The newest upgrade of PowerBuilder delivers a predictable, reliable programming environment. But is it compelling enough to attract non-PowerBuilder developers?
For years, PowerBuilder was the hot programming language, the software that every developer wanted to learn and use; it was the Java of the early 1990s, so to speak. Starting with the second version, no other software came close to the success of PowerBuilder or seemed to match its capabilities in creating client/server applications. Every programmer despaired over its high price, incredible job demand, and correspondingly high consulting rates. As if it were a high school crush, PowerBuilder became the focal point of many developers' lives.
Over the years, succeeding versions of PowerBuilder have grown in important ways: adding the PowerBuilder Foundation Class Library, growing beyond Windows to support multiple operating systems and distributed applications, and integration with other facets of application development and deployment such as Sybase's own PowerDesigner (the CASE tool formerly named S-Designor), Object Cycle (source code management), and Jaguar Component Transaction Server (CTS). Indeed, all of the latter tools are included in the PowerBuilder 6.0 Enterprise Edition or are available in the PowerStudio bundle (which includes enterprise editions of PowerBuilder, Power++ (RAD C++ tool), PowerJ (RAD Java compiler), PowerDesigner AppModeler, PowerSite, and Jaguar CTS.
Those years have passed, however, and PowerBuilder must face the competition: other vendors haven't stood still, nor have other technologies. Microsoft's Visual Basic has largely caught up; and Borland's Delphi has come from nowhere in the mass market fourth-generation language space. C++ vendors (including Sybase) have significantly lowered the learning and productivity differences, and a whole new category of World Wide Web and Java development tools have debuted.
A 1997 Borland International survey of 5,000 corporate developers showed that 95% are working on or planning web-based applications. Has time cooled the ardor of that school-time crush? Interestingly, the only discussion of competing tools in the PowerBuilder Evaluation and Review Guide is limited to Visual Basic, Delphi, Oracle Developer/2000, and Forte. The discussion also mischaracterizes the competition;for example, only Visual Basic is listed as having robust fourth-generation language programming capabilities, which is strange considering Delphi's language is, in my opinion, easily superior to PowerBuilder's.
PowerBuilder 6.0 features changes and enhancements in four important areas: web deployment options, integration of open technology, programmer productivity, and components.
World Wide Web Deployment
Organizations are turning to browser-based programs for everything from network and systems management to traditional client/server applications to Internet commerce. PowerBuilder 5.0 introduced Web.pb, a tool that integrated web servers' CGI (and CGI-like) interfaces with server-side PowerBuilder code. Web.pb in PowerBuilder 6.0 adds the ability to return read-only results of server-side business logic as HTML. Java client-side code can also call into the Web.pb interface. Since there is no development support for this in PowerBuilder, developers must use another tool and hand-code such a solution.
Developers can generate HTML tables and interactive HTML forms based on DataWindows. DataWindows were one of the main innovations in the first PowerBuilder releases, vastly simplifying the way user interface elements are bound to back-end databases. Using PowerSoft's own native database drivers, you can easily take advantage of database-specific features to point and click to a rich variety of presentation styles. These include single or multiple record interactive views, sophisticated reports, graphs, and OLE objects that can be embedded in other applications' documents. PowerSoft even patented this technology and has been known to pursue competing vendors, such as SilverStream, that edge too far over the line in copying its capabilities. The generated HTML can use cascading style sheets for formatting, which let you create more visually sophisticated pages. The forms can use all standard HTML interface widgets including command buttons, checkboxes, and list boxes. Data for the HTML stream is, in general, retrieved at run time, but you can specify this information using the DataWindow painter preview as well.
Netscape plug-in support was also introduced in 5.0 for windows (that is, forms) and DataWindows. The Internet Explorer was not supported in version 5.0, but is in PowerBuilder 6.0 with an equivalent ActiveX control. Additionally, secure mode versions of both the ActiveX and plug-in are provided. Secure mode does not refer to transmission security (such as Secure Sockets Layer or RSA encryption), but to client-side protection similar to Java's sandbox security model, which limits a downloaded application's ability to harm (and interact with) the client system.
Client machines, LAN- or web-based, still need a copy of the PowerBuilder DLLs. In this release, the files have been renamed the PowerBuilder Virtual Machine, reorganized and simplified so only three files are required. A utility named the Synchronizer is included. You can run the Synchronizer to determine whether or not the client files are already installed and up to date, and if they aren't, it supplies the needed files to the client. You can manually invoke the executable version of the Synchronizer at run time or do it automatically by including the ActiveX control version on an appropriate HTML page.
Two problems exist with this set of options: size and effort. To a certain degree, neither of them apply to intranet applications (neither of them apply at all to LAN-based applications), since the user environment and expectations are more easily controlled. By size, I mean the PowerBuilder Virtual Machine is slightly larger than your typical bullet.GIF file-the virtual machine file (pbvm60.dll) is 3.5MB and the data window file (pbdwe60.dll) is more than 2MB.
