Watch the lightning session on unlocking legacy IBM i functionality with APIs.

Publish and Execute REST APIs with Visual LANSA EPC150070

Rather than relying on an IIS Plugin to deploy APIs on IBM i , developers can now take advantage of native integration and dynamic routing on IBM i without extra overhead. This change in this low-code platform gives developers the freedom to simplify their workflows to eliminate the need to manage cumbersome plugins and dependencies. Developers can dedicate more time to innovation – experimenting with new ideas and delivering creative solutions faster.

Extended URL Pattern Matching

With the update, developers gain access to extended URL pattern-matching capabilities, which enhance the precision and flexibility of API routing. This means smoother handling of complex URL structures, reduced errors, and a more streamlined development experience. This update enables developers to focus on delivering high-performance applications by improving request accuracy and simplifying routing configurations. Here are the following advantages for developers:

Improved Routing Capabilities

The EPC150070 offers advanced routing mechanisms to allow proper mapping of incoming requests and services or resources. This way, complex URL structures are handled efficiently to reduce the chances of making a mistake and upgrading the end-user experience.

Better Handling of Complicated URL Structures

Managing complex URL patterns is challenging, especially for large applications. The extended pattern-matching capability streamlines request processing by reducing the need for custom routing logic and simplifying how requests are handled within the codebase. It organizes routing configurations more efficiently to allow developers to manage complex URL structures with less effort for a cleaner, more maintainable code and faster request handling.

Request Filtering and Application Server Communication

Effective request filtering makes sure that only valid and authorized requests reach the application server to improve security as well as performance. Also, this leverages the built-in filtering mechanisms of the IBM HTTP Server and Linux Apache module so developers can specify exact rules for incoming requests. It facilitates efficient communication between the web server and the application server to make sure that requests are processed accurately and promptly.

By leveraging these capabilities, developers can create strong APIs that maintain high performance and security standards across various platforms.

Optimized Request Processing

Efficient request handling is crucial to application performance, and this EPC160070 optimizes how requests are handled and routed.

Improved Application Performance

Overhead generated from processing requests is decreased, allowing applications to handle user input faster. With this update, high-traffic applications or those relying on real-time data can expect improved support for higher loads.

Publishing REST APIs on the IBM i Accessed via Apache

One of the major enhancements in Visual LANSA EPC150070 is the move to a plugin-free approach for publishing REST APIs on IBM i. By leveraging native integration with IBM HTTP Server and Linux Apache modules, you can simplify your deployment architecture and eliminate the overhead of external plugins. Here’s how to begin:

Ensure that your IBM i (and any other servers you plan to integrate) meet all required hardware and software specifications. Before performing any upgrades or installations, create backups of your existing configurations so you can quickly restore them if necessary. Follow the instructions in the EPC150070 release notes to update your Visual LANSA environment. Verify successful upgrade by checking your server logs after upgrading to confirm there are no unexpected errors. EPC150070 may be downloaded from the Visual LANSA Support Portal.

Configuration Tips for Optimal Performance

• Enable extended URL pattern matching: Use extended URL pattern matching to route incoming requests exactly. This added setup allows a server to handle complications in the structures of URLs being processed.
• Optimize request processing settings: Adjust the settings to streamline request handling, reduce latency, and improve overall application responsiveness.
• Monitor server performance: Regularly monitor server performance metrics to identify and address potential bottlenecks. Utilize monitoring tools compatible with IBM HTTP Server and Linux Apache module for comprehensive insights.

Best Practices for Deployment and Maintenance

• Regularly apply security and performance patches for IBM HTTP Server or Linux Apache modules to help maintain a secure environment.
• Schedule regular backups of server configurations and data against potential failures.
• Create a separate testing environment to test new configurations or updates before moving them to the production server.
• Maintain detailed documentation of your server configurations and any changes made. This will help you debug and be consistent in every deployment.

Watch the webinar below to learn more about the EPC150070’s benefits.

Take the Next Step with Visual LANSA

Visual LANSA EPC150070 offers a straightforward method of deploying APIs across IBM i (no more plugins required) and other platforms. By integrating with IBM HTTP Server and Linux Apache modules, developers can tap into advanced routing capabilities and optimized request processing. This streamlined architecture aligns with modern trends in APIs, giving you a cross-platform solution that’s agile, easier to maintain, and highly performant.

View a full summary of EPC150070 and its capabilities.

Learn more about how Visual LANSA accelerates development cycles, reduces costs, and integrates with your existing systems. Our experts are ready to help you leverage the full potential of your applications. Contact your Regional Account Manager today to discuss tailored solutions and take full advantage of professional low-code.

