DesignBais

DesignBais (pronounced Design Base) is a web-browser-based GUI RAD IDE (Graphical User Interface, Rapid Application Development, Integrated Development Environment) for creating new business applications, or for adding a new front-end UI to existing software. DesignBais adds value to software, makes it more marketable, and facilitates software sales. When re-fitted with a DesignBais UI, end-users feel more like they’re working with a modern application, compared to older character-based interfaces that are often confused with DOS and other legacy tools.

DesignBais allows a typical MV / Pick DBMS developer to create a new GUI without knowledge of non-MV technologies. There is no need to learn HTML, JavaScript, .NET, VB, PHP, ODBC, or any of the other languages or protocols commonly associated with web development. The MV developer uses the web browser to create and deploy the UI, and the only language used for coding is Pick BASIC.

DesignBais is very familiar for System Builder (SB+) developers but no knowledge of SB+ is required.

DesignBais includes many features to facilitate the creation and use of a full-featured commercial-grade UI.

• MV files and dictionary definitions are used to define fields for web forms.
• Ajax is the popular term for field-level validation via the web, and exactly like the new Ajax-enabled web pages, all DesignBais forms process data entry one field at a time, rather than one page at a time.
• Multi-values are displayed in grids with controlling/dependent relationships automatically maintained.
• On-Form Reports allow data tables to be scrolled on the page and actions to be taken when individual cells are clicked.
• Charts and graphs can all be generated using familiar BASIC code.
• Printed Reports can be designed and configured for client-side printing, or email delivery in text, PDF, or Excel formats.
• Field-level Security features are built-in.
• Glossaries are built-in which allow for group- and user-specific grammars, like using the term Client rather than Customer, or SKU rather than Part#. This can be used to completely translate an application for use in different languages – with each user using the language of their choice, with absolutely no code changes required.
• All fields have a wealth of optional events which can be triggered to run code on the DBMS server. These include Before Read and After Read for records, Before Field and After Field Validation on data entry fields, Click events on buttons and images, and events to notify the application when the user Inserts, Updates, or Deletes values in an MV grid.
• Default “Are you sure” dialogs are available, and custom dialogs can be defined.
• Forms can be launched into the current page or as separate layered “modal” forms.
• A complex hierarchy of menus can be defined for the top and side of the page.
• All forms and reports can be substituted at runtime based on events or user permissions, and displayed forms can be dynamically modified from BASIC.

Licenses are available for application Development and for end-user Runtime sessions. DesignBais includes a session pooling manager to maximize effective use of existing DBMS licenses.

Nebula Research and Development sells and supports DesignBais and provides development, training, and mentoring services to kick-start the process of moving programs from the persistent character-based environment into the graphical, event-driven model.

© 2007 Nebula Research and Development