Focus on Revelation
As usual there has been an awful lot happening here at Revelation with transatlantic trips and a planned trip to FutureX in South Africa looming fast. The highlights over this last few weeks have been the release of CTO, our successful DfES registration and new partnerships with third party tool vendors with products to help OpenInsight developers further enhance their applications as appropriate. The highlight over the next few weeks will be the launch of CTO in the EMEA region. We are currently planning an official launch in London on the 5th May 2006. This launch will include an opportunity to experience the process of building GUI applications with OpenInsight and embracing the World Wide Web, XML, AJAX, MS Office and more. Watch out for more details of this event in your mailbox.
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News Update
CTO Launch
The recent International Spectrum show held in Long Beach, California (click here for details) saw the official release of Revelation Software's Character To OpenInsight (CTO) product. While it is referred to as a product, it is actually part of the OpenInsight development suite and is licensed through the OI WORKS subscription.
CTO provides MultiValue developers with the ability to take advantage of OpenInsight's low cost licensing model, saving many MultiValue end-users hundreds, if not thousands of pounds each year. For instance a 250-user runtime system can work out at just £16.38 per seat with NO annual license charges or you can opt for a pay as you go license which is ideal for smaller MultiValue systems as it costs from just £35.00 p.a. per seat - how does that compare to your current MultiValue system?
In addition, CTO removes many of the headaches traditionally associated with moving from a character based system to a GUI or Windows based system. How? By simply enabling developers to provide their users with a hybrid system and retain better control of the migration process. No longer do you need to undertake a complete migration of your system, including the costly exercise of building every screen from new. Now you can have those parts of your character based application that work well or that you want to retain, simply running inside your GUI application as a window - we will show you how at the CTO launch in London on 5th May 2006.
Come and see how OpenInsight and CTO can help reduce your annual costs
On 5th May 2006 we will be officially launching CTO in the EMEA region. This event will provide you with the opportunity to fully explore CTO and OpenInsight's rich development environment. We will be looking at the process of moving your existing MultiValue application to OpenInsight through the use of ACCOUNT-SAVE, as well as how to use OpenInsight's GUI design tools while utilising your existing MultiValue backend. We will then go on to see how to quickly create a hybrid system with both character windows and GUI windows in the same application. During this part of the event we will look at many of the RAD features built into OpenInsight. We will then take a look at interacting with the world wide web, XML, AJAX and Microsoft Office and Outlook - all of the topical requirements from a modern day GUI application. Watch your mailbox for more details of this event over the next few weeks or contact info@revsoft.co.uk and we will contact you with more details.
You can also obtain an initial glimpse of CTO in action by running the CTO demo direct from our web site (CTOwin.html). Please note that this demo contains sound, so please be careful where you are when you run the page. Additional CTO details will be posted to our web site at the following location cto.htm
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OpenInsight for Linux (OIL) release 7.2.1
Revelation Software will be showcasing OIL 7.2.1 at LinuxWorld in Boston, USA next month. New to release 7.2.1 is OIL's DataSet Object, which is the key to unlocking client/server connectivity. The DataSet Object is implemented within the product's visual Client/Server Workspace - an environment in which developers create and manage database components using a collection of visual tools. These tools include a query window, a SQL script-building assistant, a database connection builder, and a DataSet Object definition tool. The database access and manipulation components are separate from other application components and are reusable across multiple applications. With this new DataSet Object, developers using OpenInsight for Linux (OIL) now have connectivity to mySQL and any ODBC data source.
In addition, Revelation Software EMEA will be showcasing OIL 7.2.1 at FutureX/LinuxWorld in South Africa between the 16th and 19th of May. Further details about the show can be found on the dedicated FutureX web site at http://www.futurex.co.za.
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International Spectrum
International Spectrum is a magazine and event organiser dedicated to the MultiValue community and this event saw the first of their 25th anniversary celebrations and the announcement that Gus and Monica Giobbi will be handing over the reins to Nathan Rector from Natec Systems.
Following the usual welcome speech, speakers and attendees headed off to one of several rooms dedicated to MultiValue technology specific topics and the wide choice of sessions continued over the next two and a half days, punctuated by the vendor fair.
Some of the hot topics in the technology sessions were advanced reporting tools (including dashboards), sessions on XML and AJAX in particular and of course the usual vendor specific updates.
Martyn and Andrew from the UK office both attended this event owing to the launch of CTO. The product was well received by the many visitors who stopped by the stand and it was warmly welcomed by all of those people looking at OpenInsight as a fast track route to the GUI world of Windows and Linux and also by those who simply need to reduce the cost of running their MultiValue systems or those VARs who need to become more competitive in their market places. Some good solid leads were taken and we look forward to welcoming some of those leads on board very soon.
