One of the hallmark's of today's iSeries developers is versatility. Depending on the size of your enterprise, application designers may be called on not only to produce and maintain iSeries green-screen applications, but potentially client/server, Web, e-commerce, and wireless solutions as well. Ideally, this means programmer familiarity with RPG, Java, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), eXtensible Markup Language (XML) . . .

But the reality is that most developers aren't fluent in all these languages and protocols, yet the potential for needing to know them seems to grow daily. One solution that can help is the mrc-Productivity Series from michaels, ross & cole, ltd. (mrc).

The mrc-Productivity Series is an application development tool suite that runs on iSeries hosts and clients and that's also compatible with Lotus Notes/Domino and WebSphere. It helps developers build a wide range of applications using a menu-driven interface (see Figure 1) and then outputs source code in user-selected languages and protocols, including RPG, Java, HTML, and XML — without requiring the developer to know any of the output languages. In fact, from a single development effort, users can automatically generate green-screen, Web, and wireless applications without any manual programming and deploy the output to any platform, including non-iSeries systems. And, if the developer is familiar with the output language, he or she can modify the generated source as needed.

The product is able to provide this flexibility because it includes a number of features that facilitate generic development. Most important is a three-tiered architecture that breaks applications into presentation, logic, and database segments that simplify program maintenance and modification. A SmartLinks module lets developed applications link data from multiple sources to create multilayered drilldown capabilities. An External Objects module lets developers integrate new functions or whole applications with legacy solutions, business rules, business logic, and even third-party packaged software, such as enterprise resource planning solutions. Applications deployed on the iSeries automatically use the platform's native security features, so that part doesn't have to be designed in, and the output also includes another layer of security at the database record level.

Java-based applications generated with the product can integrate iSeries data with Web features such as e-mail, imaging, and Internet links. The tool also lets users generate whole Web sites. For example, developers can modify the HTML template so the same features can be included on every Web page. Also, HTML output containing a user-defined application can be enhanced with images, logos, fonts, and style sheets from an organization's Web page style. Web designers can choose a method of their choice (e.g., JavaScript, Dynamic HTML, style sheets) to design or modify pages that retrieve iSeries data. Because of the ability to separate application presentation layers from data, changes to the presentation layer don't affect underlying databases and let designers store a Web site's "look and feel" details in a single location and use them to change a file or entire Web sites. The tool suite includes the ability to build an interactive shopping cart that can be incorporated into Web applications so users can order products directly from live databases.

Despite all these features, mrc-Productivity Series isn't just a tool for developers. Because it can generate all code from nothing more than specifications and program templates, even non-programmer types can use it to build functioning applications.

The mrc-Productivity Series is also a report generator with which users can build presentation documents using such features as multiple file joins, graphing, batch reporting, and sorting databases by calculated or logical fields. Business analysts can build reports, queries, summaries, data-mining applications, and data warehouses, as well as exporting iSeries data directly into MS-Word, Excel, and other PC applications.

Productivity Series users can also build executive information systems in Visual Basic, Java, or RPG. Developers can designate each EIS screen as an independent object, then link objects in different combinations to create customized EISs for different executives.

Another product capability is the ability to modify legacy applications without modifying legacy source. Users can expand legacy solution capabilities with new functions or modernize them to incorporate graphics, sound, video, and Internet links.

The mrc-Productivity Series installs quickly (in as little as 30 minutes, according to mrc) and is simple enough that users can start building simple applications in as little as an hour (although the vendor does recommend at least two or three days of training).

John Ghrist is senior products editor for iSeries NEWS.

Solution Spotlight is a feature of iSeries NEWS that provides more in-depth coverage of significant iSeries products. Offerings are selected for Solution Spotlight by iSeries NEWS editorial staff, based on staff perception of the product as either new or innovative, or because the product is the subject of extensive discussions in Internet forums on iSeriesNetwork.com and elsewhere.