Effort is perhaps even more significant since you can download and install the client files once or at least infrequently (as updates are issued). By effort, I mean that since developers must choose between using the plug-in or ActiveX control for more sophisticated presentation and functionality, there ought to be support from the IDE for generating HTML that detects the user's browser capabilities and returns to the appropriate page. Since there is none, developers must insert this code manually on all applications.
Further, developers must manually take steps to enforce session continuity. Users commonly tend to bookmark interesting pages, even those inside applications, but applications that require logins do not let them jump directly to internal pages. Some development environments support this requirement by requiring a specific page (or pages) that has already been accessed during the current session. Unfortunately, PowerBuilder does nothing in this regard.
Open Technology
PowerBuilder already runs on Windows NT, Windows 95, Macintosh, and Solaris. In 6.0, it adds Hewlett Packard's HP-UX (version 10.20 or later) and IBM's AIX (version 4.1.5 or later). New support has been added for internationalization, including Unicode on Windows NT, Japanese double byte character set (DBCS) on Japanese versions of Windows, and right-to-left support for Hebrew and Arabic versions of Windows; a Translation Toolkit with localized versions of deployment files will be available after the general release of PowerBuilder 6.0.
Additional database support, such as native drivers for the latest versions of supported databases (Oracle 8, Sybase 11.5, Microsoft SQL Server 6.5) and ODBC 3.0, plus user interface enhancements for creating database profiles are also included. OLE support is enhanced with support for DCOM and improved OLE error handling. Finally, the PowerBuilder IDE is the latest in a series of development tools adopting the Microsoft Source Control API to let you integrate any conforming source code management system (such as Intersolv PVCS and Microsoft Visual SourceSafe) with the IDE.
Programmer Productivity
Programmer productivity improvements are a never-ending battle for vendors and customers alike. Tracing and profiling facilities are new in this release, letting you instrument applications and pinpoint bottlenecks by creating a sophisticated performance analysis model. The debugger has also been upgraded with new breakpoint, watchpoint, and stepping capabilities, and lets you open multiple application views including variables, source code browser, objects in memory, and the call stack. Further, just-in-time debugging lets you open the debugger after an application run begins-such as just after an error occurs.
DataWindow enhancements include the addition of button (command) objects directly inside the DataWindow itself rather than forcing developers to add them to the DataWindow's host window, plus a number of minor visual and event improvements. PFC changes have also been made: new calculator, calendar, and progress bar objects and application preference, timer, and broadcaster services.
Components
Components are the final area of significant change in PowerBuilder 6.0. Sybase
recognized the growing importance of component creation in higher level languages (similar to Microsoft's revelation in Visual Basic 4.0 last year) and added
the ability to generate PowerBuilder and C++ components in the initial 6.0 release, followed shortly by DCOM, CORBA, and Java Beans out of the PowerBuilder IDE. Regardless of component type, though, the machine executing the code must have the PowerBuilder Virtual Machine installed.
You must also have a C++ compiler to use the class files generated by the C++ option, adding a certain enticing allure to the new PowerStudio bundle. No word yet on whether the CORBA generation update will include a CORBA tool package (you'd certainly need at least an Interface Definition Language compiler and an ORB. It would be nice-and certainly other vendors have demonstrated this-if the PowerBuilder IDE automated most of this work). One nice touch that 6.0 includes, the Distributed PowerBuilder Name Server, takes a page from CORBA by separating logical and physical location and lets client applications connect to logical servers that redirect requests to the actual implementation.
The Enterprise Edition comes bundled with several other useful and interesting tools. These include developer's editions of Sybase's SQL Anywhere and Jaguar CTS, and copies of InfoMaker and ObjectCycle. It also includes O'Reilly and Associates's Web Site web server; InstallShield's InstallShield 5.0 free installation builder; and a limited edition of Riverton Software's HOW 1.2, which integrates design and analysis capabilities (including forward and reverse engineering) with the PowerBuilder IDE.
PowerBuilder is also available in Professional and Desktop editions (on Windows only). The Professional Edition is largely similar to the Enterprise Edition, but lacks the native database drivers (that is, it only supports ODBC drivers), component generation capabilities, and some of the bundled applications. The Desktop Edition supports only desktop databases (via ODBC), team development features, and the PFC library. Subscription upgrade programs are also available.
Measuring Up to the Past
One wonders whether PowerBuilder is still the drool inducer it was five or six years ago. After all, the core technology is mature and essentially works, so the questions I looked at in this review are not about that. Instead, developers must consider corporate computing development and determine if PowerBuilder 6.0 is still a strong choice for meeting their challenges.
There are four points I would make in answer. First, Java is the hot language, the one every programmer is anxious to learn; and C++ has become easier with Sybase's own Power++ as a prime example. Second, organizations want to deploy applications on web servers both internally and externally, and the options with PowerBuilder are limited; LAN-based client/server architectures are the losers in this fight. Third, organizations are realizing that other development and deployment products are offering stronger capabilities to integrate mainframe and other legacy applications.
