CNX has created an elegant modernization suite designed by RPG programmers for RPG programmers.
Editor's Note: This article describes the Valence 2.1 modernization software suite from CNX Corp. available for free download from the MC Software Center.
With pressure building in IT shops to modernize green-screen applications into ones with modern GUI interfaces, a newcomer on the scene of modernization tools holds the promise of truly increasing application functionality while enhancing its appearance.
Valence Web Application Framework for IBM i is a suite of modernization tools designed by RPG programmers for RPG programmers. Developed by CNX Corp. of Chicago, Valence 2.1 is based on the premise that static Web pages are becoming passé and companies would rather make the leap directly into Web 2.0 technology with its enhanced functionality and stunning browser-based applications than get stuck in yesterday's static HTML technology.
Valence includes all the tools an RPG programmer needs to leverage his or her existing RPG skills to create browser-based applications to either replace or supplement today's existing green-screen programs. It comes with a menu system and portal, the Valence Portal, to manage the newly created browser applications and their associated security requirements, along with the popular Fusion Charts and Fusion Widgets for graphically depicting data in a browser. The company says that with these tools, it's easy to create real-time dashboards driven by DB2 data in IBM i.
The entry price of Valence 2.1 is perhaps one of its most attractive features; it's free for the community edition and only $595 for a professional developer's license. Pricing is not based on processor, or tier, or number of users. The pricing model is, in fact, based similarly to that for many open-source software products, with CNX making most of its revenue on services, training, and updates.
CNX, a consulting firm that offers its own suite of snap-in tools for BPCS and several other ERP solutions, which it calls ATOMIC, for Automated Total Order Management and Inventory Control, started working on Valence back in 2006 when it couldn't find an RPG application modernization tool that it liked. The company says it tried them all, from Webfacing with HATS, to CGIDEV2, to WebSphere, to numerous third-party tools, but none of them offered what they wanted at a price that their customers could afford.
"We tried to force ourselves to go the WebSphere route for quite awhile, actually creating and deploying applications under WebSphere, but the WebSphere option was fraught with complications," the company says. "From a very difficult server setup to the fact that Java is a tough transition for dedicated RPG programmers to embrace," it was one challenge after another. "Ultimately, we felt the pain involved just simply wasn't worth the resulting output."
With Valence, users combine ILE RPG back-end procedures with a robust front-end JavaScript framework, all running natively on IBM i. JavaScript is a relatively simple, non-proprietary language (and is not the same as Java) that interacts with RPG to give new and existing RPG applications a fresh Web 2.0 interface. Valence's AutoCode feature helps to speed up development by enabling programmers write front- and back-end code simultaneously. Programmers can use it to generate apps with add, update, and delete features in addition to basic grid inquiry, as well as extend and enhance the front- or back-end code with handy placeholders. All the resultant Valence-created applications use ILE RPG and the free Apache Web server, and no extra hardware, WebSphere Application Server, or Java are needed. Powerful ExtJS JavaScript components serve up and collect the data on the front-end in place of a green-screen. Valence uses JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, to facilitate the passing of data from the RPG program to a front-end grid where it is displayed, a technique that is more efficient and faster, the company says, than using XML since data is instantaneously rendered in the display grid and the browser doesn't have to parse the XML.
Some of the Web 2.0 browser components that Valence applications support include auto complete, pop-up windows, expandable trees, drag-and-drop, tab panels, grids with sortable columns, and charts and graphs, among others. Developers can use Valence to either retrofit existing RPG programs or create new ones, and the Valence RPG toolkit includes an integrated PDF generator and integrated email support to send email directly from the RPG program.
Users must be running i5/OS V5R4 or higher and have a minimum of 100MB of free disk space to run Valence. CNX has a good collection of documentation papers and training videos, as well as support packages that it calls "support packs," which it sells in hourly blocks. Users can download and try Valence 2.1 at no charge. If they want to keep the free community edition, the license allows for development either in-house or on behalf of a client, but the developer agrees to contribute the resultant work for re-licensing to the Valence community. If that isn't appealing, then they agree to upgrade to a Professional Developer license, which includes a year of updates.
Valence 2.1 is a unique tool of growing importance in the modernization landscape, and CNX says it plans to continue to develop the suite and to release updated versions every six months for the next couple of years.
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