The development momentum at BASIS has never been greater, and the BBj® technology is enabling developers to accomplish things that we never-before imagined with Business BASIC.

In the BASIS tradition we are providing a transition to our latest product offering, and therefore Java technology, by designing our new Java-based products to work with our older products. To this end, we have ensured that PRO/5® and BBj components can work together so you can move your application forward in a planned and staged approach. This limits the normal risks associated with new application development. In this issue, the Tech Resource Zone (TRZ) explains how Customers can take advantage of features in BBj - and even share files - without having to upgrade existing PRO/5 or Visual PRO/5® applications. This discussion is a good example of the BASIS philosophy in action.

The File Maintenance Utility (FMU) is a solid option which allows you to get quick GUI inquiries from your exiting BBx® data, without re-writing your existing application. The FMU extends the strength of the Grid Management Library (GML) to deliver a robust, yet easy-to-use grid development environment. The ease of developing views with the FMU, combined with the power of Microsoft Terminal Services, rapidly extends the functionality of Visual PRO/5 to the desktop and handheld devices. Visual PRO/5-based applications run nicely in the latest versions of Microsoft Terminal Services, providing another option for deployment in the Win32 environment. See this issue's article on Microsoft Terminal Services and Visual PRO/5.

BBj Rev. 2.0 is a major move forward in BASIS's product development with a host of new features and improved performance. Our new Java BBjBridge allows you to call BBj directly from Java code and exchange information with existing BASIS applications. Transactions and journaling are now a part of the BBj file system, and the new IDE is a more powerful and consolidated development tool.

Rev 2.01 of BBj and Rev 4.0 of Visual PRO/5 are in development now and scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year. The pace of change has accelerated, and throughout this acceleration, BASIS has remained on the leading edge in creating valuable Business Application Development tools.

George Hight