The post Optimize API Deployment with Visual LANSA appeared first on LANSA.

Watch our recorded webinar: “Lightning Session – API Development Made Easy.”

Description and Features of RESTful APIs

Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs are the most popular APIs used on the web. They are based on the REST standard, which was created in 2000. REST provides a simple and uniform interface that enables applications to share content through web URLs.

Here are some major features of RESTful APIs:

• Separates the client from the server. REST allows the client and server to be separate and not interdependent. This enables each application to be updated or modified without affecting the other.
• Stateless. Unlike HTTP, REST does not create a session each time the applications need to communicate.
• Uses HTTP protocol and methods. REST uses standard HTTP methods, such as GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE, to manage and retrieve data. The data sent and returned is in a structured JSON format.

Challenges of Traditional API Development

Many companies, however, face significant challenges when developing and deploying APIs. Making your software functionality available to other apps through APIs can be costly and time-prohibitive.

Several significant challenges of API development are:

• Complexity. Because APIs create a communication channel between disparate applications, possibly running on different platforms, API development can be complex and require significant development time and effort to create and maintain.
• Incompatibility between systems. Another major development difficulty is that different software applications may use different data formats, like JSON, CSV, and XML. This can lead to errors and software failures.
• Dependence on third-party developers. Because of the complexity of API development, organizations often outsource API development to third-party developers or use APIs already developed and owned by third parties. This makes organizations dependent on outside agencies to maintain their digital operations.
• Security. Cybersecurity attacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated. Because APIs involve communication between different programs across the web, they present opportunities for attackers to breach the organizations’ security measures and steal data or disrupt business processes.
• Documentation. In order for API integration to work effectively, there must be accurate and up-to-date documentation regarding what to send to each API and what is received. However, documentation, like security, is frequently an afterthought that is tacked on after the development is completed. Often, the available API documentation is out of date or difficult to search and use.

Accelerate Modernization with Easy-to-Implement APIs

Visual LANSA is an excellent professional low-code platform for legacy application modernization. A survey found that companies use an average of almost 1,000 applications, and only 28% of those are integrated [7]. Many of these applications run on legacy platforms like IBM i. They often contain critical data or perform crucial functions like transaction processing. However, many organizations lack the means to integrate these legacy systems at the scale needed by the business.

Legacy applications often run on machines that do not support the high call rate demanded by contemporary mobile applications, IoT systems, and others that consume the data. Additionally, legacy apps often use different languages, file formats, and protocols than newer systems; for example, COBOL instead of Java, flat files instead of relational databases, and FTP instead of HTTP.

Visual LANSA provides seamless integration of disparate systems and file formats within the LANSA environment. It overcomes the challenges of legacy application integration by wrapping legacy application services with RESTful APIs. Business users can easily access the data and services of legacy applications. There is no need to bring aboard programmers skilled in legacy systems or languages.

Visual LANSA also corresponds with modern MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) architecture. It enables the development of scalable and modular solutions that can adapt to changing business needs with its API-first design methodology and through the integration of cloud services without difficulty. The professional low-code environment Visual LANSA offers makes both development and maintenance straightforward enough for teams who might be less experienced in working with distributed systems. Not to mention, its primary advantages include greater flexibility, improved development efficiency, and the ability to produce solid applications that deliver exceptional cross-platform experiences.

Benefits of Professional Low-Code Development for API Creation

Modern low-code environments can dramatically reduce the difficulty and expense of API development. With the right technologies and design, API creation can be relatively quick and affordable.

Professional low-code development enables developers to develop and deploy APIs quickly with intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces and reusable pieces. This means that development teams can therefore focus on higher-level functionality instead of simple, repetitive coding tasks. Research has shown that low-code technologies improve productivity three to ten times more than traditional coding [2]. Further, 90 percent of companies have seen increased productivity by using low-code tools [3].

Professional low-code solutions propel rapid adoption by offering efficiencies and accessibility in creating APIs. Increasingly, organizations are looking to low-code platforms to meet API demands, which will help them integrate at a faster rate across their applications.

The Advantages of Visual LANSA

Visual LANSA is a market-leading application development environment that combines traditional coding and low-code in one integrated development environment. Developers can produce desktop and web applications more efficiently than with other low-code solutions. One significant advantage Visual LANSA offers is the ability to prototype, develop, test, and deploy your entire application, including the complete front and back end, in one environment and using one language. This eliminates the need for multi-stack development teams and makes development fast and inexpensive. This benefit is accessible whether you build applications in Windows, iSeries, or Linux.

