Latest Release Includes Ability to Use Descriptive Field Names, Tools for Browser Detection, and New Application Development API

January 14, 2014 – DAYTON, OH - Profound Logic Software is pleased to announce the release of Profound UI 4.8. Profound UI is an integrated suite of tools that makes modernizing green-screen applications and developing new web and mobile applications easy. Profound Logic was the first company to provide a handler for RPG Open Access, and continues to offer the most native, open and standards-based modernization solutions available.

This release brings a number of powerful new features and capabilities to the platform, including:

• Support for Independent Auxiliary Storage Pools (IASP)
• 'Alias' Descriptive Field Names
• Browser detection flags
• Full Support for Internet Explorer 11
• New JavaScript API and Events

Modern RPG Development with Aliases

The Profound Logic development team focused on adding capabilities to version 4.8 that support modern RPG coding techniques. "RPG is a vibrant, modern coding language," explains Profound Logic CEO, Alex Roytman. "We believe that modern applications begin with modern code and development practices, and we're excited to give developers the tools they need to get more from their code than they may know is possible."

One of the new features that support modern development in version 4.8 is the use of descriptive field names through the use of Aliases. This feature makes it easy for developers to write self-explanatory modern code.

Traditionally, when a developer needed to use descriptive field names for database and display file programming, they had to manually code long name Aliases. This process can be tedious, and most developers have instead chosen to deal with the 10-character limitations that the system imposes when Aliases are not used. This is one reason RPG has been viewed as legacy and less modern than other languages.

In version 4.8, developers can start using long descriptive field names and let the development environment worry about the creation of all the necessary Aliases. The process becomes transparent and encourages best practices when it comes to writing new RPG code.

Alex Roytman and IBM Champion Brian May will cover this feature and other best practices for modern development in the February 12th Webcast, "See What i Can Do with Modern RPG Development." They will be joined by Barbara Morris, Lead Developer at IBM. Click here to register for the Webcast.

Using Descriptive Field Names in the Profound UI Visual Designer (Click for larger image)

Enhancing the Development Experience

Developers will find many other features in Profound UI 4.8 that enhance their development experience and make modernizing applications easier:

• The newest release adds complete support for IASPs, allowing database-driven widgets to load data that is stored on an IASP


• Developers can also take advantage of new JavaScript API and new JavaScript events that have been made available in Profound UI 4.8. For example, developers can retrieve and display information about the data presented in a grid, such as the total number of records.


• The latest Internet Explorer release, IE11, brought along major changes to the browser. Profound UI 4.8 is now completely compatible with IE11.


• Browser detection flags are now an embedded toolset within Profound UI. This enables developers to detect the browsers that serve up their applications, so that they can customize the end-user experience or prompt users to upgrade their browsers if needed.

Profound UI 4.8 is available to try for 30 days at no cost. You can download the trial at: http://info.profoundlogic.com/acton/media/4569/try-profound-ui-ibmi-as400-iseries-modernization

For a complete list of features in this and other versions of Profound UI, visit: http://www.profoundlogic.com/docs/display/PUI/What%27s+New