HP wants to put its best foot forward in advance of the march to HP World later this month, so the HP 3000 division wants to release the Express 3 version of MPE/iX 5.5 before its customers gather in Chicago. The release was set to be Manufacturing Released (MR'd, in HP terms) in the week before the Aug. 25-28 conference, but who will actually be receiving it by showtime is anybody's guess -- since it takes about a week or so to get tapes out to customers once they order it. However, HP database lab chief Jon Bale will be able to announce to customers at the Chicago SIGIMAGE meeting that it's already shipping, regardless of who has actually installed the software.
We mention Bale because some parts of Express 3 have been in testing for months, like the much-anticipated b-tree indices that HP has been designing and developing during the last two years. B-tree indices can produce results up to 600 percent faster than TurboIMAGE databases without them, according to beta tester Gary Biggs of the SIGIMAGE Executive Committee. Support for the new feature runs the gamut -- Robelle's Suprtool will support it "not long after release" and Bradmark's DBGENERAL is supporting it in a beta-test version 7.2. Bradmark's Jerry Fochtman said his company will wait awhile after b-trees ship to expand its test group before going to a full production release. Meanwhile, Adager will be giving customers a look at how full support behaves for the feature at its booth at HP World, because the database utility supplier will support b-trees from Day One.
Also included in the release are the long-awaited ODBC driver to support 32-bit clients, ODBCLink/SE. While customers must still navigate the complexity of Allbase/SQL and its attach/detach challenges, the software will finally give IMAGE/SQL customers a way to use things like Crystal Reports and Access 97 to tap their databases with both read and write capability. That capability is becoming more commonplace -- and much simpler and faster, by some reports -- if you're willing to buy a third party tool to do the job. Other benefits that are part of Express 3 include the LISTF and PAUSE enhancements delayed from Express 2, support for 100-megabit networking and the software to use a new DDS tape drive autoloader. In all, it's a nice jolt of productivity for an operating environment crossing the quarter-century mark. (See our September issue for more details.)
Manufacturing isn't a former HP 3000 strength yet
Despite receding reliability from newer releases of CA's MANMAN and
more plentiful
choices on alternative platforms, customers are still relying on HP 3000s
to manage
manufacturing operations. That makes the upcoming SIGMANMAN/Choices meeting
at HP
World a good place to get updated on how to update manufacturing solutions
for your
HP 3000s. Terry Floyd, whose company
specializes in supporting MANMAN customers on
the 3000 platform, has corralled opposing vendors in both the application and
middleware arenas into making presentations and answer questions during the
10AM
Tuesday meeting. Most SIGs don't get such a prime slot in the show, and
Floyd says that
"StarVision and Minisoft compete for
middleware space, and Quantum and Advacate
compete for applications space in the MANMAN market." Finding client-server
support
with solutions like those from Quantum or Advacate can be a lifeline for HP
3000
manufacturing applications, while companies like Floyd's Support Group
provide onsite
implementation, offsite support, customization and enhancement. Pick
everybody's brain
and get ideas at the SIG meeting. You can get the latest MANMAN information
from a new
HP MANMAN Compatible Products
Web page, hosted by Cortlandt Software. The page features third-party
software products that work
with MANMAN. The site expands on the listings in the Third Party Resource
Guide from
CAMUS (the MANMAN user group).
Another group of manufacturing customers wants to make headway on
improving
their 3000 application. MM II still needs help in working with products
like the
middleware from Minisoft, and future MM enhancements will likely be
transferred to
eXegeSys, a HP Choices VAR based in Salt Lake City. Paul Dorius of the VAR
said that
HP's strategy of putting vertical solutions like manufacturing in the hands
of channel
partners, instead of selling them itself, means that "the only way to
include MM-II within
HP's clearly articulated strategy is to transition the products into the
channel. Our
agreements with HP will allow you to retain the solutions you are already
using and be
able to gain advancements." The MM II SIG meets Tuesday evening at 6PM at
HP World.
