What's New on Volume 10?

by Karen Foley

Where do I begin? Well, this is our first volume being produced from our new location in Austin, Texas. We made the move relatively smoothly and have focused on a number of important changes in the product offering.

As described in the article "Go Cross Platform With the Developer Connection" on page 1, the base level Developer Connection offering now includes cross-platform support via the tools for OS/2, LAN, and AIX development. It is our pleasure to now serve the Developer Connection for AIX subscriber base, and to bring the DevCon for AIX CD-ROM into the package for the OS/2 subscribers. And within the OS/2 and LAN offerings, we have now fully implemented the IPF-based catalog, providing not only significantly improved performance but also a few new features too.

All three components in this volume bring you new and updated tools, documentation, and information. Just as the Volume 9 Special Edition brought you the GA level of OpenDoc for OS/2, we now provide you with a new beta version of OpenDoc for AIX to position you for cross-platform OpenDoc development opportunities. Visit Club OpenDoc at http://www.software.ibm.com/clubopendoc to stay current between volumes.

OS/2 Content Changes
We are pleased to point out that the package now contains a full license to the copy of OS/2 Warp Version 3.0 located on disc 2 of the DevCon for OS/2 CD-ROMs. Refer to the Developer Connection for OS/2 license for more information.

Internet development is HOT-HOT-HOT! As mentioned in the article on page 1, the new IBM WebExplorer Java Demo for OS/2 is provided in the "Communication Tools" category and IBM's implementation (for OS/2) of Sun's Java version 1.0 programming environment (JDK for OS/2) in the "Developer Tools" category will help you keep abreast of what's becoming available. Of course, the Web site (see page 5) may have been updated since we shipped, so if you have access you may want to download the latest posting. For your other communications needs, review the updates to Golden CommPass, Adept XBBS, and both COMscope and COMi.

Another new item on this volume is Data Access Builder Enhancements, an application development tool to use with IBM VisualAge C++ to create database access classes customized for your existing relational database tables. Create OO applications quickly and reliably - this tool generates the source for you!

Also in the "Databases" category, note the various updates to Database 2, the Database 2 toolkit, Data Guide/2, and DDCS/2. New features of DB2 Version 2.1.1 are support for object-oriented and multimedia applications, as well as user-defined types (UDT), user-defined functions (UDF), and large object support (LOB). The new version of Data Guide/2 has several additions, including support to access data in DB2/6000 and DB2/400 databases. Performance improvements are a highlight in the new version of DDCS/2, along with a variety of enhancements including support to access multiple databases from the same query.

In the "Compilers" category, note the new IBM VisualAge for Cobol for OS/2 compiler as well as an updated Speed Pascal compiler. New CSDs for C Set++ are included in the Service category to keep your compilers up to date. Extensions to the compilers, such as HockWare's VisPro/C and VisPro/C++, have also been updated.

The new TCP/IP Version 3 for OS/2 Programmer's Toolkit has useful tools for your communications or networking applications.

Two new tools that can really help you debug your applications are the OS/2 Call Analyzer and PSPM packages. These handy internally-written tools are well worth installing and learning about - they can save you many hours chasing a problem! Look for both of them in the "Development Tools" category. And as long as we're talking about debugging, if you haven't used OS2MEMU before, take a look at the OS/2 Memory Utilization Utility to help find those nasty memory leaks.

Another useful new tool is View3820, which allows you to display LIST3820 files from your OS/2 session. Try it out with the books identified in LIST3820 format in the "Documentation Roadmap for OS/2 CDs" in the "Developer Connection Roadmap" folder.

A wide variety of other products have been updated, including the SMART porting tool, the Assembly Language Processor (ALP) in the Developer's Toolkit for OS/2 Warp, the RimStar and Visual SlickEdit editors, the Partition Magic demo, and more. Refer to the printed content list or the online "New Products" and Updated Products" lists for the full listings.

Anxious to tap into the worldwide market by providing your application in other languages? Don't miss the article on page 16 for tips on DBCS-enabling your applications. New online documentation can assist your multilingual application development.

If you are looking for general instruction, tips, and techniques for C++ programming, be sure to view the new Redbook for creating applications using the "Building Block Approach". There is also a wide selection of sample code that correlates to each of the 10 chapters. These samples are configured to work with DB2/2 and walk you through realistic, meaningful scenarios to show the concepts and techniques. It's a great way to learn without the expense of a class.

LAN Systems Content Changes
The DevCon for LAN Systems CD-ROM has several updates. Check out the "LAN Systems Toolkits" category for updates to the Distributed Application Developers Toolkit. The installation program for the LAN Systems Toolkit has been improved to allow you to select only the pieces you need - a real space saver for your hard disk. In addition, this version of the LAN Systems Toolkit now includes the Multi-Protocol Transport Services (MPTS) Toolkit to further assist you in your LAN development efforts.

For those of you who use MPTS, the latest code is in the "Product Overview" category. Also, take a look at the new MPTS Service Guide - it has all kinds of information to help you set up and maintain MPTS. You can find it in the MPTS folder.

Remote users should check the "Product Overview" category for the latest LAN Distance code. LAN Distance has these enhancments:
 * An enhanced LAN Distance Connection Server accounts database allows a database to be shared among Connection Servers
 * A user specified inactivity timeout function has been added to the Connection Server.
 * A user security exit has been added to support third party security.
 * A new set of tools has been added to enhance administration of the Connection Server accounts data base.
 * The time to start and stop LAN Distance has been reduced.

Netfinity has also been updated with Windows 95 support and enhanced RAID support.

The "Service" category has new CSDs for LAN Server 3.0 and 4.0, LAN Distance and SOM. Install these updates to get the latest fixes.

AIX Content Changes
In addition to the latest available beta version of OpenDoc for AIX, this CD-ROM also brings you updates for Program Visualizer and xgprof. Both are internally-written tools with widespread usage in the AIX community. Refer to the sidebar on page 21 for more information about Program Visualizer.

This volume also includes many new sources of information key to AIX development activities, from overviews to strategy and planning to implementation. Learn tips on working with the new version of AIX through the new IBM Redbooks including:
 * Developing DCE Applications for AIX, OS/2 and Windows (G24-4090-01), which describes the APIs provided by the Open Software Foundation (OSF) Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) services.
 * A Holistic Approach to AIX V4.1 Migration, Planning Guide (SG24-4651-00) and A Holistic Approach to AIX V4.1 Migration, Volume 1 AIX, UP to SMP and Oracle (SG24-4652-00), which provide comprehensive approaches to migrating a system from AIX Version 3.2x to Version 4.1.
 * AIX Connections for Beginners (SG24-4588-00), which describes the content, function, and application of AIX Connections, a feature of AIX Version 4.1.4.

Looking Down the Road
Don't forget to plan for the future by considering on the upcoming turn of the century and its impact on programming. Let the paper "The Year 2000 and 2-Digit Dates: A Guide for Planning and Implementation" located on both the OS/2 and AIX CD-ROMs, help you prepare now for a smooth transition.

We Aim to Please
So, if you're a new subscriber, welcome aboard! We're happy to provide you with the latest and greatest tools and technologies as we continue to improve the Developer Connection. We're interested in hearing from you to learn more about what specific things you like or would improve, and what additional topics or content would be helpful. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey located on any of the CD-ROMs (SURV2Q96.TXT) and send your feedback to the team via the support E-mail addresses. We look forward to hearing from you!