Retro look back - Obsydian (CA Plex)

CA Plex (Obsydian) Manual and a CD

I was trawling through my companies archives. 

You know what I mean.  I was actually rummaging through that pile of old CD-ROMs that had sat in the corner of the office for the last few years and I spotted this little gem.  I couldn't resist scanning it in and putting it up on the web for eternity.

If anyone else has some classic images they want loaded up I'd be happy to receive a scanned image.  This is for Obsydian version 2.5.  i.e. Pre patterns and many other cool enhancements that have been added over the years.  Anyone out there got a CD of KT!

Thanks for reading the

Synon 2E and Plex Emporium by Lee Dare (A developer blog). 

Lee.

Integration, Separation and CA Plex

06/12/2025 - Update to remove legacy links that were causing Google to have a hissy fit!

Plex has always been a valuable tool for ISV’s or systems integrators. With the patterns, multi-platform code generation and dynamic application partitioning good integration and logical separation can be achieved very quickly out of the box.

Numerous technologies are supported to allow Plex to integrate/interoperate with other applications and platforms. See the main ones below.

• COM Connectors and COM Import
• ActiveX
• EJB Connectors
• .NET WCF Service generation
• Handcrafted Source Code Support
• Websydian TransactXML

Plex has always had the capability to separate the business, database and presentation logic aka a MVC pattern should you wish to implement your projects that way.

 

I have become aware of an exciting new development here in New Zealand where a project utilising the skills of ISA Ltd http://www.isa.co.nz/ for Plex consultancy coupled with an industry leading business rules engine from Idiom Software http://www.idiomsoftware.com/ to create a funds management application.

In summary Plex is being used to create the database, the UI and the database Create, Read, Update and Delete (CRUD) logic. Idiom’s code generator is being used to implement the business rules. The synergy between Plex and Idiom is fantastic. Both support Java and .NET (C#).

 

Idioms’ principal focus is on the business rules that automate decision making. Many of us are aware of the effort required by developers to amend business rules in any application, and we know that Plex and 2E with their model based development paradigms makes this very easy. But it is still a developer task that involves changes inside the core application - that is, it is still a techie task that the business perceives to be 'over the wall'.

 

Now the fusion of these two technologies allows a developer to build the core application and the business consultant to build the key business rules.

 

Idiom offers something new - an ability for the business (or at least a business analyst/consultant) to take direct ownership and custody of this decision making logic. The IT developers lose a whole bunch of complexity and responsibility that significantly improves their productivity, while the business willingly takes on this load. The bottom line is that the business logic is now being managed as content within the IT managed core application. IT keeps the ultimate control and delegates out selected components for business control. The business delivers fully tested decision models to be called dynamically by the application.

 

It is a win-win.

At last, is this finally fulfillment of the original promise of CASE technology!!!!! IT developers AND business users creating the software. I am aware that the development of the application and rules are being done in parallel thus reducing the overall timeline to deliver the project.

However, enough from me. The guys at Idiom have decided to blog about their experiences using Plex as the application builder and Idiom for rules execution. The results make excellent reading and you can track their progress as they move through their project.

Part One

http://sales.idiomsoftware.com/Idiom/idiomblog.nsf/dx/08052010063840p.m.MNO9T9.htm

Part Two

http://sales.idiomsoftware.com/Idiom/idiomblog.nsf/dx/25052010045920p.m.MNO7V6.htm

Part Three

http://sales.idiomsoftware.com/Idiom/idiomblog.nsf/dx/13062010062150p.m.MNO9GQ.htm

 

Until next time.

 

Thanks for reading the

Synon 2E and Plex Emporium by Lee Dare (A developer blog). 

Lee.

Webcast Bonanza for CA Plex

CA Plex Update

06/12/2025 - Update to remove legacy links that were causing Google to have a hissy fit!

Just a quick one today.

Many of you who use Plex will have heard of the guys at http://www.websydian.com/.

They have products like WebsydianDeveloper Patterns, TransacXML and in partnership with ADC Austin pioneered the WebsydianWebClient.  They also have other tools for 2E too.

Now they have done it again with an update to the Websydian patterns.

Join Anne-Marie and the team for this much anticiated technology preview/demonstration of the integration of Websydian patterns and the ExtJS library.  http://www.extjs.com/ or should I say www.sencha.com/ as they are now known (14th June 2010) - http://www.sencha.com/blog/2010/06/14/ext-js-jqtouch-raphael-sencha/ for more information on that merger.

