What's New on Volume 9?

by Karen Foley

You might have noticed that we have grown again - we now have four CD-ROMs to bring you even more exciting new tools. Volume 9 of The Developer Connection for OS/2 contains over 35 new products, over 30 updated products, 8 new documents, and over 40 updated documents. In addition, we've expanded the information in the roadmap documentation.

Based on requests we have received from you, we've added some exciting new entries to The Developer Connection. One of these is a new Compiler category, so you can try the new IBM VisualAge C++ and the SpeedSoft SpeedPascal compilers. Other compilers we have carried previously are also in this new category.

You'll also find code generation tools, such as PM Designer from VacNat Software. This version works with the SpeedPascal compiler, among others, so you can have some fun trying out the tool from your CD-ROMs.

If you're following the expansion of object-oriented programming, be sure to check out the updates to the Design Patterns book (now in HTML format). The corresponding code generation is now available through a hookup to a server in Toronto, Canada.

You'll also find documentation on technologies that are becoming more and more pervasive. For example, IBM's CID (Configuration, Installation, and Distribution) architecture is gaining wider use, and customers are looking for other applications that use this strategy. You can learn more about using CID from Tim Moore's article in this edition of the newsletter. IBM also publishes a Redbook that addresses CID enablement called OS/2 Installation Techniques: The CID Guide (use Library Reader to view this .BOO file, which is in the \BOOKS directory on disc 2 of your DevCon CD-ROMs).

Volume 9 contains 'safe' versions of two interesting vendor products that are hot in the marketplace: Both of these demos show all the product screens so you can see how easy it is to use these tools. However, they stop short of actually performing tasks - they don't want you to use a time-out version and get stuck with your system in a state you didn't really want. We tried 'real' versions of both products without any trouble; if you like the user interface and options in the demos, you might want to order these products for yourself!
 * PartitionMagic from PowerQuest lets you do all sorts of manipulation of your hard disk partitions.
 * UniMaint from SofTouch Systems, Inc. helps you uninstall products or perform other maintenance.

Another set of new tools on Volume 9 deal with image manipulation. Check out JView, an enhanced version of a shareware tool you might already know as JoeView. The other new image toolset is a reduced-function .DLL in a toolkit package that demonstrates the function available in two levels of the LEAD Tools ImageHandler products: ImageHandler Express and ImageHandler Professional Edition. With these tools you can use your own image or run a predefined special effects demo on images that are provided in the package. You'll find lots of ideas on image manipulation to help you create impact in your still visuals, add motion through special effects, and more.

As you might know, IBM's strategy is to help you write code for use in multiple languages and enable it for double-byte characters. Be sure to read Paul Rock's article 'So You Want Your Application to Be Multilingual?' in this edition of The Developer Connection News, and check out the new section in the roadmap to find out what IBM has to offer on this important topic. Finding the information may have been hard before, but writing code to support multiple languages is easier than ever. Try it!

Multiple language support is important to consider for your PowerPC development efforts too. The ULSUTIL tool provides utilities for code page and keyboard support for other languages on the PowerPC. It's an Intel-based tool, so you can try it out today even if you don't have a PowerPC yet.

Japanese application development is getting easier too! You'll now find a Japanese version of the Developer's Toolkit for OS/2 Warp on your Developer Connection CD-ROMs. (This is the toolkit release that was available in Volume 8 of The Developer Connection.)

We're also trying to improve the availability of the service updates you need by giving you the following:
 * Kernel debuggers for many of the servicepak levels in the market so you can debug at your level or your customer's level
 * OS/2 Warp fixpaks translated into several languages (the level of testing on these varies by country)

Note: Service updates might be released more often than the Developer Connection, and this shipment is not intended to replace other channels you might be using to receive current service updates.

If you do REXX programming, check out the new GpfREXX tool in the Development Tools category on your CD-ROMs. This tool nicely complements other tools in the Gpf family of products from Apical Software, Inc.

You'll also find on Volume 9 some internally developed tools - these are things our developers wrote for themselves that we want to share with you (be aware these are provided 'as is'). For example, CHK4DLLS identifies whether you have all the .DLLs needed to run a particular executable; OS2GFC is a file comparison tool with a good visual display of the differences; and if you haven't noticed it before, the OS2MEMU tool is a great debugging aid for monitoring memory utilization.

One last tool I want to mention is the TCP/IP for OS/2 X Windows System Client Kit. If you work on applications for multiple operating systems, specifically OS/2 and AIX, this tool might be just what you need to support those environments with a minimum amount of platform-specific code. Look for this tool in the Developer's Toolkits category.

I hope this article gives you some insight into the many new and updated offerings on your Volume 9 CD-ROMs. Of course, there are too many to mention all by name, so please explore and see what we have to meet your needs. And if you can't find something you need, let us know so we can try to work on getting it for next time!