Consultor Eletrônico

V6 Product Descriptions and their Target Audiences


*** DRAFT COPY -- Under review and edit 4/21/94 ***


INTRODUCTION
============

This Knowledgebase Entry has two purposes. The first is
to detail the difference between PROGRESS PADS, 4GL & RDBMS,
QUERY/REPORT, Developer's Toolkit, FAST TRACK, and RUN-TIME
licenses. The second is to describe the different audiences
that Version 6 PROGRESS products typically address.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
====================

Below is a description of some key Version 6 PROGRESS
products/licenses. (Note that this list is not complete.)


PROGRESS PADS
-------------

PROGRESS PADS consists of the PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS product
with the addition of a PROGRESS product called FAST TRACK -
a front-end, non-procedural application builder that generates
4GL code to speed and ease the screen creation, report generation,
and prototyping phases of development. The PROGRESS 4GL &
RDBMS product is made up of a fourth-generation language (and
compiler) that is tightly coupled with a relational database
management system. Three other components are incorporated
into the 4GL & RDBMS product: a data dictionary for storing
data definitions, an editor that checks syntax, and a
formatter that generates screens and reports.

Several additional features of the PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS
product include the ability to call existing C libraries
in order to interface with specialized hardware (such as
a barcode reader). These features are referred to as HLC,
which stands for Host Language Call Interface.

NOTE: HLI/C is different from HLC. HLI/C stands for Host Language
Interface for the C language, and is purchased as an add-on product
to either PROGRESS PADS or PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS. HLI/C allows a C
program to access a PROGRESS database through SQL statements embedded
in the C program.

The PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS product also allows the use of
positional arguments in sub-procedures as parameters which
compile "on the fly". (This is because it has a full compiler.)

The PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS product can also be used with
the Encrypted Compiler Mode (-rx) startup option to compile
encrypted code. Even though a customer might be developing
their own application, they might also want to run a VAR's
application (who may only supply encrypted code). Encrypted
code is created by the developer through the use of the PROGRESS
Developer's Toolkit.

All these features and components make up the PROGRESS
4GL & RDBMS product. This product is shipped with a full
documentation set.


PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS
--------------------

The Progress 4GL & RDBMS license is the same fourth-generation
language and relational database management system that
is found in the PROGRESS PADS product. The only difference
is that it does not include PROGRESS FAST TRACK.


PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT (also called QUERY/RUNTIME)
-------------------------------------------------

The PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT license consists of PROGRESS
RESULTS plus most of the capabilities of the PROGRESS 4GL
& RDBMS product. However, it doesn't include features that
allow updates to the database, thus supressing the display
of some PROGRESS RESULTS menu items that are visible with the
PROGRESS PADS or PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS products. The PROGRESS
QUERY/REPORT product also includes the Report Writer portion
of PROGRESS FAST TRACK.

PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT is used in conjunction with an existing
application and database usually supplied by a VAR or other
software vendor. Customers with a PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT
license generally receive their software vendor's application
either in the form of run-code (.r) files or they can generate
.r files by compiling encrypted code. However, procedure
(.p) files can be given and subsequently updated and compiled
by the end-users given that the newly added code does not
UPDATE the database in any way (for example, DELETE, CREATE,
UPDATE). Hence the name "QUERY" in the product name. The
4GL capabilities provided also includes the ability to
use positional arguments in sub-procedures as parameters
which compile "on the fly" (given that the procedures do
not update the database).

PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT is not shipped with a full documentation
set. It is shipped with 4GL related manuals, but no system
administration manuals. The assumption is that the vendor
supplying maintenance for the application would provide
instructions for startup options, backup procedures, etc.


PROGRESS DEVELOPER'S TOOLKIT
----------------------------

The PROGRESS Developer's Toolkit provides a software vendor
with the ability to port applications to a number of new
machine environments. Having the PROGRESS Developer's
Toolkit encrypt an application's source code permits the
encrypted code to be taken to any PROGRESS platform for
compilation. The target system can be running PROGRESS
4GL & RDBMS, PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT or PROGRESS RUN-TIME.
(Starting a PROGRESS session with the -rx startup option
grants access to the compiler for compiling encrypted code
only.) Additional utilities for deploying an application come with
the PROGRESS Developer's Toolkit.