WRQ goes Active soon with Reflection
WRQ is ready to ship a version of its Reflection connectivity software for HP 3000s that makes strong use of Active X to enhance client capabilities. WRQ says its Active Document Support, an extension of Microsoft's Active X, will make it easier for corporate users to activate Reflection from within a browser shell. Reflection 6.0 for HP will give users on Windows 95 and Windows NT the ability access an HP 3000 host from inside a browser. The connectivity model suggested by the WRQ product stays away from thinner clients and the Java support that it will offer in a Java-based Reflection by the end of the year. Instead, it sticks with full functionality of the Reflection client, linking Reflection setting files to Web pages. And WRQ will be showing off its new Hot Spots technology as part of the solution at HP World, something that provides graphical elements for HP 3000 applications without programming. And you can jump back and forth between Web pages and an HP terminal inside the same browser. WRQ is targeting a September ship date. (See our September issue for more details)
SIGWEB will be looking for answers from HP in Chicago
Members of the Web Special Interest Group will have a meeting of the minds with HP's Daren Connor and others from CSY at the HP World meeting in Chicago. Line up at 6PM Tuesday evening for a couple of hours' discussion on Web topics in general -- and perhaps even an HP announcement on the replacement product for the dropped Open Market solution. SIGWEB co-chair Joe Geiser -- whose own Web site is hosted with today's only commercially supported MPE solution for Web service, QWEBS -- will be leading the meeting, having reported to SIGWEB members already that "The HP 3000 can do whatever a Unix server can do in the Web arena, and do it quite well." The sting over Open Market's departure may well be receding by late August. In July Geiser said that "to have OMI pull support out without notice is, in my opinion, unethical and improper -- but it won't stop us, nor will it stop others who use their HP 3000 as a fine Internet enabled platform." You can visit Geiser's Web page for SIGWEB issues at http://web1.csillc.com/sigweb if you're not coming to Chicago. Browse by and complete the survey to show how you plan to use your 3000 with a Web server.
HP shuffled its CSY team again
Never a stone that gathers much moss, HP's 3000 division changed its marketing manager during July, when incumbent Cathy Fitzgerald departed for "a good opportunity" in the Enterprise Netserver Operation, the part of HP that promotes Windows NT as an enterprise-grade solution. Replacing Fitzgerald during the first week of August is Roy Breslewski, arriving from HP's Handheld Division operations in Singapore. The 3000 division, as it has for the past four years, continues to be the place to groom HP's fastest-moving managers.
IPROF is alive, but shorter than last year
After some months of scrutiny, HP and Interex announced the continuation of the conference formerly known at the Interex Programmer's Forum. Renamed the MPE Programmer's Forum, the set of meetings (there's never been any vendor show) is currently scheduled for March 19-21, and still promises to be the most 3000-specific set of discussions about HP 3000 capabilities and development plans, usually featuring HP engineers airing in-progress projects such as b-trees and middleware efforts. Interex has posted a loss on the conference during the last two years, and the 3000 division's GM Harry Sterling has said his group isn't getting as big a return on their time as they hoped, so the affair moves from four days to three. At HP World you might attend to learn something, but at the MPE Programmer's Forum you go to offer advice on projects still in development. For more information on the conference at the Cupertino, Calif. Radisson Hotel, contact Leah Robertson at 800.INTEREX or 408.747.0227.
A better development bundle for MPE/iX might surface yet
Although it's unlikely that HP will create a hardware solution smaller than its current Series 918 systems for fledgling developers, we've heard the push for a "908" class of HP 3000 is leading to more discounts on software licensing and support for developers. HP has explained that any money spent on a Series 908 would simply have to come out of already committed projects -- there's no magic pot of marketing money to tap to create a system that could well generate applications for the HP 3000. While there's no promises on the table yet, HP is apparently discussing longer-term support contracts for a lower fee as well as lowering other software pricing. HP likes to discuss this topic at the SIGCONSULT meetings, so look for a report on the progress at HP World's meeting from Kriss Rant at 6PM Wednesday.
3000 development gets a lift from two suppliers this month
Development gets easier on HP 3000s this month as Robelle and Whisper Technology offer their GUI-based programming suites for MPE/iX code-cutters. Robelle is uncapping Qedit for Windows this month, while UK-based Whisper offers the Whisper Programmer Studio. The Whisper Programmer Studio is expected to ship by Sept. 30 a suite that edits, compiles and links programs on a remote server. Whisper says its product can be customized for any language with predefined templates for C, COBOL, Pascal and Powerhouse; its specific HP 3000 support includes COBOL copy libraries, QEDIT and other native file formats. Whisper reported a demo of its product would be available from its Web site on Aug. 18. Robelle acknowledges its Qedit for Windows must match the robust standard the company set through years of products for HP 3000s and more recently 9000s. Its Windows product will edit local MPE/iX and HP-UX files from a single Windows program, using a Windows editing client and an MPE/iX or HP-UX editing server. QWIN is a totally new editor, written especially for Windows users. Robelle will unveil its product at HP World; it was working through a second alpha test phase at presstime.