The show also gave Martyn an opportunity to explore some of the third party tools that are now available and which were the subject of much interest at the technology sessions. Revelation is experiencing a heightened level of awareness in the MultiValue market place given the advances in the product since Mike Ruane took the reigns, only five years ago. As a result the company is finding more and more players in the community who want to support OpenInsight and make their products available to our community. Some of the partners that we are hoping to work with are:
SRP Computer Solutions, Inc. who have a product called Frameworks and which enables OpenInsight developers to create graphically rich interfaces using OLE controls.
ViaSystems, Inc. who provide tools which enable OpenInsight users to transform their raw Linear Hash data into rich graphical Business Intelligence and then to maximise the value of the information assets.
DesignBais, Inc. who provide a functionally rich toolset that enable MultiValue developers to design and create enterprise-wide, web based applications. While OpenInsight contains it's own HTML publishing tools DesignBais removes the need to get to grips with different technologies such as ASP, Java or HTML and much of the system appeared to be parameter driven and very easy to use.
MITS, Inc. who provide advanced reporting and business intelligence tools, including an extremely nice looking dashboard product that was featured during a key dashboard session.
I will find out just how easy some of the products are to configure and use over the coming weeks as they come online and I begin to put together examples and demo's based on OpenInsight. Watch for articles in this newsletter with more details about these technologies, or drop an email to mp@revsoft.co.uk if you think that one of these technologies might be of specific interest to you.
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DfES Registration
Further to Revelation's commitment to the EMEA region, the company have now secured a position on the Department for Education and Skills register. This is a requirement for many companies outside of the UK when seeking entry into the UK for premium training resources.
"We have many overseas clients who need a solid foundation on which to build their Revelation based solutions." says Francesca McAuley, Managing Director of Revelation Software Limited, "We are pleased to be able to offer all EMEA region clients from countries that require a visa to enter the United Kingdom the chance to train with some of the best Revelation developers in the world".
Further details about the various structured training courses that Revelation Software offer are available from aftersales.htm along with the full courses agendas. However, if you do not see what you are looking for please contact Martyn on mp@revsoft.co.uk or direct dial on +44 (0) 20 8912 1003.
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Worried about OI and DEP
Just recently my colleagues at Sprezzatura have taken several calls with regard to DEP (Data Execution Prevention) on some of the newer hardware and recently upgraded versions of Windows XP. There have also been a number of postings onto the Revelation web site on the subject and it is clearly causing Revelation customers some concern.
Following a particularly difficult installation, Andrew McAuley from Sprezzatura was called onsite to investigate the reasons for the failed OpenInsight installation. Following several hours of investigation and working out how to play with the system, he left the customer's site with a fully functional system, a very happy end-user and Revelation VAR.
Sprezzatura have now released a paper on their findings and it is available from their web site at http://www.sprezzatura.com/downloads/DEP.pdf.
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New Third Party Product News
We have recently seen the release of two new products from Revelation VARs (Value Added Resellers) designed for OpenInsight application developers.
OldotNET 1.0
Splaver Software has released OIdotNET 1.0 for OpenInsight. OIdotNET is a utility that works with the OLE features of OpenInsight to allow developers to fully integrate .NET components with their applications. You can create .NET objects and manipulate them in Basic+ or the Form Designer. You have full access to the properties, methods, and events of the .NET component. OIdotNET uses a simple syntax to access complex objects, collections, indexes, and multi-dimensional arrays. OIdotNET fully supports UNICODE strings. You can download an evaluation version at www.pacifier.com/~splaver. Please contact Tony Splaver (splaver@pacifier.com) if you have any questions.
EDI-ATLAS
The Atlas Wares Company introduces EDI-ATLAS. Using the ATLAS framework, EDI-ATLAS integrates EDI with OpenInsight databases. Its ASC-X12 standards viewer includes version 003070, 004010, and 005010. The data-defined maps translate documents directly into the database. Utilities for communications, scheduling, rules, auditing, and reporting complete the package. EDI-ATLAS is $1000 (USD) with the source code. A source-free evaluation is available upon request. For more information please contact Gerald Lovel at glovel@atlaswares.com
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Latest Version Checker
ARev Full Dev OpenInsight Full Dev 16-bit Full Dev 32-bit
ODBC Driver OI-32 only Network Products NT, Win2K, & XP Novell 3.x & 4.x Novell 5.x & 6.x Linux | – 3.12
– 3.7.5 – 7.2.1
– 1.1 – Win2K Svc 2.1 / UD 3.0.0.2* – Rev. NLM 1.5 / UD 3.0.0.2* – Rev. NLM 5.5 / UD3.0.0.2* – Latest Novell cipx.exe – Universal Driver 3.0.0.2* |
Running ARev?
CPU Utilisation up,
Performance down,
on modern Operating Systems, like XP? Call Martyn on
+44 (0)20 8912 1003
for further details
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*The Universal Driver is the new preferred driver for all ARev and OpenInsight based systems. Please check the web site at http://www.revsoft.co.uk/universal_driver.htm for more details about this product and how it can benefit your system.
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Contact UsWe are always pleased to hear from existing, expired and potentially new Revelation developers and end-users alike. You can contact us in many ways:
You can also find directions to our offices on our web site.
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