modeling, rapid iterative development

Company

IntelliCorp Mountain View, CA

Product/Circle No.

OMW

Circle No. 299

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Sun, HP-UX

** Windows, Sun, HP-UX

GUI Development

Windows, Motif

DBMS Support

Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Ingres

Comment

OO IE, iterative, visual, incremental development

Company

International Software Group Waltham, MA

Product/Circle No.

CorVision

Circle No. 300

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OpenVMS, Unix

** Same, plus Windows

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

RMS, Rdb, Ingres, Informix, Adabas, Oracle, M, Sybase

Comment

Repository-based RAD, 4GL

Company

Ipsys Software San Francisco, CA

Product/Circle No.

ObjectlE

Circle No. 301

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, VMS

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, SQL

Comment

Standard techniques, RAD, iterative prototyping

Company

JYACC New York, NY

Product/Circle No.

JAM

Circle No. 302

Platform Suppart:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, VMS, DOS, OS/2

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, NT, OpenLook, Motif, Mac, PM

DBMS Support

Most SQL RDBMSs, ODBC

Comment

Visual application development environment

Company

LBMS Inc. Houston, TX

Product/Circle No.

LBMS Systems Engineer for Windows

Circle No. 303

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** Client/server

GUI Development

Interfaces to PowerBuilder

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Data-driven, process-driven and RAD

Company

Magec Software Dallas, TX

Product/Circle No.

Magec

Circle No. 304

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, MVS, VSE

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Comment

Cross-platform RAD, GUI development

Company

Magic Software Enterprises Irvine, CA

Product/Circle No.

Magic

Circle No. 305

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* DOS, Unix, VMS, OpenVMS

** Same, plus Windows

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, Btrieve, C-Isam, Rdb, Informix

Comment

RAD for client/server and host-based systems

Company

Magna Software Corp. New York, NY

Product/Circle No.

MagnaX

Circle No. 306

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, Motif

DBMS Support

Oracle, Informix

Comment

4GL development

Company

McDonnell Douglas Information Systems Irvine, CA

Product/Circle No.

Pro-IV Developer

Circle No. 307

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, DOS, Windows, OS/400, OpenVMS, OSF/1, MVS, VM

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Comment

4GL, RAD workbench

Company

michaels, ross & cole Ltd. Lombard, IL

Product/Circle No.

mrc-Productivity Series

Circle No. 308

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/400, Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Comment

4GL, RAD, prototyping, GUI design, template programming

Company

Micro Focus Palo Alto, CA

Product/Circle No.

Micro Focus Dialog System

Circle No. 309

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, DOS, OS/2

** Same; elient/server

GUI Development

Windows, OS/2, Motif

DBMS Support

XDB, ODBC

Comment

Visual programming, rapid build of GUI database applications

Company

Microsoft Corp. Redmond, WA

Product/Circle No.

Visual Basic

Circle No. 310

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

ODBC, SQL Server, Oracle, Paradox, Access, Btrieve, FoxPro, dBase

Comment

Visual design, programming, RAD

Company

Netron Inc. Toronto, Canada

Product/Circle No.

Netron/Client

Circle No. 311

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2

** Windows, OS/2

GUI Development

Windows, PM

DBMS Support

Any with Cobol access

Comment

Visual RAD, GUI development

Company

Neuron Data Palo Alto, CA

Product/Circle No.

Elements Environment

Circle No. 312

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, OS/2, Mac, Unix, OpenVMS

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, NT, PM, Motif, OpenLook, Mac

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, Ingres, Informix, ODBC

Comment

Family of visual, objectoriented RAD, GUI products

Company

Next Computer Redwood City, CA

Product/Circle No.

NextStep

Circle No. 313

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix

** Unix, client/server

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Sybase, Oracle, Interbase

Comment

Object-oriented framework

Company

Novell Inc. Provo, UT

Product/Circle No.

Visual AppBuilder

Circle No. 314

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, Mac

** Same; client/server

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Comment

Uses pre-built visual RAD

Company

ObjectPlus Corp. Cambridge, MA

Product/Circle No.

WinPlus

Circle No. 315

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Comment

GUI RAD with built-in VBX support

Company

Ochre Development Burlingame, CA

Product/Circle No.

Ochre

Circle No. 316

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, Unix, VMS

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Oracle, Informix, Ingres, Supra

Comment

OO, repository-based application development

Company

Open Software Association Nashua, NH

Product/Circle No.

OpenUI

Circle No. 317

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2, Windows, Unix OpenVMS, OSF/1, Mac

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, PM, Motif, Mac

DBMS Support

Comment

Rapid design, development, maintenance of front-end solutions

Company

Oracle Corp. Redwood Shores, CA

Product/Circle No.

Oracle CDE

Circle No. 318

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, DOS, OS/2, Windows, Mac, VMS

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, Motif, Mac

DBMS Support

Oracle 7, ODBC

Comment

Repository-based client/server development tools support VB controls

Company

ParcPlace Systems Inc. Sunnyvale, CA

Product/Circle No.

VisualWorks

Circle No. 319

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2, Windows, NT, Mac, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, PM, Motif

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase

Comment

Smalltalk-based object-oriented RAD

Company

Powersoft Corp. Concord, MA

Product/Circle No.

PowerBuilder

Circle No. 320

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, Unix, Mac

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, NT, Motif

DBMS Support

Informix, Sybase, XDB, Oracle, ODBC

Comment

C/S RAD, graphical, visual environment

Company

Progress Software Bedford, MA

Product/Circle No.

