 |
 |
Coming 2005--> Major Updates and ODBC for uniBasic & dL4 | | Thursday December 16, 2004 |
Dynamic Concepts is releasing major updates in the first quarter of 2005 for its line of software products, including:
UniBasic - ODBC, laser form and archiving printer driver, dL4 portable files
dL4 - ODBC, laser form and archiving printer driver, additional GUI and the ability to display images
dL4Term - scrolling history, new GUI mnemonics and the ability to display images
dynamicXport - archiving system, post news items and messages to users
dL4 Windows - Telnet server and direct SQL statement support for Microsoft SQL
ODBC FOR DL4 & UNIBASIC
UniBasic v8 and dL4 v6 include the ODBC server and client modules, at no charge, to access UniBasic/dL4 data files from any ODBC compliant reporting or database tool, such as Crystal Reports or Microsoft Access. All UniBasic/dL4 indexed data files, including those with different character sets and numeric formats, (i.e. BITS, IRIS, IMS, IEEE, Portable and Universal) are supported. Further, we will be able to include a write option and access flat files, including formatted and contiguous, in subsequent releases.
Sales and support for IQ for Windows will terminate, following the official release of ODBC. At the same time, general support for dL4 v4 and UniBasic v6 will be discontinued.
DYNAMICXPORT & DYNAMICPAPER - LASER FORMS & ARCHIVE MANAGEMENT
Dynamic's new Laser Printer Form and Archiving System are being included, at no charge, in the upcoming releases of UniBasic, dL4 and dynamicXport. The Printer Driver used to create laser forms and archive reports will be included with UniBasic and dL4 and the archive management, view, print and search functions will be included with dynamicXport.
In effect, pre-printed forms can be created by any word processing or page layout program and then stored as a PCL overlay file. Options for emailing and converting documents to PDF are available by purchasing a third-party Linux PCL to PDF converter. The only change to existing programs is the printer OPEN statement which selects archiving and form options, or you may embed these commands within your PRINT statements.
dynamicXport v3 includes a web-based interface and paperless archiving system which allows your UniBasic or dL4 application to automatically archive any printed report, check, invoice, etc., by including an archive command in the printer OPEN. When used in conjunction with laser forms, only the text of the report is compressed and archived. Should you later need to reprint a report, invoice, etc., the form, if any, is again merged with the text and printed. The web interface allows documents to be located and reviewed, printed, emailed or converted to PDF. Version 3 also includes the ability for users to post news articles, send messages, alerts, and reminders to users or groups of users.
Even if you do not yet use dynamicXport to web enable client's intranet or extranet applications, you can add this archiving system to an existing installation by purchasing additional users on your license. dynamicXport (priced per-user identically to UniBasic/dL4) can be purchased (like IQ) for less users than the primary license. Under Software Assurance, you can even trade in UniBasic/dL4 users for dynamicXport users.
DL4 FOR WINDOWS AND DL4TERM
Specific enhancements for dL4 for Windows, and users running dL4Term connecting to Unix, are included in the upcoming v6 release. Specifically, several new GUI mnemonics are included, as well as the ability to display images in a window (JPEG, BMP, PNG, etc.). For customers using Microsoft SQL, dL4 now supports direct SQL commands within a SEARCH statement. This feature is already available when connecting to MySQL.
In addition to installing dL4 on individual PC's, or using Microsoft Terminal Services, to run multi-user in a Windows environment, customers may now install dL4Term on PC's and Telnet to the server (like with Unix). dL4 v6 for Windows includes a Telnet server, which is compatible with dL4Term. The Telnet server eliminates the requirement to purchase and deploy Microsoft Terminal Services licenses to run multi-user on the server; however other Microsoft User Licensing considerations may apply.
INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS, PRICING & AVAILABILITY
The ODBC server and the Laser Printer Drivers require an upgrade SSN for UniBasic v8 or dL4 v6. However, these products will work in conjunction with earlier releases, as long as the new SSN is installed. There is a PC ODBC connector which must be installed on each PC making an ODBC connection. There is no PC-side licensing for the connector, which can be installed on as many systems as you wish.
The dynamicpaper archiving retrieval and management functionality requires dynamicXport v3.
dL4Term upgrades are free to all UniBasic and dL4 customers and may be used with earlier versions. However, dL4 v6 is required to make use of the new GUI and image capabilities.
Licenses covered by Software Assurance are entitled to upgrade their existing UniBasic, dL4 and dynamicXport to the new releases at no charge. All newly purchased licenses will be for the latest release(s). Existing licenses not covered by Software Assurance may upgrade by paying the published upgrade fee(s), or taking advantage of Software Assurance promotions.
The first beta version of ODBC will be available before the end of December 2004. Watch our website, www.dynamic.com for further details and announcements. Beta versions of dL4 (Unix 5.3.5.3, Windows 5.3.4.5) and dL4Term (5.3.3.5) are currently available from ftp://ftp.dynamic.com for SCO, Linux and Windows. Also in beta release is dL4 and dynamicXport for the Apple OSX under the platform heading A4. This current release is for OSX (Panther) and requires the installation of a third-party message queue facility. OSX 10.4 (Tiger), scheduled for release by Apple in early 2005, includes message queues which should permit the release of all Dynamic products on this platform.
All of us at Dynamic wish you a happy holiday season and a prosperous 2005. We thank you for your continued support. |
|
|
|
|
