JBA Guidelines: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:11, 27 January 2024

C++ development environment and an application generator for OS/2 that could also generate code for MS Windows. Introduced in 1992 and originally written as a tool for developing GUI front ends for the AS/400 software products from the JBA Holdings company but was extended into a general business application development tool.

Features

Notebook test window on an early version of JBA Guidelines

You build your application in a GUI designer then write the back end in either C++ or in a proprietary event driven fourth generation language called JOT, Guidelines then generated C++ code from your front-end design and JOT code and you compiled it with your choice of C++ compatible compiler suite, or had Guidelines do it for you. In addition the company offered optional Client/Server back ends for AS/400, Unix SQL servers and ODBC.

Version 3.3 introduced quite advanced support for CORBA object message passing, including over a network (Distributed object message passing).

While Guidelines did nothing in the OS/2 or Windows marketplaces it survived as an in house tool and was used for most PC system development at the company, however a number of people hacked the Guidelines package to act as a GUI builder for other systems, the first version of Visual Ada Developer used the package as its front end for instance.

Version

2.0G
2.1A (Apr 1994)
3.1A (Jul 1995)
3.2
3.3 (1996)

Prerequisites

OS/2 2.1 or higher

One of the following C++ compiler products:

Early versions of the software required IBM C Set++ 2.01 or IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0 and the OS/2 Developer's Toolkit to compile the Guidelines output, later versions don't support C Set.

EDM/2 Articles

Brad Scharf: Under the Scope (Feb 1996) - Guidelines 3.1j
Brad Scharf: Under the Scope (May 1996) - Guidelines 3.2

Links

GuideLines_3-1.zip. Demo version of Guidelines 3.1
TeachGuidelinesIn21Days_1995-07-16.zip. Teach yourself JBA Guidelines in 21 days by mtalexa@ibm.net

License

Commercial

The retail price for JBA Guidelines was:

Guidelines Base pack: Free - Essentially a GUI creator without any background C++ generation, so both functional as a small time GUI creator and as a demo for the full package.
Professional Developers Kit $595
Client/Server Connectivity $995
MS Windows Code Generation $395
Database Connectivity Pack (ODBC) $395
Lotus Notes Support Pack $99

or

Guidelines for Corporate Developers $7750 per seat.

Author

JBA Software Products Ltd.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Description==
+[[Image:guidelines1.png|right]]
-[[Image:guidelines2.png|thumb|350px|right|Screencap from a notebook test window on a very early version of Guidelines, possibly Beta.]]
+C++ development environment and an application generator for OS/2 that could also generate code for MS Windows. Introduced in 1992 and originally written as a tool for developing GUI front ends for the AS/400 software products from the [[JBA Holdings]] company but was extended into a general business application development tool.
-C++ development environment and an application generator for OS/2 that could also generate code for MS Windows. Introduced in 1992 and originally written as a tool for developing GUI front ends for the AS/400 software products from the [[JBA Holdings]] company but was extended into a general business application development tool.
+==Features==
+[[Image:guidelines2.png|thumb|Notebook test window on an early version of JBA Guidelines]]
+You build your application in a GUI designer then write the back end in either C++ or in a proprietary event driven fourth generation language called [[JOT]], Guidelines then generated C++ code from your front-end design and JOT code and you compiled it with your choice of C++ compatible compiler suite, or had Guidelines do it for you. In addition the company offered optional Client/Server back ends for AS/400, Unix SQL servers and ODBC.
-You build your application in a GUI designer then write the back end in either C++ or in a proprietary event driven fourth generation language called '''JOT''', Guidelines then generated C++ code from your front-end design and JOT code and you compiled it with your choice of C++ compatible compiler suite, or had Guidelines do it for you. In addition the company offered optional Client/Server back ends for AS/400, Unix SQL servers and [[ODBC]].
+Version 3.3 introduced quite advanced support for CORBA object message passing, including over a network (Distributed object message passing).
-While Guidelines did nothing in the OS/2 or Windows marketplaces it survived as an in house tool and was used for most PC system development at the company, however a number of people hacked the Guidelines package to act as a GUI builder for other systems, the first version of [[Visual Ada Developer]] used the package as its front end for instance.
+While Guidelines did nothing in the OS/2 or Windows marketplaces it survived as an in house tool and was used for most PC system development at the company, however a number of people hacked the Guidelines package to act as a GUI builder for other systems, the first version of ''Visual Ada Developer'' used the package as its front end for instance.
 ==Version==
-* '''Latest OS/2 version:''' Version 3.21 (Designer 4.07a)  1995-Oct-16.
+* 2.0G
-* Known fixpack: Mod65 - 1995 - There was almost certainly a later version than this of both the fixpack and the program itself, but we have not been able to find it.
+* 2.1A (Apr 1994)
+* 3.1A (Jul 1995)
+* 3.2
+* 3.3 (1996)
+;Prerequisites
+* OS/2 2.1 or higher
-====Prerequisites====
 One of the following C++ compiler products:
 * [[IBM VisualAge C++]]
-* [[Borland C/C++]]
+* [[Borland C++]]
-* [[Open Watcom|Watcom C++]]
+* [[Watcom C++]]
+Early versions of the software required IBM C Set++ 2.01 or IBM VisualAge C++ 3.0 and the OS/2 Developer's Toolkit to compile the Guidelines output, later versions don't support C Set.
+==EDM/2 Articles==
+*[[Brad Scharf]]: [http://www.edm2.com/0402/scope.html Under the Scope] (Feb 1996) - Guidelines 3.1j
+*Brad Scharf: [http://www.edm2.com/0404/scope.html Under the Scope] (May 1996) - Guidelines 3.2
-Early versions of the software required IBM C SET++ 2.01 or IBM VisualAge 3.0 C++ OS/2 and the OS/2 Developers Toolkit to compile the Guidelines output, later versions will not support C SET.
-==Publications==
-* [http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-search.php?key=JBA+guidelines Teach yourself JBA Guidelines in 21 days] by mtalexa@ibm.net
 ==Links==
-* [ftp://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/dev/cplusplus/gbase31.zip Demo version of Gudelines 3.1] - From hobbes
+* {{FileLink|GuideLines_3-1.zip}}. Demo version of Guidelines 3.1
+* {{FileLink|TeachGuidelinesIn21Days_1995-07-16.zip}}. Teach yourself JBA Guidelines in 21 days by mtalexa@ibm.net
 ==License==
-[[Image:guidelines1.png|right]]
+* Commercial
-* Commercial, now discontinued.
-The retail price for JBA Guidelines was :
-* Professional Developers Kit             $595
-* Client/Server Connectivity              $995
-* MS Windows Code Generation              $395
-* Database Connectivity Pack (ODBC)       $395
-* Lotus Notes Support Pack                $99
-Note these prices from an early version of the toolkit, packaging and prices changed later on
+The retail price for JBA Guidelines was:
+* Guidelines Base pack: Free - Essentially a GUI creator without any background C++ generation, so both functional as a small time GUI creator and as a demo for the full package.
+* Professional Developers Kit $595
+* Client/Server Connectivity  $995
+* MS Windows Code Generation  $395
+* Database Connectivity Pack (ODBC) $395
+* Lotus Notes Support Pack $99
+or
+* Guidelines for Corporate Developers $7750 per seat.
 ==Author==
 * [[JBA Holdings|JBA Software Products Ltd.]]
-[[Category:Tools]][[Category:System i Tools]][[Category:C++]][[Category:MS Windows Tools]]
+[[Category:C++]]