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| SB Next Generation Workbench Development
Roadmap | |
Superbase Next Generation Development Philosophy
Initially we have concentrated on building a solid, platform-independent
framework upon which we will build the future Superbase products.
That work has largely been done and we are now beginning to build
on top of that framework. Many of our existing customers have questions
about their ability to migrate successfully from their existing
systems to the new next generation Superbase. Others want to know
what we have planned for the future. This page is intended to resolve
some of those questions.
Superbase can be seen as comprising several distinct product groupings:
end-user functionality of a desktop database, development environment
for database-based applications, and delivery vehicle for completed
applications. This has been done in a largely monolithic approach
that, although it has some advantages, also has some decided weaknesses.
As a result, the development of the new Superbase has been carefully
evaluated to produce a product line that meets each of the desired
product areas as effectively as possible. As a result, our first
step was to build an easy-to-use yet powerful language. On top of
that we are building reusable components that can be supplied to
our customers for rapid application development (RAD). These components
include conversion utilities to move existing Superbase systems
over to the new next generation Superbase.
In the coming months we will outline more and more what we are
planning, but the following text can provide a rough guideline.
Included in the Initial Product Delivery
Superbase Next Generation Workbench Pre-Release (SBNG-Pre)
initially includes:
- Our new and fairly advanced integrated development
environment (IDE)
- Our SIMPOL language compiler
- Runtime components for Win32 and Linux on Intel
- Program examples
- Code libraries
- Components for producing web server applications
(CGI, ISAPI, and Fast-CGI)
- Support for console programs (not yet including
stdin, stdout, and stderr)
- The ability to load and call SIMPOL functions as
DLL calls from Superbase Classic and 2001 products
- The new Superbase Micro Engine (SBME) database
engine for single-user
- Peer-to-peer client/server (PPCS) support for interaction
with existing Superbase database format
- Direct support for TCP/IP-based sockets (client
and server)
- Three books with hundreds of pages of documentation
including two tutorials
Coming in the Next Month or Two
We will continue to release various components and enhancements,
bug fixes, documentation and samples as they become available (and
after adequate in-house testing) for download by those who have
purchased SBNG-Pre. The following is a list of functionality that
is being currently tested and should be available in some form soon:
- Apple Macintosh OS-X runtime components
- PPCS Server for SBME database files (compatible
with existing Superbase) for Win32, Linux, and Mac OS-X (initially
limited to 3 users for testing)
- Windows, forms, and form controls for Win32
- XML Document Object Model components (supports
Core Level 2 100%, plus XPath queries and validation against a
DTD with enhancements still planned)
- Directory and directory entry objects for analyzing
the file system (all platforms)
- Common dialogs for Win32 (initially just file open
and save, others will follow)
- Utilities using the new form components for converting
Superbase files to SBME
- Utilities written in SBL for converting Superbase
Classic forms to SIMPOL
- Additional samples and documentation
Further Development
In January we expect to look at Windows CE (PocketPC is part of
this but more restrictive). We hope to have the language moved to
Windows CE including some version of form and form controls as part
of this effort. During the same period we will be examining the
GTK+ v2 widget set for Linux and possibly also taking a look at
the Aqua programming guidelines for Mac OS-X to determine our progression
on these platforms. We have already successfully tested the new
form and window support on Linux under the latest version of Wine
(with no Windows installed) and everything ran without a problem.
We have also tested the IDE under Wine but are still having difficulties
with fake Windows. Using an installed Windows 98 the IDE worked
with only one native DLL. Please make use of the news server to
report any ideas, problems, or interesting things that you have
discovered while working with the new Superbase. We will also be
continuing to build tools and libraries for use in rapid application
development as we go forward.
IDE Language Support
If your language is not supported and you wish to assist in the
localization of the IDE into your language, contact us at tech@superbase.co.uk.
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