BCD Software, now Fresche Solutions, has released the latest version of their WebSmart rapid RPG or PHP desktop and mobile web application development tool, WebSmart.
Highlights of WebSmart 10.8 include:
- Inline RPG editing
- New WebSmart ILE functions
- HTML5 charts
- The latest jQuery version.
Marcel Sarrasin, Quadrant Software’s VP of Corporate Marketing told MC Press Online:
“Our PHP edition has received a lot of attention lately but we’re committed to the ILE edition as well, which is very popular. This release includes several new ILE features that will give programmers more flexibility when developing web applications. Staying up-to-date with current technologies is also important so we updated WebSmart’s charts and the jQuery version WebSmart uses.”
Inline RPG editing
WebSmart 10.8 enables programmers to add inline free-format RPG code to WebSmart ILE definitions. Inline RPG editing provides RPG programmers with further opportunities to leverage their existing RPG skillset.
A programmer, for example, will now be able to reuse any free-format RPG code that they may already have written by ‘inserting it directly into the WebSmart code’.
New PML Operators
New PML operators in WebSmart 10.8 ILE’s (-=, /=, *= and **) provide programmers with expanded mathematical capabilities to more efficiently manipulate expressions.
JSON encoder/decoder
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a common data format that IBM i programmers often use for Web Services or API calls.
A new suite of functions that ‘encodes and decodes objects or sets of name-value pairs into JSON format without requiring parsing’ is included in the new version of WebSmart ILE.
PHP already includes similar functionality, which can be used in the PHP edition of WebSmart.
HTML5 Charts
Charts in WebSmart 10.8 now use HTML5 and JavaScript exclusively rather than Flash.
Previous versions of WebSmart used Flash charts as the default with JavaScript as an alternative fall back for mobile devices. A new version of FusionCharts (3.5.1) is also included in the new release.
Updated JQuery in templates
Templates in WebSmart 10.8 templates have been updated to the latest version of jQuery and jQuery UI. Release 10.8 includes ‘a new widget, select menu, and improved stability’.
Replaced MySQL PHP templates with PHP data objects templates
PHP Data Objects templates included in WebSmart 10.8:
“provide a database abstraction layer that makes it easier to access MySQL and IBM i DB2 or to switch an application from one database to another”.
IBM i programmers should consider using these templates if they want:
- the flexibility to change databases
- host their applications on another platform.
These templates use a more object-oriented approach than WebSmart’s standard DB2 and MySQL templates. They also provide implicit protection against SQL injection.
Posted by Paul on 6th May 2015.