Finally: One Development Tool for All Five of Today’s Platforms

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--There are thousands of computer programming tools on the market today, but only one lets programmers build apps for all five of today’s computing platforms without having to use Java, Flash, Silverlight, or other plugins: the new Alpha Five Version 11, released today by Alpha Software. It uses the power of Microsoft .NET and HTML5 to help developers solve a business problem once, and make their app available to users wherever they are and however they like to work—whether that’s on a smartphone, tablet, the web, a laptop or netbook, or their trusty ol’ Windows PC. At last, developers can stop worrying about platform uncertainty, and focus on delivering apps that won’t become obsolete every few years.

“The iPhone, the iPad, and mobile computing have changed everything, but you might be surprised to learn that not all of those changes have been for the best”

“The iPhone, the iPad, and mobile computing have changed everything, but you might be surprised to learn that not all of those changes have been for the best,” says Richard Rabins, Co-Chairman of Alpha Software. “Mobile and tablet computing are great for users, but they’ve added cost, complexity, and uncertainty for companies. IT has been forced to choose between investing in apps for the desktop or laptop, the web, mobile, and new form factors such as tablets. Development teams are burning out. They’re understaffed and overworked, because they have to cope with budget cuts while learning new languages and reinventing apps for multiple platforms. Business leaders are holding back, because they’re worried how the platform wars will shake out—and that’s compromising productivity and competitiveness. It’s a mess.”

Alpha Five Version 11 cleans up the mess by making it easy for developers to use one tool to build apps for all five of today’s popular platforms. Experienced coders and beginners alike can quickly design, develop, debug, and deploy multi-touch or mouse-driven apps. That means Alpha Five apps run swimmingly well on every device available today, and on any device that comes down the pike.

How can Alpha Five do this so easily in a world where developers are building apps anew for every platform they’re targeting, or depending on third-party plugins like Flash or Java? First, the big idea: Alpha Five can generate user experiences as HTML5, the lingua franca of contemporary computing. Every PC, smartphone, and tablet must support it. Wherever you find HTML5—and that’s everywhere—you’ll find a platform that can serve up Alpha Five apps. Second, Alpha Five’s award-winning Codeless Ajax technology uses persistent server connections to provide low-latency, desktop-like experiences on any device. And there’s more, including:

A comprehensive collection of reusable components that make it easy to assemble applications quickly, without having to write a single line of computer code. These include Alpha’s database grid, form, dialog, security, GIS/data mapping, calendar, charting, video player, animation, image gallery, and HTML5 reporting components.
A rich professional programming environment for developers who like to (or need to) get their hands on the “metal,” including the highly regarded XBasic object-oriented language, a powerful debugging environment, support for version four of .NET framework, and an extensive client- and server-side event model.
GIS/mapping support that makes it easy to build an array of practical applications for industries such as real estate, homeland security, CRM, and military that use GIS data.
Calendar and scheduling support that lets users graphically select dates, book appointments, schedule resources, synchronize schedules, and more. Best of all, it takes just a minute for developers to add this functionality to their apps.
Video support that makes adding video to any application a snap, with full support for Flash and HTML5; public and private videos; and storing locally or on external services, such as YouTube.
Image gallery component that simplifies the process of developing highly interactive applications that use images to drive the user experience. The gallery supports pinch zoom, swiping, and other gestures on smartphones and tablets, while automatically adapting to the capabilities of web browsers on desktops and laptops to support similar functionality with mice and touchpads.
Expanded charting capabilities. There’s a new built-in charting engine, powered by .NET, that generates charts in forms, report, grid, labels, letters, Xdialogs, and web components.
New grid builder component, dialog builder component, custom- and user-defined components, and web components style builder that make it easy to visually build, define, and customize database grids, application dialogs, and web styles—as well as build custom components from scratch. Developers have never had it easier or been given more control over these crucial application design features.
Animation capabilities that take full advantage of CSS3 to empower applications with extensive animation and other “eye candy,” making apps more fun for people to use, and making it easier for developers to communicate tasks and information in a contemporary style.
A design metaphor that encourages the use of iterative, agile development techniques in real-world scenarios with clients where modifications to applications can be made rapidly.
And a lot more, including RESTful Web Services; support for MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, and other SQL databases; DBF support; an improved Quick Report Genie; easy generation of reports in HTML, Excel, or PDF; a faster and more robust Application Server; a new XBasic Excel API; a more powerful XBasic Class Syntax that supports data hiding; improved auto-complete in the XBasic code editor; substantial improvements to XBasic classes; a rich portfolio of client- and server-side events; a new JavaScript editor with full color coding and auto-complete; tight integration of jQuery in all web components; and that’s just for starters!

“Alpha Five Version 11 is a new tool for a new world,” says Jim Dusoe, Director of System Analysis and Application Development at Alpha Software. “It has everything developers are looking for today in a single rapid application development environment. It connects to all the major databases, supports literally every popular computing device on the market today, and protects your investment by targeting HTML5 for the mobile and web user experience. There’s simply no other development platform that can stack up to Alpha Five Version 11.”

ABOUT ALPHA SOFTWARE

Since 1982, Alpha Software has been providing developers with award-winning tools that make it easy to build business applications. Today over 1 million developers and tens of millions of users rely on Alpha Software’s Alpha Five. The company is privately held, and based in Burlington, Mass. Alpha Software can be found on the Web at http://www.AlphaSoftware.com. The company’s blog is located at http://blog.AlphaSoftware.com.

PRESS RESOURCES

Review copies and training available to press and bloggers.

Website: www.AlphaSoftware.com

Blog: http://blog.AlphaSoftware.com

Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlphaSoftwareInc

White Paper: http://server2.alphasoftware.com/pdf/WhitePaper_a-new-world-framework_100411.pdf

Early Customer Reactions: http://www.alphasoftware.com/newsimg/2011_10_30_AlphaFive_v11_reactions.pdf

Download: http://server2.alphasoftware.com/trial/index.a5w