I began my career at RCA Aerospace and Defense in 1983 and worked at MITRE Corp., BAE Systems, and the State of NH. I worked in the defense field performing software configuration management (SCM) and release engineering activities from 1983-1996. In July of 1996, I began working for the State of NH, Department of Health and Human Services, performing the software configuration management role. I am the administrator of AllFusion Harvest.

In keeping with the longstanding SYS-CON tradition of being at the very forefront of software development with all its online and offline resources, SYS-CON Media & Events jointly today announced a double whammy, launching both 'Open Web Developer's Journal' (htt p://openweb.sys-con.com) and 'Open Web Developer Summit' (http://openweb.s ys-con.com) - to be held for the first time in New York City April 21-22, 2008.

Last week, our development team was supposed to launch a new version of our application. As usual, right before finishing the application we discover that one or two problems had to be corrected.

We discovered PowerGen when we were looking for a command line utility for importing objects into PowerBuilder. At the time (PowerBuilder V5.0) we were struggling with a source control system whose SCC-API interface was having all kinds of trouble with PowerBuilder (as most source control systems did at the time). As a result we cobbled together our own check-in/check-out utility using PowerGen's command line operations.

Finally, here is a solution that will resolve, once and for all, a problem I've been having ever since I started my development: how to easily secure my application according to the user profile.

The award-winning series, The Pragmatic Starter Kit, has a new addition: Pragmatic Version Control Using Subversion, by Mike Mason, a senior developer with the transnational IT professional services firm ThoughtWorks.

The PowerBuilder Native Interface (PBNI) is a standard C++ programming interface that allows developers to extend the PowerScript language with C++ classes and to call PowerScript functions from C++ applications.

The PowerBuilder Native Interface (PBNI) is a standard C++ programming interface that allows developers to extend the PowerScript language with C++ classes and to call PowerScript functions from C++ applications.

In an effort to assist others who may be considering purchasing the smlPortal product created by PowerObjects, I decided to review my own company's experience with the product. Overall, we are very happy with smlPortal. We are a small group of individuals writing software that's used by our own employees.

The PowerBuilder Native Interface (PBNI) is a standard C++ programming interface that allows developers to extend the PowerScript language with C++ classes and to call PowerScript functions from C++ applications.

In contrast with Rob Verschoor's previous book, The Complete Sybase ASE Quick Reference Guide, his new book, Tips, Tricks & Recipes for Sybase ASE, is a full-size book filled with a lot information that ASE administrators and ASE developers will find useful.

Hang on to your seats PowerBuilder developers, PowerBuilder 9: Internet and Distributed Application Development packs a lot of information that will show you why PowerBuilder is as relevant today as it was at the height of the client/server wave.

It won't be long until a new product developed by Sybase hits the stores. Yes, I'm talking about Pocket PowerBuilder. For any professional (PowerBuilder) software developer, this should be reason enough to look behind the scenes of mobile and wireless development.

As everyone working in the IT business is aware, the technology we use to develop our applications is constantly changing. Keeping abreast of the latest trends and practices could be a full-time job for developers, leaving no time for productive work.

Who says DataWindows can't get any better. Since the inception of PowerBuilder, the DataWindow has been a cornerstone of client/server software development.

QVCS is a multiuser, file-based source control system that comes in two flavors: QVCS and QVCS PRO. The QVCS PRO version includes IDE integration and works with the export files of PowerBuilder objects.

From the beginning, the DataWindow has been a powerful client/server control. What has set it apart from competing products is its ability to create SQL. In reality, the DataWindow is a SQL-generating machine. By keeping track of row and column statuses, the DataWindow is able to generate the correct SQL statement to UPDATE, DELETE, or INSERT rows into a database.

Objects can be added to your DataWindow programmatically via a Modify statement. In my opinion, the dynamic creation of objects within a DataWindow has been a highly underused feature.

You've meticulously developed and polished an application in PowerBuilder. Now it's time to publish it in several foreign languages. Localizing application software, under the best of circumstances, is a daunting task, and maintaining the resulting array of foreign-language products becomes an ongoing, time-consuming effort.

Oracle was slow to introduce support for returning result sets from stored procedures. When they finally did add such support, they did so in a manner that was somewhat different than the approach used by other vendors.

Roland Smith's PBSearch utility is the tool to turn to when you need to find a string in your PowerBuilder application. For example, if you have an error message from a bug report, it takes PBSearch only a few seconds to find all the instances of that message. Similarly, if you want to see usage examples for a given function, PBSearch will quickly find and show you the places where that function is called in your application.

PB Code Analyzer is a suite of useful development tools that works with all recent versions of PowerBuilder. Some of the more notable tools allow developers to check coding standards, create user reports, view object relationships (cross-references), document code, search objects, and view PBDebug and SQL trace files.