Encryption brings great economies to the process of porting to
new systems. This product is used most often by PROGRESS Partners
(VARs) and other software vendors who are developing PROGRESS
applications that are to be run on various hardware platforms.

The PROGRESS Developer's Toolkit Documentation explains the
deployment process and how to use the encryption utility.


PROGRESS FAST TRACK
-------------------

PROGRESS FAST TRACK is a menu-driven application builder that
speeds prototyping and makes PROGRESS easier to use. It provides
a what-you-see is what-you-get (WYSIWYG) type screen painter,
a tool to build and link menus, a report writer, and a facility
for making query-by-form searches of the database.

Experienced PROGRESS developers find FAST TRACK speeds up proto-
typing large portions of an application, such as designing the
screens and reports and creating and linking the menus. FAST
TRACK also makes it easier to add new functions to existing
PROGRESS applications.

NOTE: PROGRESS FAST TRACK requires PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS.

Documentation includes FAST TRACK User's Guide and FAST TRACK
Tutorial.


PROGRESS RUN-TIME
-----------------

The PROGRESS Run-Time license is the most basic license
you can purchase. End users are the most common purchasers
of this license. It consists of the database, and can only
be run with a pre-existing application (usually written
by a VAR). The only way that a PROGRESS Run-Time user can
alter the data is if the VAR's application incorporates
this capability in its functionality (e.g., ability to
create records). Unlike the PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT license,
.p code cannot be altered to give additional query capabilities
to a supplied application.

The Query and Run-Time licenses are generally sold to users
by VARs who wish to deploy their applications to customers
who will use PROGRESS as an end-user rather than as a developer.
This serves to protect the database and reduce costs for
a VAR's potential customer.

PROGRESS Run-Time is not shipped with any documentation.
It is expected that the vendor supplying maintenance for
the application will provide instructions for startup options,
backup procedures, etc.


AUDIENCE OVERVIEW
=================

There are 3 audiences that the PROGRESS products and corresponding
licenses address:

o Developers
o Experienced Users
o End Users

Developers generally purchase either a PROGRESS PADS license
or a PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS license. In addition, they may
also want PROGRESS RESULTS for developing reports quickly.
Lastly, developers who are developing applications to be
deployed on a DIFFERENT platform need to purchase a PROGRESS
Toolkit license, which enables them to deploy their applications
to different platforms. They may also be interested in
PROGRESS FAST TRACK.

Experienced users that won't be developing applications
but have some programming experience are usually sold PROGRESS
QUERY/REPORT licenses. With PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT, a user
can have reports generated on his/her behalf, or the user
can write his/her own reports with PROGRESS's 4GL, provided
the reports query the database only. (No updates, etc.,
are allowed.)

If an experienced user requires the ability to perform
system administration functionality on the database or
customize forms, then PROGRESS RESULTS can be purchased
instead of PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT to provide the update
capabilities. However, this would also require the purchase
of at least one PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS license. (PROGRESS
RESULTS is a layered product that runs with either a PROGRESS
PADS or a PROGRESS 4GL & RDBMS license. PROGRESS QUERY/REPORT
is bundled with a portion of PROGRESS's 4GL and does not
require the purchase of a PROGRESS PADS or PROGRESS 4GL
& RDBMS license.)

The typical end user is usually sold a Run-Time license.
This gives them the ability to run applications that are
typically written by someone else (for example, a VAR).
The Run-Time license does not give its end users access
to the data dictionary, the editor (except when compiling
encrypted code), or the PROGRESS 4GL language. Therefore,
Run-Time license users can query the database only, and
they cannot create, update or delete entries in the database
unless these capabilities are provided through the VAR's
PROGRESS application.

Progress Software Technical Support Note # 13017