Benefits of Visual LANSA for API Development

The tremendous productivity advantages that Visual LANSA provides for your desktop and web application development can now be applied to your API development efforts as well. Visual LANSA is a powerful tool for companies that seek to streamline API development, cut costs and development time, improve communication and data exchanges, and stay competitive in a fast-paced digital environment.

Here are some benefits Visual LANSA can provide to your API development processes:

Reduced Complexity

Visual LANSA’s low-code environment enables professional developers to develop powerful APIs that support your organization’s goals and business success. Visual LANSA turns every programmer, regardless of experience, into a full-stack developer.

The figure below shows the Visual LANSA API development interface. You choose a name and description for your API and select the primary table. In this example, the API will work with employee data in the Employee table. When you click the Create button, in a few seconds, the platform automatically produces a fully functional API that enables you to create, update, and delete employees.

The next figure shows some of the automatically generated source code in your new API. The highlighted code is part of the error handling that checks whether an employee exists with the given Employee ID. Once compiled, the API can be run in a web browser or another platform such as Postman.

Pre-Made Connectors and Seamless Integration with Other Systems

Visual LANSA can integrate with external systems using REST APIs. This way, developers can easily connect to a variety of databases and software applications, such as SQL Server, Salesforce, Google Drive, and Microsoft Excel. The use of these APIs simplifies system integration to reduce the time and effort required to interface with external systems. Third-party ODBC drivers, like CData connectors, are available for additional file access options.

The library enables you to download drivers and connectors to your local platform, as shown in the next figure.

The figure below shows the tables available for Salesforce using the ODBC driver.

Eliminates Dependence on Third-Party Developers

Visual LANSA’s low-code platform automates many coding tasks. This puts the creation of APIs within reach of your professional developers. You no longer have to depend on third-party developers with specialized coding skills — on the contrary, your professional developers can take part in API development. This saves time and costs and enhances flexibility because your staff can make updates and changes to APIs whenever needed.

Supports Code Reuse

In the competitive market of commercial software application development, efficiency and maintainability are two of the keys to success for companies. Code reuse enables development teams to work faster and produce more reliable code. Reusing code, when feasible, leads to cost savings, higher productivity, and better maintainability [6].

Visual LANSA has an extensible code library that enables your developers to plug pre-built software components into their API applications. There’s no need for duplicate development or for your developers to climb a steep learning curve to develop complex modules. Your more experienced developers can create advanced modules and make them available to your entire team. This greatly streamlines the development process and reduces errors and troubleshooting.

The following two figures show some pre-built templates that are included in Visual LANSA. You select the method you need from a dropdown list, and the code for that method is automatically added to your application.

Security (Secure Authentication)

Secure authentication is crucial for applications that process sensitive data. Secure authentication helps protect the confidentiality and integrity of your sensitive information, verifies the identity of clients, helps prevent fraud, and increases customer trust.

In Visual LANSA, you have the option to select an authentication scheme in your API definition. Visual LANSA enables you to generate a REST API that uses JSON Web Token (JWT) authentication without needing to write any code.

When creating the API, you specify the security type and check the boxes to “Generate Security Samples” and “Apply to CRUD.” Generate Security Samples means that the platform will automatically generate a security code, which you can extend as needed. Apply to CRUD means that every operation will use the authentication code.

In the figure below, each set of If statements verifies the username and password. If the results are TRUE, the #JWT helper adds a claim.

The Publish REST Feature in Visual LANSA uses multiple forms of authentication to protect RESTful web services. These forms include Basic Authentication, OAuth 2.0, and JSON Web Tokens. OAuth 2.0 and JWT use a user’s tokens to manage the sessions authenticated for stronger security. API Keys can also be employed as an alternative authentication method to offer flexibility in securing API endpoints.

Documentation

Documentation is a common challenge in API development. Without clear documentation, it will be difficult for testers to test the API and for developers and users to integrate the API into new products.

One way in which Visual LANSA facilitates documentation is by generating clear, readable source code. API definitions and parameters are clearly defined and readily understandable. The next two figures show an example of LANSA-generated RESTful API source code and the API definition, both displayed within the Visual LANSA development environment.

Additionally, Visual LANSA supports the production of Swagger and OpenAPI-compliant documentation.

In the API definition, you can specify whether to publish documentation as Swagger or OpenAPI.

You can then import the documentation into REST clients or documentation repositories or access the documentation through HTTP, as illustrated in these examples.

Ready to Integrate Your Business Applications with APIs and LANSA?

Visual LANSA’s professional low-code environment is the solution for organizations that need to implement application integration efficiently and with minimal cost and developer resources. Make sure to check out this course in Learn LANSA to explore the latest updates in API development. Our Professional Services team is also ready to tailor solutions according to your needs. If you are new and want to get your hands on Visual LANSA, you can register for a free trial here or speak with a local representative to learn more.

