V3.0 supports mobile devices, has a newly designed portal and, in the paid enterprise edition, includes a fast new source editor.
Sitting in the CIO session at last summer's OCEAN technical conference, I couldn't help but take note when one of the roundtable participants mentioned that his company had been using the Valence Framework from CNX Corp. The speaker, who headed the company's IT department, remarked, "It's amazing how much you can accomplish with the Valence Framework." Though he didn't go into detail, I suspect that he was impressed with Valence's AutoCode wizard, which helps the developer automatically write both front-end and back-end code for new programs, code that can later be extended and customized.
With the release last month of Valence 3.0, developers now may be able to do more and do it even better. The Valence collection of tools, or framework, was originally built in 2008 when developers at CNX wanted to create a Web 2.0 interface for their own suite of BPCS and ERP snap-in tools called ATOMIC, for Automated Total Order Management and Inventory Control. Company developers claimed they tried every solution available—from HATS to WebSphere, and every third-party tool in between—but couldn't obtain the results they were looking for in a modern application. So they developed their own set of tools to do things the way they wanted and have been refining them ever since.
At the time the Valence 3.0 beta was first announced last spring at COMMON, the company had hoped to have the final release ready by June. The project took a little longer than was anticipated, and the final version was announced near the end of August. In the meantime, the cost of a professional license rose from $595 to $1,195 (due to the addition of support), but the Valence Community Edition is still available for anybody who wants to download it...and it's still free!
Meanwhile, the company has introduced an Enterprise Edition it's selling for the introductory price of $3,995 (normally $4,995) that provides for unlimited developers on a single IBM i and supports large-scale development and improved management of applications including a popular new source editor and Valence Instance Manager. Clearly, Valence is maturing both in features and price points.
The big enhancement in Valence 3.0, if there is one to select from the many improvements, is support for mobile devices. Valence now supports the leading devices including iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. It soon will support BlackBerry 6. Another thing that CNX did in 3.0 was to redesign the menu system, or Valence Portal, used to display and manage the Web-based applications built with the framework. The portal now recognizes when it's being launched on a mobile device and automatically switches to a new touch-friendly format.
In addition to the standard navigation tree used to launch applications in the previous portal, users can now configure the portal with an alternative drop-down menu. They can also switch between environments without logging out, and they can lock their screen and return later with nothing changed. It's easier for administrators to add new applications to groups and navigation trees, and it's also easier to see which users have authority to use which applications. Valence Portal comes with seven pre-translated language sets, but users can also add their own.
At the core of the Valence technology is a framework from Sencha Inc. of Redwood City, California. The company's flagship product Sencha Ext JS, is a cross-browser JavaScript framework for building Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and is one of the main components in Valence 3.0. Sencha Ext JS now stands at V4.0 and includes improved browser performance, new functionality for grids and forms, new charting and graphing options that support touch-screen, and a host of other features. Sencha has another product called Sencha Touch on which CNX based its Valence Touch, the mobile version of the Valence Portal. Users can launch either standard Valence applications or mobile-specific applications from the portal. Back-end improvements include a data-caching feature so components such as combo boxes, with relatively static data, are now loaded faster than ever for users.
One of the tools currently available only in the Enterprise Edition is a browser-based source editor for JavaScript, called Valence Nitro. First, Nitro is a very fast editor, according to the company. You can open large files and close them quickly, particularly handy if you are working remotely. Nitro makes it easy to find syntax errors, which are clearly displayed in the margin. You can cycle through, clicking and fixing errors one right after another. It will automatically format code so it looks neat with a feature called "Edit Beautify," in case you've been a little sloppy in your spacing. And apart from the standard find-and-replace function, it has a "quick find" feature. It also will copy files and folders, create new files, refresh the tree, and can very easily bundle a folder into a zipped file of the same name for uploading or moving files between systems. The editor is UTF8-compatible and handles Unicode characters without issue, the company says. CNX is looking at expanding the functionality of the editor beyond just JavaScript to handle the back-end RPG code, but a decision on that project is pending further review.
Valence Framework runs on the IBM i integrated Apache server, so no additional servers or hardware are required. To download Valence 3.0, visit the MC Press Software Center and experience the new Enterprise features, including the Valence Nitro editor and the integrated Instance Manager for cloning, updating, and managing Valence server instances. All Enterprise features are automatically activated on a 90-day trial basis when Valence is downloaded and installed. The Valence Community Edition has a perpetual free license for one user when created applications are shared with the Valence community.
as/400, os/400, iseries, system i, i5/os, ibm i, power systems, 6.1, 7.1, V7, V6R1
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