To join this webcast follow the instructions found at this link.

http://www.websydian.com/wsyweb20/site/websydian

See you all there.

Thanks for reading the

Synon 2E and Plex Emporium by Lee Dare (A developer blog). 

Lee.

Anyone got a ROADMAP I can use?

CA Plex & CA 2E roadmaps published.

Great news!!! The latest roadmaps for CA 2E and CA Plex (dated May 2010) have been published on the CA website. The links are below:-

Note:- You may need to login into CA support to access these and if you haven’t got a support account it is relatively easy to register.

Update: 06/12/2025 - Removed link as not longer a CA product.

CA Plex:- https://support.ca.com/phpdocs/7/258/258_roadmap.pdf

CA 2E:- https://support.ca.com/phpdocs/7/1631/1631_roadmap.pdf

The key features as I see it are:-

CA Plex

• Further research and development for the .NET WPF and XBAP client technologies recently demonstrated at the May Mainframe Madness event and Ft Lauderdale in late 2009.
• Unicode support for IBM i DB2 database
• Improved JavaBeans support for the Java client generator
• Final version of the Code Library packaging wizard
• Continued enhancements to the base product and focus on improvements for each of the main generators.

CA 2E

• Improved Web Services support. I see this as meaning better WSDL naming and Result sets.
• More functions over *Arrays
• Logical deletion of functions in the model
• Web Option and base tool improvements.

The main message across both of these roadmaps was ‘Enhancement Requests’ and CA’s commitment to be lead by its customer requirements. We play our part by getting them created in the first instance. So if there is something you want to see in the product then get creating.

I would have preferred to have seen more firm commitments and dates but I guess this is a case of working through the detail and then publishing to the community.  So I keenly wait to hear more soon.

Thanks for reading the

Synon 2E and Plex Emporium by Lee Dare (A developer blog). 

Lee.

My top five enhancements for CA Plex.

CA Plex enhancement (okay, my Wishlist)

06/12/2025 - Removed legacy links to help improve google indexing

We all know by now that CA Plex 6.5 is in the R&D phase and some technical previews have occurred with more planned. If you are short of knowledge in this area then take a look at Rob’s presentation at the CA Mainframe Madness Week. (www.ca.com/mmm).

I understand that Rob’s presentation has all anyone would need to convince your management about deploying your applications using .NET technologies and code generated by Plex. I have been snooping around (hassling Bill  :-)  ) and I am told that there are no less that four demonstrations for us to enjoy.

If it really floats your boat you can also look at the older presentations from Florida 2009 on the Plex wiki (see links on the side of my blog) which touch on Plex and 2E futures.

I though that I’d put it out there what my top 5 enhancements for the products could be and I tackle Plex first. I will tackle 2E another time.

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and I have been proven wrong on more than one occasion in my life. Just ask my wife (first wife) if you require additional information.

In no particular order.

One: New UI for the tool. I know that the tool is first class and that it enables hundreds of companies around the world to build first class enterprise systems. I feel that a little spruce up of the IDE Look ‘n’ Feel will go a long way to deter the doubters. A Ribbon bar here, a glass effect there and 64x64 icon in that corner, you get my drift, will go a long way. IMHO.

Two: Native XML Input/output. Pretty self-explanatory. I want to be able to choose how my service functions are called/exposed and how the data is passed.

Three: More native Action Diagram commands that replace the Technology API’s. i.e. Upper, Trim etc etc. I would prefer to have these as native action diagram commands rather than calls. I would like Plex to handle the new code when a new generator is released rather than me.  This will also help with my model management, especially when generating for multiple platforms which is one of the tools key differentiators.

Four: Visual Studio 2010. I want Plex to be aligned to the most recent releases of Microsoft’s leading IDE within 6-12 months. When I say that C++ generation needs 2005 for compliation I get shakes of the head from the MS 3GL guys at my shop.

Five: Patterns. The ultimate flexibility but somehow we seem to struggle to exchange these. Would be great if CA lead an initiative for pattern exchange and contribute by providing additional business solutions via a website on a regular basis.

Six: ‘Hey. You said five on your list.’ I know I did!!!! However.  I do like the idea of overhauling enhancing the diagramming and help editors with perhaps an automatic creation of diagrams from the model and easier editing and additional deployment options for generated help.

That’s my list for Plex. What do you want? Perhaps I can compose a blog of all your replies.

Thanks for reading the

Synon 2E and Plex Emporium by Lee Dare (A developer blog). 

Lee.