Macintosh Client/Server Database Development Summary, Revision 1.1

Macintosh Client/Server Database Development Summary Revision 1.1 This is a summary of client-builder tools, data access layers, and database servers applicable to Macintosh (and cross-platform) client/server database development. It includes explanations of the three categories and describes over 25 products. Its sources are vendors' product literature, DBMS magazine, and discussions with vendors at the Database and Client/Server Expo in Boston on June 29-30 and the MacWorld Expo in Boston on August 2-5. It does not include information about separate products in these categories: CASE tools (automate the design of databases) Administration tools Ad hoc query tools (query a database in a freeform way) Report writers Decision support and executive information tools (do complex data analysis) Screen scrapers (place GUIs over terminal interfaces) Non-SQL-accessible database servers Tools which support deployment to Mac, but not development on Mac I feel that some of the products described herein are actually better suited than the leading Mac databases for smaller multi-user database applications. Features such as a flexible query language, full-featured GUI tools, and comprehensive language libraries are very important even for small projects, while capabilities like transparent connectivity and cross-platform delivery let small systems grow easily into large services. The leading Mac database tools lack most of this functionality. Please ask to JOIN THE MAILING LIST! If this summary is interesting or useful to you, let me know and I will email you new revisions of it as they come out. I also welcome comments, war stories, and mentions of missing products or important product details. My (new!) email address is breck@external.umass.edu. Changes in revision 1.1: Vendor phone number list added Client-builder features list revised Most product descriptions revised Eight client-builder descriptions added One data access layer description added Four database server descriptions added --- Client Application Development Tools --- Client applications are the users' windows into databases which are usually located on other machines on the network. The following tools assist in constructing such apps. And I do mean ASSIST. Don't believe the hype about building clients in a few hours without writing any code. Another caveat is that many of these products were developed originally for a different OS, and not all such tools support the Mac as well as they should. (And there's even a Mac-only tool that has that problem!) Most client-builder tools include these features: support for development on and deployment to the major OS platforms transparent access to various data sources ("The major database servers" generally means Oracle, Sybase and possibly Informix and ODBC-accessible servers. See next section.) a graphical GUI builder with special objects for data presentation a (possibly OO) language with a full-featured library library extensiblity with internal and external functions or classes an interpreter or GUI testing capability a debugger And some also include these: a database definition tool a SQL database engine for development use a graphical query builder a graphical report writer support for development teams a compiler which generates native code, pseudo-code or 3GL code a reasonable memory footprint for compiled apps :-) GUI builder extensibility data access system extensiblity to initially unsupported data sources a business rule modeling system, which obviates the need to implement such rules throughout the GUI distribution of application components across a network no runtime/distribution fees Omnis 7 by Blyth, once primarily aimed at desktop and workgroup database development, has been retargeted at the client/server market. It is a 4GL-based, cross-platform (Mac, MS Windows, OS/2, Unix, Windows NT) client-builder that accesses many database servers. Blyth's single- and multi-user database engines are available separately. It is probably the most popular client-builder product for the Mac currently. Uniface by Uniface is a 4GL-based, cross-platform (Mac, MS Windows, OS/2, Unix) client-builder. It includes a system for implementing the business rules that govern data, the ability to partition the application among different networked systems, support for development teams, and fairly wide reaching database server access. VisualWorks by ParcPlace is a Smalltalk-based cross-platform (Mac, MS Windows, OS/2, Unix) environment. It includes a comprehensive, extensible class library and a pseudo-compiler. It accesses the major database servers. Runtime modules are required. Vision by Unify is a cross platform (Mac, MS Windows, Unix, Windows NT) client-builder featuring a pseudo-compiled 4GL, support for development teams and access to a variety of database servers. Vision automates the creation of a number of common features that other tools may not. Runtime modules are required. C/S Elements by Neuron Data is a cross-platform (Mac, MS Windows, OS/2, Unix) client-builder that generates C code for compilation by a third party compiler. It includes a somewhat extensible class library and support for scripting in its 4GL, C and C++. A business rules development add-on is available. It accesses the major database servers. Oracle Forms (formerly SQL*Forms) by Oracle is part of the CDE family of tools. It is a cross-platform (Mac, MS Windows, OS/2, Unix, Windows NT) front-end tool for Oracle servers, though other servers can be accessed via middleware. It supports development teams and its language is based on SQL with procedural extensions. CPX by Prograph is a completely grahical object-oriented "language" and development environment that includes an extensible class library, interpreter and compiler. Extensions to access the major database servers are available separately. It's currently only available for the Mac, but MS Windows and Unix versions are in the works. Visual AppBuilder by Novell is another completely graphical environment in which applications are created by linking components (ALMs). It is cross-platform (Mac Q4 94, MS Windows), but portability requires compatible ALMs on the target platforms. It includes a compiler, and ALMs to access the major database servers are available separately. Eventually, it will support network distribution of applications. Forte by Forte Software is a cross-platform (Mac, MS Windows, and Unix clients plus others as servers) tool for constructing very large scale, distributed applications. It is based on an OO4GL, generates C++, and automates the distribution of services across diverse networked systems. It assumes development teams and accesses a wide range of database servers. PowerBuilder by PowerSoft is an OO4GL-based client-builder for MS Windows. A Mac port of the product should ship by Q1 95. It comes with a pseudo-code compiler, support for development teams, a multi-user database server and broad database server access. This is a very popular product, though the current version is sa