Press Release Summary: Build AJAX-powered enterprise applications faster than any other developer tool. Alpha Software is now shipping Alpha Five Platinum Edition, the ninth major release of the companyÕs flagship Web database development platform. ItÕs the first development tool that can visually build AJAX-powered applications, integrate SQL databases with drag+drop simplicity, and deliver enterprise-scale availability, without having to write pages of computer code.
Press Release Body: Press contact: Kate@GregoryFCA.com Company contact: Richard@AlphaSoftware.com
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ALPHA FIVE PLATINUM BRINGS AJAX TO THE ENTERPRISE
Build AJAX-powered enterprise applications faster than any other developer tool
BURLINGTON, Mass.Sept 14, 2008ÑAlpha Software is now shipping Alpha Five Platinum Edition, the ninth major release of the companyÕs flagship Web database development platform. ItÕs the first development tool that can visually build AJAX-powered applications, integrate SQL databases with drag+drop simplicity, and deliver enterprise-scale availability, without having to write pages of computer code.
And while coding is optional, Alpha FiveÕs integrated development environment (IDE) still gives developers full access to forms, interactive reports, browses, Web components, APIs, XML, and more. ItÕs packed with 200 reusable ActionScripts, ÒSupercontrols,Ó HTML and CSS builders, the full Xbasic/Xdialog language, Portable SQL, and ÒGeniesÓ that generate editable code for any custom requirement.
ThereÕs also a full-featured custom report generator (with drill-down support), a role-based Web security framework, and native SQL support for every major databaseÑincluding Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, IBM DB2, and EnterpriseDB/Postgres Plus.
ÒBuilding state-of-the-art business applications for the Web just got faster and easier,Ó says Richard Rabins, Co-Chairman of Alpha Software. ÒWith Alpha Five Platinum, you can build 100 percent pure Internet and intranet apps that look, feel, and perform like desktop applications. And with Alpha, you can build them up to 10 times faster than .Net, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, or Ruby. We think developers will agree that Alpha Five Platinum is the ultimate front-end for their enterprise data.Ó
Alpha Five Platinum boasts 85 new features, key among them: # AJAX for everyone. Alpha Five Platinum is the first development tool that makes it easy to build AJAX-powered Web applications. Extensive knowledge of JavaScript, XML, or an AJAX framework is not required. AJAX applications are built in a fraction of the time other tools require. One of the hottest development technologies today, AJAX allows developers to ship applications that behave and perform interactively, like desktop apps. Users donÕt have to click SUBMIT buttons to get feedback or flag data entry errors. Instead, they interact in real-time with the online screen, just as they do with offline desktop apps. But building AJAX apps has been a complex process for developers, with a steep learning curve. Now, with Alpha Five Platinum, the learning curve is gone, and the process has been simplified to a drag+drop operation. No other developer tool builds AJAX apps faster. # Application Server Improvements, including a new Cluster Manager for automatic load balancing and unattended fail-over of enterprise-class database applications; GZIP compression to turbo-charge data transfer performance; Persistent Connections to optimize network traffic and improve latency; and Pipelining to more efficiently fetch batches of files from the server (such as embedded style sheets and images). # Active Link Tables that turn several SQL databases into one. Just a few clicks links multiple SQL databasesÑincluding those with stored proceduresÑinto virtual tables, complete with insert, delete, and update support. Developers can build Forms, Browses, Reports, Labels, Letters, and more against distributed SQL data, as if they were native tables. # Interactive Reporting that allow for drilling down or drilling through data to provide business intelligence. # Mapped Tables that allow developers to define virtual tables that display data from one or more physical tables. # Heterogeneous Joins, which allow developers to join tables from multiple SQL database servers, or a server and a local table, within the same query. # Intelligent Query Optimizer that achieves optimal performance by determining where filtering and sorting should be done: on the client or on the server. # Optimistic Record Locking lets multiple users view and edit the same database record, without locking anyone out. # Supercontrols that let developers embed hyperlinks, Web content, clocks, calendars, PDFs, live reports, and more in their database forms, with point and click ease. # HTML forms that include regular HTML tags and as well as customized Alpha Five tags: accordion, tab, conditional, dynamic content, and image). # XML Parser that can be used as a more capable alternative to the Microsoft XML parser. With the Alpha XML parser developers get have the power of Xbasic string functions for manipulating XML data. They can more easily extract and transform information; and add, change, and reorder elements and attributes. # HTML Memo Fields that offer more formatting power than RTF (rich text) memos, and support rich media types, such as images, videos, and hyperlinks. # Enhanced Field Rules allow lookup windows to display images, be resized or edited, or have new values added. # And much more.
In all, Alpha Five Platinum sports 85 new or enhanced features. The complete set of new features in Alpha Five Platinum can be reviewed at http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafive/platinum/. Insights into Alpha Five PlatinumÕs new features are being posted daily to the companyÕs blog, at http://blog.alphasoftware.com. Each posting covers one feature, and provides a description and demo video that illustrates how the feature is used, and the benefits the feature brings to developers. The latest feature listing can be viewed at http://snipr.com/a5v9features.
Alpha Five Platinum Edition is available now. Pricing starts at $299.00 for an upgrade from an earlier version. Complete pricing information is available at http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafive/platinum/index.asp. A 30-day unlimited trial version of Alpha Five Platinum can be downloaded at http://www.alphasoftware.com/trial/platinum/index.asp.
ABOUT ALPHA SOFTWARE INC. Since 1982, Alpha Software has been providing developers with award-winning tools that make it easy to rapidly build robust database and business applications. Today over 1 million developers rely on Alpha SoftwareÕs flagship platform, Alpha Five, to build desktop, client-server, distributed, Web 2.0, and AJAX applications for organizations of any sizeÑfrom SOHO to the Fortune 100. Every day, tens of millions of people and businesses rely on applications built in Alpha Five. With the introduction of Alpha Five Version 9 Platinum Edition in 2008, Alpha Software set new standards for speed of development, portability, reporting, and security for database applications of all stripes. The company is privately held, and based in Burlington, Mass. Alpha Software can be found on the Web at http://www.alphasoftware.com.
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