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Jon Bradley
Software Engineer |
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ome programmers continually experiment with new languages and feel comfortable using multiple languages, even on the same
day. I am not one of those people. I have always regarded myself as a language monogamist. In the same way that some
people can chart their lives by the music albums they listened to in different periods of their lives, I can divide my life
into stages based on the language in which I programmed. As a young rookie, I programmed in QBasic, then C. Somewhere in
college I began to experiment, going from C to PERL. After a summer job tricked me into switching from PERL to Java, I thought
Java was my “one and only - ‘til death us do part.”
My Confession
Well I was wrong. Over the course of several years as a BASIS Java engineer, BBj® began to move ahead and take its place as my
second workhorse language. It all came as a bit of a surprise, but often BBj was the fastest way I could think of to implement
some random application, be it a test harness, or a mortgage calculator. In many ways, BBj meets or beats Java by providing a
sophisticated environment, an easy to use GUI, and some great development tools. This makes sense when you stop to think about
it. BASIS wrote BBj in Java. The BBj project has many hundreds of thousands of lines of code; many of which specify
improvements in Java functionality, or simplify tasks that are more difficult in Java.
At TechCon2006, an attendee asked me “If I don’t have any old PRO/5® code or data and if I’m starting from scratch, why would
I use BBj instead of just using Java?” It then occurred to me that we do not highlight the improvements BBj makes upon Java.
So, I took the mission upon myself to do just that – expose, in this article, the many ways that developing in BBj is BETTER
than or AS good as developing in Java.
Simpler Code
In many cases, BBj code is simpler and shorter than Java. For instance, compare the standard Hello program
in BBj (Figure 1) with Java (Figure 2):
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Figure 1. HelloName.src code sample in BBj |
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Figure 2. HelloName.src code sample in Java |
An even more revealing example is in a small GUI application illustrated in the next two figures. Compare the incredibly large
amount of complex Java code in Figure 3 with the smaller amount and far simpler BBj code in Figure
4. Two very different programs, one almost triple the size of the other, result in identical output.
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Figure 3. Pushme code written in Java to create the sample GUI output |
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Figure 4. Pushme code written in BBj to create the sample GUI output |
As you can see from these small examples, the BBj code in Figure 4 is more succinct. BBj provides a host of
language functionalities that other languages, such as Java, typically leave to the developer. For instance, Databound GUI
controls make the process of displaying and updating table/file information significantly less complicated in BBj.
Objects
An area in which BBj used to lag was its object oriented capabilities. No more. BBj 6.0 introduces custom objects that provide the developer with a robust object
system. In addition to custom objects, BBj has always been able to embed Java objects including the extensive core libraries,
or custom Java classes.
Database Management System
Out of the box, Java does not provide any keyed table or file types or database capabilities. BBj, however, provides
transaction tracking, extremely fast keyed look-ups, table/file locking, and full DBMS functionality. BBj provides SQL access
via both the SELECT verb, and JDBC/ODBC access. As of version 6.0, BBj provides triggers and stored procedures to ease implementation of a host of
data-centric issues. In addition, both trigger and stored procedure logic is coded with the BBj language.
Deployment Choices
Using 3-tier BASIS architecture, developers can deploy BBj
in many different ways. Thin Client allows the data and processing to occur on a remote server, while the GUI or CUI
presentation occurs on the client machine. Deploying through Web Start can update client machines automatically with the
latest BBj.
Interactive Interpreter
In BBj, the developer can debug/edit a running application within our fully interactive interpreter. This greatly speeds
development and maintenance of applications due to the ability to load or run arbitrary code at the command prompt. There
simply is no >READY prompt in Java. For many of our developers this feature has been the essential enabler for delivering
exceptional end-user support and troubleshooting capability.
Program Format
BBj can load or save both ASCII and tokenized programs. Furthermore, a developer can load a program as ASCII and save it as
tokenized, or vice versa. In Java, not only is the source program always flat text, (with a required .java extension), but
Java can only run a compiled .class file. BBj also provides SAVEP protection to protect your source code from prying eyes.
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Figure 5. Configuring a database using the BASIS IDE |
Developer Tools
BASIS facilitates development of applications with the BASIS IDE as shown in
Figure 5. From within the IDE, you can edit and debug programs,
configure Data
Dictionary tables/files, create resource files to specify GUI forms, view data within
BASIS-keyed tables/files, or quickly create full applications using AppBuilder.
Developer Support
Anyone active on the BBj developer list knows that BASIS provides very responsive support to developers. While Java does have
a developers’ forum, you can measure responsiveness to a bug report in ‘months.’ BASIS often provides turnaround from a
support and sales standpoint the same day. Our engineering department frequently incorporates suggestions from the development
community in upcoming releases.
Summary
So, it is no secret that I still program in Java, but there are so many situations where BBj’s interactive interpreter, easy
table/file access, and GUI system make it the easiest language to use. The BASIS IDE allows me to create GUI screens and full
applications faster than I could in Java. With backward compatibility to legacy Visual PRO/5® code and data, BBj certainly has
its own share of strengths when standing up against Java. I guess this does make me a language polygamist…enjoying the best of
both worlds.
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