As I usually tell my clients when they ask questions like this - part of the problem is that until you have tried to build a few web apps you don’t really know what questions to ask. And you haven’t told what, if any, experience you have. That said ...
There are so many tools to chose between you probably need to use some broad categorization criterial first.
Because you don’t currently interact with the Java folks doesn’t mean you shouldn’t in the future. Many RPGers I have met (myself included) are dreadful at UI design - too many years of thinking inside little green boxes! You are probably going to need GUI design help.
One basic question you need to answer: Do you plan to repurpose existing RPG green-screen apps or are you only building new ones?
Repurposing would normally narrow your field to the Open Access based tools such as openlook, ProfoundUI, Ansa’s Wings, Rocket’s LegaSuite, and others I can’t recall.
If that is the direction you go then other criteria may play a role. For example, openlook and Wings both use a Windows server as part of the process. Wings will tie you into the world of .Net - that may be desirable depending on what other systems are in use in-house. Profound is the only one I know of that is all native. Not sure about LegaSuite.
If you want to build new applications that will never have a green screen component then the range is huge (including most of the tools already mentioned), but there are some other considerations that may impact your choice. Here’s just a few thoughts:
- Is mobile part of the picture? Some tools, Lansa LongRange for example, are for mobile only. Others, like CNX’s Valence has strong mobile support but also can build conventional web apps.
- What are your Java developers using? If as seems likely it is JSPs then a product that uses a JSP/ASP type approach might be a good idea. Icebreak from System and Method is in that category as is one of the tools from Profound. I _think_ Asna have one that is ASP-like but not sure.
- Are your developers familiar with the idea of application frameworks (your Java folks probably are) - if so one free options would be Renaissance. But others would include tools like Valence and powerExt just to name two.
I would suggest that you try to narrow the field based on these kinds of criteria. Get basic price quotes from those vendors, and then narrow the field to a couple that fit within your broad budget range. Understand that a cheaper tool will probably come with less free education and handholding so you might want to get an idea of how much the “extras” like that will cost. Also remember that some products will have a run-time licence so watch out for what your ongoing costs will be. Visit the vendor’s web sites and look for free video presentations of what the tools can do - most of them have them along with recorded webcasts.
Pick two (or three if you have time) and install the demo version. Give it a test drive and see what you think. See if it “feels right” to you. I often find it useful to then attempt to quickly teach what I’ve learned to others on the team - it often helps cement my own ideas.
Back in 2003 I was part of producing a series of articles on the general subject of modernization - part 1 is here:
http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/ibmi/developer/modernization/From-Green-to-Dream/ and contains links to the other parts. It is more than 10 years old so things have of course changed, but many of the decision points are still the same so it might be worth a read.
I also often tell clients that they should accept that one tool may not address all of their needs. What will work best for you when first get started may not work for you longer term.
Last but not least - have you read the relevant chapters of the Modernization Redbook? If not that is also a good starting point.
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg248185.html?Open
Hope this helps.
Jon Paris
www.partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com
On Nov 2, 2014, at 5:16 AM, Gad Miron <gadmiron@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello pundits
I'm to come up with cost estimate for a GUI (modern?) interface tool
for next year budget .
I know there are several commercial tools around but I find it hard to
compare them
(i.e is Profound UI's method preferable to ASNA's)
We are a small RPG/Java shop (4 RPG programmers 3 Java)
but we do not intermix.
My immediate concern is to set a budget for the pilot project but I have to
decide
on the right course first.
I would greatly appreciate your advice regarding the tools, methods,
costs etc.
Thanks
Gad
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