Developers who use the ADBC kit can read from and write to IMAGE databases using Java clients and Java Virtual Machine (JVM) applications hosted on MPE/iX. An ADBC "listener" program, commonly known as a driver, is installed on the HP 3000. The ADBC kit also includes a program to read View/3000 forms and convert them to Java applets, giving customers a jump-start into a low-overhead method of client-server computing.
At release the software will rely on APIs (known as classes in the Java environment) for Java. Developer David Thatcher said he's working on additional APIs for C, Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, Visual C++ and IBM CICS environments.
The driver on the 3000 listens for connections from the Java APIs and resides on a Java Virtual Machine. HP says it plans to have its HP 3000 Java Virtual Machine ready to ship with the Express 2 Release of MPE/iX 5.5, expected to go out in late spring. The API classes communicate with the driver on the HP 3000. "The APIs are exactly as they would be in the IMAGE manual," Thatcher said. "I kept the calls the same -- DBOPEN, DBGET -- so it would be easy for an HP 3000 programmer to pick this up and go."
The program that converts View/3000 screens to Java runs native on MPE systems. Thatcher said he has plans for a Java version of the tool "like Symantec Cafe, where you connect to a View screen, click and then drag to create the Java code in the background."
The ADBC software has the potential to extend HP 3000 applications to other environments and enable programs written for other environments to exchange data with TurboIMAGE. The range of supported clients for HP 3000 Java applications also gets a boost. The ADBC Developer's Kit includes a Java Developer's Kit for Windows 95, Windows NT, Sun Solaris and Macintosh systems.
ADBC will enable MPE/iX sites to retrieve their IMAGE data using Java IP-enabled objects. The primary advantage of the software is its speed, Thatcher said.
"It's very fast, faster than ODBC and IMAGE/SQL," Thatcher said. "ADBC bypasses ODBC and IMAGE/SQL, skipping all unnecessary layers. This is for people who plan to stay on the 3000 and want to build Internet applications."
ADBC also provides an interface for interacting with MPE and the ability to call existing library procedures such as RLs and XLs. A toolset included with the kit lets developers map their current IMAGE data into Internet-ready applications. Designed for development of interactive applications on corporate intranets and the Internet, the ADBC software "leverages the current investment in your HP 3000 and your award winning IMAGE database management system," Thatcher said, "which means you save dollars in new hardware and software expenses."
Perhaps of most immediate benefit to HP 3000 sites is the ADBC promise of a rapid development path into client-server computing. The software that transforms VIEW/3000 systems into Java applets converts applications into client-server technology, using browsers as the client front end. These thin clients can be used in place of access through ODBC and other high-overhead gateways.
The first ADBC implentation surfaces about a year after Adager's Alfredo Rego proposed the concept, a high-speed pipeline between Java and the native IMAGE intrinsics. Rego has alpha-tested the ANSI implementation and reports that its primary objective -- to give IMAGE databases a fast gateway to Java -- has been accomplished.
"The concept works great," Rego reported, "and I have been able to access IMAGE databases and update them on the HP 3000 via TCP/IP from Java-enabled clients." Both Macintosh and Windows clients have been tested.
DSI Datatrak Systems, an HP 3000 software developer in the advertising industry, is making use of ADBC in a time entry system which ANSI is writing. A pilot is also underway at Enco Printing Products, a division of Agfa, on a call-logging system for operations.
To make use of the ADBC Developer's Kit from ANSI, customers must have an HP 3000 network in place, using an intranet or the Internet and NS3000/XL 1.2 or later; any Web browser and any Java Virtual Machine. The ADBC kit comes in two versions. Model One will only allow database retrieval, and it is limited to MPE Command Interpreter operating system functions. Model Two allows complete database access (both read and write capability) and all MPE functions.
ANSI is announcing prices of $4,700 for Model One ADBC and $8,700 for Model Two ADBC, with a $1,000 discount for subsequent CPU licenses. The software includes a Java Developer's Guide, which leverages work ANSI has done with the author of "Java Programming for Dummies."