Progress ADE

Circle No. 321

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, VMS, Windows, OS/2, Mac

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Rapid development, deployment, 4GL

Company

Recital Corp. Danvers, MA

Product/Circle No.

Visual/Recital

Circle No. 322

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, DOS, Windows, NT, OpenVMS, OSF/1

** Same

GUI Development

Motif, Windows, NT

DBMS Support

SQL, Rdb, RMS, dBase

Comment

Client/server visual RAD, 4GL tools

Company

Sapiens International Durham, NC

Product/Circle No.

Sapiens/Ideo

Circle No. 323

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, Windows, NT

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, NT

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Client/server object-oriented RAD

Company

SAS Institute Cary, NC

Product/Circle No.

SAS System

Circle No. 324

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* DOS, Windows, OS/2, MVS, VSE, VMS, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Most SQL RDBMSs

Comment

Client/server RAD environment

Company

Seer Technologies Cary, NC

Product/Circle No.

Seer*HPS TurboCycler

Circle No. 325

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2, Windows, NT, OS/2, OS/400, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Automated design engine for RAD; prototyping

Company

Software AG Reston, VA

Product/Circle No.

Natural New Dimension; Construct

Circle No. 326

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2, Windows, NT

** Same

GUI Development

Windows, NT, OS/2, PM

DBMS Support

Comment

4GL, rapid prototyping development

Company

Speedware Corp. Toronto, Canada

Product/Circle No.

Speedware

Circle No. 327

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/2, Windows, NT, Unix

** OS/2, Windows, Unix

GUI Development

Windows, NT, Motif

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, Allbase, DB2, Informix

Comment

4GL, object-oriented

Company

Sterling Software Atlanta, GA

Product/Circle No.

Key:Client

Circle No. 328

Key:Object

Circle No. 329

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, OS/2

** Same

* Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

Windows

DBMS Support

SQL, ODBC,

SQL, ODBC

Comment

Visual, iterative design, prototyping, RAD Standalone RAD environment

Company

Sybase Inc. Emeryville, CA

Product/Circle No.

Sybase; SQL Toolset

Circle No. 330

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* MVS, DOS, OS/2, VMS, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

SQL, ODBC

Comment

Application prototyping, development

Company

Symantec Corp. Cupertino, CA

Product/Circle No.

Enterprise Developer

Circle No. 331

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** Client/server, distributed DBMSs

GUI Development

DBMS Support

DB2, DB2/2, XDB, MS-Access, Watcom, Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, ODBC

Comment

Repository-based client/server RAD; team support; VBX controls

Company

Synon Corp. Larkspur, CA

Product/Circle No.

Synon/2E; Synon/CSG

Circle No. 332

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* OS/400

** OS/2, Windows, OS/400, Unix

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Comment

Design, modeling, rapid prototyping

Company

Template Software Herndon, VA

Product/Circle No.

Snap

Circle No. 333

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, VMS, Windows, NT, OS/2 Warp

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Comment

Object-oriented template-based RAD

Company

Texas Instruments Dallas, TX

Product/Circle No.

Composer by IEF

Circle No. 334

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT

** Same

GUI Development

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Iterative RAD, graphical development

Company

Thomson Software Products San Diego, CA

Product/Circle No.

TeleUse UIMS Family

Circle No. 335

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, Unix

** Same

GUI Development

OSF/Motif, Windows, NT

DBMS Support

SQL

Comment

Object-oriented GUI application development, prototyping

Company

TopSpeed Corp. Pompano Beach, FL

Product/Circle No.

Clarion for Windows

Circle No. 336

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows

** Same

GUI Development

Windows

DBMS Support

Xbase, Paradox, Btrieve, AS/400, ODBC

Comment

Template-based RAD; supports MS-Visual Basic

Company

Trinzic Corp. Palo Alto, CA

Product/Circle No.

AionDS

Circle No. 337

ObjectPro

Circle No. 338

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, OS/2, MVS

** Same

* Windows

GUI Development

Windows, PM

Windows

DBMS Support

Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, DB2/2, SQL/DS, dBase Oracle, Sybase, ODBC

Comment

Visual development environment

OO, prototyping, RAD for client/server

Company

Unify Corp. Sacramento, CA

Product/Circle No.

Unify Vision

Circle No. 339

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, Unix, OSF/1

** Same, plus Mac, PowerPC

GUI Development

Windows, Motif, Open-Look, Mac

DBMS Support

ODBC, Oracle, SQL Server, Ingres, Informix DB2, Unify

Comment

Client/server RAD, visual tools

Company

Visible Systems Corp. Waltham, MA

Product/Circle No.

Visible Analyst Workbench

Circle No. 340

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows clients, NetWare, LAN Server, other file servers

GUI Development

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, SQLBase

Comment

Analysis, design, code generator, RAD

Company

Visix Software Reston, VA

Product/Circle No.

Galaxy Application Environment

Circle No. 341

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Unix, Windows, NT, OS/2, Mac, OpenVMS

* Same

GUI Development

Motif, Open-Look, Windows CUA, Mac

DBMS Support

Oracle, Sybase, Ingres

Comment

Cross-platform development, incremental support

Company

XVT Software Boulder, CO

Product/Circle No.

XVT Development Solutions C/C++

Circle No. 342

Platform Support:

* Development

** Deployment

* Windows, NT, OS/2, Unix, OpenVMS, Mac

** Same, plus DOS, UnixWare, VMS

GUI Development

Windows, NT, Mac, OS/2, Motif

DBMS Support

Oracle, Ingres

Comment

Cross-platform C, C++ application development

COPYRIGHT 1995 Wiesner Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group