Bedford, Mass., November 13, 1995 -- Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) today answered the call of organizations seeking the reusability and maintainability benefits of Object-Oriented (OO) programming by announcing the availability of the PROGRESS® Version 8.0 Application Development Environment (ADE). PROGRESS Version 8 makes client/server application development easier, faster and more enjoyable by harnessing the power of OO through an easy-to-use, highly-productive, component-based visual development environment.
Key to the productivity gains in PROGRESS Version 8 are PROGRESS SmartObjects(TM) , reusable application components that enable developers to effectively deliver client/server applications through the fabrication and assembly of application components.
Analyst reaction to PROGRESS Version 8 has been enthusiastic. "I've previewed PROGRESS Version 8 and found it to be among the first practical implementations of component-based development for enterprise-class applications," said Judith Hurwitz, founder of Hurwitz Consulting. "PROGRESS SmartObjects really give me hope for components."
Beta customers are equally enthusiastic. "We've seen the concrete benefits that PROGRESS delivers. With PROGRESS Version 8, we can offer a true 100 percent solution that provides users with virtually anything they need," said Dan Mauro, systems analyst, Pueblo County (Colo.) Government. "There's almost nothing this tool can't do."
Fast-tracking users into the realm of component-based development, PROGRESS Version 8.0 removes the low-level difficulties associated with fabricating and assembling components with traditional Object-Oriented programming languages like C++ and SmallTalk. Progress Software has added several new features to its ADE to facilitate the creation and assembly of components. Key features include the Application Component Environment (ACE) and PROGRESS SmartObjects.
The PROGRESS ACE is an active development framework that forms the foundation for PROGRESS SmartObjects. The ACE automatically creates message links between components visually selected for an application, and generates the appropriate transaction processing and data management code to complete the application. Incorporating wizards, cue cards and advisors, the ACE guides developers along a path to productively build and maintain component-based applications.
PROGRESS SmartObjects are a collection of powerful, reusable application components that can be assembled into fully functional applications. PROGRESS Version 8 provides a comprehensive set of PROGRESS SmartObjects that represent common elements of interactive and data manipulation aspects of complex enterprise-class applications. Developers can quickly and easily build unique SmartObjects by tailoring the pre-packaged PROGRESS SmartObjects or by building new SmartObjects with the PROGRESS User Interface Builder (UIB) and 4GL.
Using the innovative PROGRESS SmartObjects and the Application Component Environment, developers can quickly build sophisticated, reusable components and effectively assemble them into enterprise-level applications -- without the extensive training and productivity drains of traditional OO 3GLs.
"With the availability of PROGRESS Version 8, we are establishing the leadership position in enterprise-class application development," said Joseph Alsop, president of Progress Software Corporation. "PROGRESS Version 8 delivers the benefits of Object Orientation in an understandable and productive fashion, so that business programmers, not only computer scientists, can rapidly deliver business applications with components."
With PROGRESS Version 8, the PROGRESS ADE enables developers to integrate Visual Basic Extensions (VBXs) into their PROGRESS-based applications running on Microsoft Windows. Full PROGRESS UIB support is provided, allowing the rapid integration of VBXs into PROGRESS applications. The PROGRESS Version 8 ADE features an OLE container and offers a starter set of VBXs from the Crescent Division of Progress Software, including a spin button, enhanced combo box and event timer.
Progress Software provides two ADE package options, PROGRESS ProVISION and PROGRESS Enterprise ProVISION. PROGRESS ProVISION is the premier bundle of the PROGRESS visual ADE and offers developers an integrated tool set for developing and deploying mission-critical applications. PROGRESS ProVISION includes the 4GL, User Interface Builder, Report Builder, Application Debugger and the RESULTS end-user query and reporting tool.
Enterprise ProVISION is a new package of the PROGRESS ADE that combines PROGRESS ProVISION with StarBase Corporation's RoundtableTM Total Software Management SystemTM (TSMS). Enterprise ProVISION better enables organizations to control the costs of engineering and maintaining large, complex, component-based client/server applications in a large team environment.
PROGRESS ProVISION is available immediately for a single developer price of $3,600. Enterprise ProVISION will be available later this year for a single developer price of $4,400. Progress Software offers a per-seat volume discount for all products.
Progress Software Takes The Lead in Component-Based Application Development/Page 4
Progress Software Corporation, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is a leading supplier of application development and database software to professional IS organizations in business, government and industry worldwide. The PROGRESS product line enables developers to rapidly and economically build and deploy enterprise-class client/server applications for Oracle, Sybase, PROGRESS, SQL Server, ODBC and DB2/400 databases.
Progress Software develops, market and supports the PROGRESS product line directly to IS organizations and through more than 2,300 Application Partners (VARs) who offer thousands of applications to a wide variety of industries. More than $1 billion worth of PROGRESS -based applications are sold each year by Application Partners globally. Progress Software markets and supports its products in over 60 countries through a network of 18 subsidiaries and more than 30 distributors throughout Europe, Australia, Latin America and Asia.
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PROGRESS is a registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation.
All other products and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. (1995)