Finally, I question whether this release truly deserves the designation 6.0; that is, whether it is a major upgrade or simply a few new features more driven by marketing needs to maintain a high profile in a crowded marketplace. I don't want to leave the impression that there is nothing good or positive in this version-the improvements are useful, but simply not compelling. The bottom line is that PowerBuilder 6.0 is a pricey but basically reasonable call for the existing PowerBuilder customer base. It's unlikely to draw in new developers and customers.
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Product Summary: PowerBuilder 6.0
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Sybase Inc.
Emeryville, Calif. 94608
Tel: (800) 879-2273 Online: http://www.sybase.com
Price: Windows and Macintosh: $2,995; $1,495 for upgrade
UNIX: $4,995; $2,495 for upgrade from previous Solaris versions
Professional Edition (Windows only): $2,495; no upgrade Desktop Edition: $295; $145 for upgrade
Software and Hardware Requirements: Windows 95 or Windows NT: 486 CPU, 16MB RAM (recommended), 32MB hard disk (full installs can take up more than 300MB)
Macintosh: 68040 (deployment only) or PowerPC (development and deployment), System 7.6.1 or higher, 16MB RAM, 45MB hard disk space
Sun SPARC: Solaris 2.5, CDE 1.01 or later, 32MB RAM, 100MB swap, 100MB hard disk space
Also runs on HP-UX 10.20 or higher and IBM AIX 4.1.5 or higher. All UNIX versions require the C++ compiler shipped with the operating system
Money-back Policy: 90 days
Technical Support: Installation support only Bundled Software: InfoMaker, ObjectCycle, Jaguar CTS developer edition and SQL Anywhere developer edition (all from Sybase), O'Reilly and Associates Web Site, plus limited editions of Riverton's HOW and InstallShield Software's InstallShield 5 |
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RATING:
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Pros:
1. It is a powerful fourth-
2. It has strong integration with
3. Multiple operating systems
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Cons:
1. The World Wide Web deployment options are weak.
2. Is this a major upgrade or a
3. It has limited compatibility with industry-standard distributed communication architectures.
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Putting Thoughts Down on Paper
by Bill Lazar
Tools that integrate analysis and design into the application development life cycle have become even more important with the growing adoption of the spiral (or iterative) model. Riverton Software's HOW 1.2 LE for PowerBuilder takes an interesting approach to this task, fitting snugly in between more traditional design tools such as LogicWorks' ERWin and application development environments (other editions of HOW, such as one targeted at Visual Basic, are expected to follow this one out the door shortly). It is a component design and assembly environment built for developing distributed business applications.
HOW for PowerBuilder lets you snap together multitier applications with business object-based components. Using HOW, you can custom build or adapt and extend business objects and technology components to produce applications that are partitioned along presentation, business logic, and data access boundaries. It can import data models from ERWin and Sybase PowerDesigner as well as export information back to those tools. This facility also extends to PowerBuilder objects: it can import class (nonvisual object) and DataWindow definitions, for example, allow their refinement in HOW, and then send back the enhanced version to PowerBuilder.
HOW works with PowerBuilder 5.0 and 6.0 as well as the PFC Library and other frameworks (including the supplied OpenFrame, which simplifies the creation of middle-tier business objects). With it you can define use cases, business rules, domains, classes, tasks, workflows, roles, menus, queries, windows, data controls, and several types of user interface containers. You can also define data model and PowerBuilder logical maps (maps provide necessary information to transform logical objects such as domains back to their physical form, such as a specific database table), and even generation option sets, which define various properties of objects that will be generated by HOW.
Each object type has its own painter or definition window, and these tools are nicely refined from a usability perspective. For example, the Workflow Builder closely resembles a narrowly constrained flowchart applet. But Riverton Software's developers have taken it one step further: since tasks, use cases, and business rules can be associated with a workflow action, a tabbed secondary pane displays lists of each of these other objects already defined in the project, so you can drag and drop them directly onto valid target objects. In other words, it doesn't make sense to associate a business rule with a split or entry point, so you can't.
The limited edition version, included with the Enterprise Edition of PowerBuilder 6.0 only lets you create 25 analysis objects (use cases, business rules, use case views, roles, and workflows) and 75 design objects (domains, classes, associations, queries, tasks, windows, controls, and menus). In a way, it's essentially a come-on for the real (and not inexpensive) full-blown version. However, for the growing number of organizations that are formalizing the definition and design phases of software development, the expense is easily justified. You can download the Limited Edition from Riverton's web site, and as non-PowerBuilder versions become available, I suggest you grab a copy and try it for yourself.
Product Summary: HOW 1.2 LE for PowerBuilder
Riverton Software Corp.
1 Kendall Sq., Bldg. 200
Cambridge, Mass. 02139
Tel: (617) 588-0500
Online: http://www.riverton.com
Price: Free with PowerBuilder 6.0 Enterprise Edition
HOW Enterprise Edition: $2,495
Software Requirments: Windows 95 or Windows NT
Hardware Requirements:
486 CPU, 16MB RAM (recommended), 42MB hard disk space
Technical Support: Installation support only, provided through Sybase
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