By bringing practical tools and advanced techniques to how you test, the costs and risks associated with testing can be reduced dramatically.

Written by Databorough Services

The following article is an extract from the white paper "A Visual Guide to Cost-Effective Testing on the iSeries," available for download free from the MC White Paper Center.

Managers and developers working with legacy RPG and COBOL applications face serious testing challenges. Few, if any, of these applications have a complete set of specifications of how the applications should perform, and even fewer have a complete library of test cases. Results from over 12,000 software projects show that detecting and removing defects is the single most costly task in software development.

An affordable cloud-based development environment for SMBs, the solution promises to be a quick Web application builder for business users and one that developers can utilize to shave hours off time spent programming.

Written by Chris Smith

In our continuing search for tools that can help developers build or extend applications easily and quickly, we turn our spotlight on RapidBiz, a development toolset from VACAVA, an IBM Business Partner that was named a finalist earlier this year in the annual IBM Beacon Award competition.

You can try one at no charge since it's already included with the operating system.

Written by Chris Smith

A study a few years ago concluded that software bugs cost the U.S. economy alone more than $59 billion annually and that more than a third of that waste could be avoided through better testing. Newer development models, such as Agile, frequently employ test-driven development, which means the developer is being asked to shoulder an increasing portion of the testing before software is sent to the team of formal testers.

Create database-interfaced Web applications for IBM i in five minutes—for free!

Written by PlanetJ Corporation

WOW CE 7.0 is a free rapid application development (RAD) tool for IBM i that can build robust Web applications or serve as a query and reporting tool similar to Query/400 or DB2 Web Query. It features dynamic runtime selection, drill-downs, and one-click MS Excel downloads that can be created by simply selecting a target database file. WOW applications are Web-based and can easily integrate with RPG for data access where desired. WOW CE requires Apache Tomcat or IBM WebSphere and can run on any Java-enabled system, including IBM i, Linux, or Windows.

Zend Technologies and Adobe Systems integrate a pair of Eclipse-based tools, giving developers a single interface for building both Web and mobile apps.

Written by Chris Smith

If you've been waiting to figure out a strategy to handle native mobile applications, then your wait may have paid off.  A new tool developed by Zend and Adobe that is built on Eclipse and leverages both PHP and Flash technologies may be the light out of the darkness.

V3.0 supports mobile devices, has a newly designed portal and, in the paid enterprise edition, includes a fast new source editor.

Written by Chris Smith

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.

Build the application once, have it work on a mix of different platforms and output devices.

Written by Magic Software Enterprises Ltd.

UniPaaS is an application platform that can enable enterprises, ISVs, and system integrators to successfully build and deploy business applications. uniPaaS is the next generation of the company's award-winning eDeveloper series and gives organizations the choice to run and maintain applications in multiple deployment modes, including full client, Rich Internet Applications (RIAs), Software as a Service (SaaS), and mobile. It supports IBM i, Linux, Windows, AIX, and other UNIX servers.

With components running on both the server and PC, the snappy editor automatically formats reports, retrieves deleted records, and allows for viewing user-defined file relations that otherwise would be hidden in obscurity.

Written by Chris Smith

Everyone likes utilities—at least everyone likes to try utilities; sometimes they even stick around and become good friends. Then, over time, something changes and you part ways. Often, it's hard to say goodbye to your old buddy, even though your new acquaintance may offer the thrill of new powers and freedoms. The features that your new companion lacks, however—which may have been present in your old partner—can be cause for some regret.