Two companies that see app modernization as the future of the IBM i join hands to facilitate that goal.
Business Computer Design International and Zend Technologies have formed a market partnership that aims to promote use of each others' PHP-related development tools for modernization of IBM i applications.
Most immediately, the partnership seeks to take advantage of a complementary relationship between BCD's WebSmart PHP, a template-based app development and modernization tool set that generates PHP code, and Zend's Zend Server for IBM i, a PHP runtime environment. However, the companies have scheduled further talks at the development-team level in mid-September with an eye toward exploring integration of WebSmart PHP with Zend APIs, as well as other as-yet-unplanned product-integration options.
"There's no absolute direction on that yet," reveals Marcel Sarrasin, a BCD product manager, "but there'll be discussion of options there."
PHP is a server-based scripting language designed to produce application Web pages. WebSmart PHP and Zend Server for IBM i are not currently integrated, however a synergy is possible today because "WebSmart PHP generates a PHP file that Zend Server can analyze," Sarrasin points out. The two products support sequential steps in the process of developing and running PHP applications on the IBM i.
WebSmart PHP provides a PHP interactive development environment, PHP extensions, a Visual HTML editor, and DB2/400, MySQL, and Oracle program templates and wizards to help developers modify or build apps. Zend Server for IBM i is a Web application server for deploying, running, and managing PHP applications that includes features such as PHP code acceleration, caching for data objects and full Web pages, and code-tracing tools for problem diagnosis.
Informal References Become Something More
According to Sarrasin, the two companies have always had a good relationship, pointing their customers to the other's products to handle those parts of creating a PHP environment that best fits a customer’s needs.'
"The installation instructions for WebSmart PHP already recommend mention that you need to install Zend Server CE for IBM i" to promote ease-of-use for WebSmart PHP, Sarrasin notes, "and Zend has often recommended WebSmart PHP to their customers." But what was an informal system of mutual referrals turned more serious recently.
"At the last COMMON, BCD and Zend sat down to come to a closer understanding of each others' business models," Sarrasin recalls, which led to a realization that the companies should work more closely together on a formal basis.
App Modernization as a Key Motivator
One of the driving forces for the deeper level of cooperation between the two companies is a mutual recognition that the key to longevity for the i platform is application modernization. Putting green-screen apps on the Web is the most straightforward, if not the simplest, way to do that.
"Green-screen apps need to be taken to the Web," Sarrasin observes, "but not everyone has the time and skills to do that." BCD's Presto then becomes part of the equation. It's BCD's tool for making legacy green-screens available as Web pages. "As long as you're talking modular RPG, it's easy to interface such code with PHP apps via such solutions as Zend's PHP tool kit," Sarrasin notes, "although if you're talking code that's not modular, say 10 years old or older, you can't easily extract business logic or routines. In that case, you need to totally rewrite or modernize those apps."
For now, the two companies want to send a clear message that they agree that the PHP stack is designed for the IBM i market and that their products make PHP accessible to developers with extensive RPG backgrounds but little or no PHP experience.
"We want to overcome confusion on the part of people jumping into PHP by recommending a complete PHP application and development stack." Sarrasin emphasizes. It's about being able to create something in a short time while avoiding the task of modernization being given to another IT team or outsourced. It's about saving programmers time, both in developing apps and pinpointing errors."
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
LATEST COMMENTS
MC Press Online