Ever worked on an application you didn't write or that you wrote more than three months ago? Chances are most of us have, and we all face the same issues when looking to modify the code. What is this application doing? What is affected if I make changes to this object?

Source code control (SCC) has become a 'hot topic' lately, especially after PowerBuilder 8.0 was released, as it contains a wholesale revision to its interface with third-party SCC tools.

PowerObjects' smlPortal is a tool designed to help PowerBuilder shops move their DataWindows to the Web quickly and easily without creating, securing, and extending a Web application.

How often do you get training? Every six months? Once a year? Never? The fact is, most developers never receive any formal training after they move into the real world. Those who do probably don't take advantage of all the training that's available to them.

When creating an object that's destined to become a component in EAServer, you have a myriad of choices. Many of them surround how the object is built, the methods that are created, how transactions are handled, and much more.

The Application Server view is a new feature in PowerJ 4.0. Similar to the Components view in PowerBuilder 8.0 that displays ActiveX controls, plugins, JavaBeans, and servers, the PowerJ Application Server view can be accessed from the main menu by selecting View Application Server.

There's nothing more tedious than having to type out SQL. While the glory of PowerBuilder rests primarily within its DataWindow technology, which saves us from most of this horror, we still need to write our own stored procedures, triggers, and other SQL logic. The database painter does have a SQL painter in its ISQL pane, but it's limited when it comes time to write stored procedures, triggers, and other objects.

The CAST workbench is a vital tool for our applications here at Williams Energy, and, in September 2000, I wrote a case study of how we applied the CAST workbench to our Natural Gas application to assist in learning about our object structure. This summer, CAST is going to release a newer version of the CAST workbench, and I've had a chance to look it over and run it through in advance. There are two primary new features.

We have a new release of EAServer - version 4.0 - which I am very excited about... Version 4.0 takes advantage of Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) version 1.3 features and also provides many enterprise-level features that concentrate on performance, reliability, and usability. Most important, this version of EAServer is OEM friendly and addresses many OEM usability concerns that partners had in the past.

Each year Sybase hosts TechWave, a conference for users and customers. Besides providing an opportunity for attendees to visit, network, and consume alcohol, it's a chance to see new product offerings and features before their release to the general public.

To meet today's growing demand for delivering Web applications, you need a solid development framework. Fortunately for PowerBuilder developers, a couple of frameworks are available that will allow you to leverage your PowerBuilder knowledge and the power of Sybase EAServer to build Web applications. One such framework, EAF from Cynergy Systems Inc., was reviewed in the August 2000 issue of PBDJ(Vol. 7, issue 8). This article reviews the features of another framework, ViewPoint/EA from Applied Knowledge Inc. (AKI).

Black & White, the year's hottest PC game, allows you to play a deity. Whether you become an evil or benevolent one depends on your attitude, actions, other people, and your current environment. In the beginning, it's easy to start out with every intention of being 'good,' but, by the end of the game, you can wind up being a veritable Darth Vader. Corporate computer training can be like that. As an instructor I see training from many viewpoints on a daily basis. Over time, you see what works and, unfortunately, what doesn't. Since time and training dollars are precious and few, you want the best return on your investment. You want to maximize your training.

If you're interested in porting parts of your PowerBuilder client/server applications to the Web quickly or in building Web applications with the DataWindow, the book The Web DataWindow is for you (see Figure 1).

I'd like to share some exciting changes to the Sybase Professional Certification Program and to apprise you of the release of our latest exams.Sybase Professional Certification, the ninth largest IT certification program of its kind, started in 1994. We have had over 28,000 PowerBuilder and 12,000 Adaptive Server Enterprise program participants. There are over 10,000 Sybase professionals worldwide.

Forget how or why your Web project is in Active Server Pages and the whole debate that accompanies it, and let's discuss something you can use.

PowerDesigner is a very good data modeling tool, but with UML gaining acceptance in many IT shops, Sybase has gradually added object modeling features. In November, they started another beta program named Beluga primarily to add Use Case and Sequence diagrams, but also to fix some problems with packages and enhance the overall user interface. As with previous PowerDesigner betas, Beluga is stable and closer to a shipping product than any other beta I've seen. It should be generally available by the end of February 2001.

The technology industry is centered on the fast growing and highly competitive application server market. At stake is critical market share that determines who the market leaders are. These leaders will drive the specifications and deliver the software and platforms upon which business applications will be designed and developed for the foreseeable future. Not to mention some $9 billion, which the Giga Information Group predicts this market will be worth by 2003.

Client/server is fading, supplanted by distributed architectures and Web clients; the new generation of architecture is here to stay. Fortunately, the latest generation of client/server object designs prepared developers and code for the transition to a distributed environment. Along with the new architecture, however, comes a need for framework and service objects designed for this environment. .