07.12.2004
The solution for the IT requirements of the future.
New development tool with unlimited possibilities.

Framework Systems, a new software company, has something RADically different to offer you. Superlative Rapid Application Development is what this software manufacturer promises to deliver with its innovative new development tool, Framework Studio. Designed to give you the functions you need for speedy, reliable software development, it also meets the increasingly complex demands of modern applications.

In the past millennium, small and medium-size companies simply wanted a standard software, and were even prepared to adapt their own business processes to the software. Nowadays, however, all that has changed: today two centimeters thick product requirement specifications lie on the table. The desires of the users increased just as drastically as the functions of the programs. And the individual element of software products – already enormous – is set to increase even further. The result? The software currently available on the market is bound to reach its limits some time soon. There is an urgent need for much more efficient tools based on an entirely different technology. One of the important challenges in creating these tools will be to accommodate individual solutions without departing from the standard. Furthermore, satellite offices and traveling employees need to be able to access their company’s chosen system from anywhere in the world, preferably via Internet. All of which, needless to say, will have to function smoothly under widely disparate conditions, including the heterogeneous environments of clients and operating systems: this user works with a PC, that user prefers a Mac, this person wants to use his mobile, that person likes a PDA. And the more complex the applications, the greater the cost of maintenance and Quality Assurance. Just how will software development keep up with all these demands in the future?

The answer to new challenges

A completely new development tool is needed to meet the demands of tomorrow’s software. It will have to be highly efficient and capable of staying the course over the entire application software lifecycle – from the development itself to customization at the customer’s premises through to maintenance and servicing. A simple, fast way of processing updates will also be required. The ability to accommodate new technologies such as .NET, C#, XML and Web Services will be essential, as will be full browser compatibility, platform independence, multi-language functionality, the capacity to support mobile end appliances and consistently Internet/Intranet-oriented features. Java or Linux integratability will be indispensable. Tomorrow’s software architecture will have strictly separate database, logic and visualization layers and any development tool worth its name will have to be capable of reproducing this structure.

The future of development

A modern development tool must facilitate fast, efficient, error-free programming. Object-oriented technique is essential. Developers also need to be set free from the time-consuming task of having to write programs line by line. This is work that can be done by intelligent tools such as Editors and Designers. Clearly defined structures such as namespaces and metadata types must provide orientation and ensure the homogeneity of the development. Object-related archiving of all data in a repository would make child’s play of any subsequent amendments. And a source and version control function would make it possible even for large teams to work simultaneously on the same application development.

Over three years ago, German software manufacturer Nissen & Velten was looking for a high-performance development tool to meet all these specifications. The plan was to use just such a tool to develop the new generation of the company’s own ERP software solution, SQL-Business.

The future is now

“We found that the .NET tools available were low-level systems not capable of meeting our needs. So, in 2001, we decided to make a start on developing our own tool”, explains Managing Director, Jörg Nissen. The result is Framework Studio, “the first really high-performance development software for .NET technology”. Keen to exploit this head start while other suppliers were still way behind in relation to .NET, Jörg Nissen and Günter Velten set up Framework Systems GmbH. The company went into business developing and selling Framework Studio in August 2004, aiming to make its software available to other developers confronted with the same kind of problems. “Framework Studio is the first development tool by application developers for application developers”: That is how Managing Director Jörg Nissen sums up the know-how to which Framework Systems now has unlimited access – because the 15 years of development experience acquired by Nissen & Velten Software GmbH is obviously fully available to its new sister company.

Framework Systems’ partners are also delighted with Framework Studio. Training courses have been up and running since June 2004 to ensure that a wide dealer network will be ready in time for the market launch at the end of the year. The program should also have obtained .NET-certification from Microsoft by then.

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