Sources

[1] Polyakov, G. “In 2023, APIs have become business critical,” Forbes, May 30, 2023. [Online]. Available at
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/05/30/in-2023-apis-have-become-business-critical/

[2] Varajao, J., Trigo, A., & Almeida, M., “Is winter coming” for code-based technologies?”, ACM Queue, vol. 21, issue 5, Nov. 27, 2023. [Online]. Available at
https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3631183

[3] Infragistics, “Low-code tools provide major productivity boost, new Reveal survey finds,” GlobeNewswire, Apr. 18, 2024. [Online]. Available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2024/04/18/2865399/0/en/Low-Code-Tools-Provide-Major-Productivity-Boost-new-Reveal-Survey-Finds.html

[4] Gartner, “Gartner says cloud will be the centerpiece of new digital experiences,” Press Release, Nov. 10, 2021. [Online]. Available at
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-11-10-gartner-says-cloud-will-be-the-centerpiece-of-new-digital-experiences

[5] Vailshery, L.S., “Low-code and no-code platforms – statistics & facts,” Statista, Feb. 28, 2024. [Online]. Available at
https://www.statista.com/topics/8461/low-code-and-no-code-platforms/

[6] Feitosa, D., Ampatzoglou, A., Gkortzis, A., Bibi, S., & Chatzigeorgiou, A., “CODE reuse in practice: Benefiting or harming technical debt,” J. Systems and Software, vol. 167, Article 110618, Sep. 2020. [Online]. Available from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0164121220300960?via%3Dihub

[7] Annenko, O., “12 new application integration statistics and trends for 2022,” Elastic.io, Jan. 4, 2022. [Online]. Available at
https://www.elastic.io/enterprise-application-integration/application-integration-statistics

The post Creating APIs with Visual LANSA appeared first on LANSA.

Versatile IIS Plugin for IBM HTTP Server

In this EPC, we’re extending support to IBM HTTP Server and Linux Apache, offering greater flexibility in both deployment and management. Visual LANSA now provides enhanced URL pattern matching as well as extended request processing for streamlined, complex web service deployments. More configuration options also allow for finer control, increased scalability, and reduced customization efforts of your environment for specialized needs—a real must-have for anyone who wants to streamline their processes.

Customization and Optimization in Apache Module

EPC150070 further develops Apache module customization and optimization. Some new configuration options make tuning your web services easier to achieve optimal performance in various circumstances. Whether you host a high-traffic website or a complex enterprise application, these new options will help you achieve high performance.

Advanced Integration with Apache HTTP Web Server

The update makes all functionalities of the IIS plugin available at the doorstep of the Apache HTTP Web Server for IBM i users. Take advantage of easy URL pattern matching and request processing, which is provided together with even more advanced IASP setup support. These extensions will ensure your IBM i environment operates smoothly, even with an increased workload.

Smarter Runtime Tracing

EPC150070 includes refined tracing capabilities in the Apache module configuration to provide better visibility into your applications. These capabilities allow for more precise tracing of runtime behaviors, making problem diagnosis and performance optimization easier.

Simplified RDMLX Partition Creation

New RDMLX partitions are easier to configure now that we allow all field types by default. Enhancements in partition setup make this system easier to implement and reduce the possibility of errors.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

The EPC150070 release contains a number of bug and issue fixes including, but not limited to:

• User Interface Upgrade:

  Improved handling of selected list rows, display parameters, and dropdown inputs.

• Stability and Performance:

  Improved overall stability and performance for a more reliable development environment.

• Improved Functionality:

  Column resizing, drag-and-drop, and the handling of server-side modules work intuitively and smoothly.

GET VISUAL LANSA EPC150070 NOW

By clicking the link above, you will be redirected to the Support Portal, where you can download the update. Navigate to the Product Downloads tab and look for EPC1500070.

We designed this release to deliver features and enhancements that provide a more flexible, robust, and user-friendly environment for LANSA developers. More details about this update are published here. 

For technical questions or portal access concerns, please get in touch with our Support Team at support@lansa.com.

If you are using an older version of Visual LANSA and would like to take advantage of this release, please reach out to your Regional Account Manager or submit this form. Our Professional Services team is available to assist you in a smooth transition.

The post Product Update: Visual LANSA EPC150070 appeared first on LANSA.

Consolidating data from disparate sources, LANSA BI provides real-time insights to end-users, helping your organization seize opportunities to outperform competitors and increase profits.

• BI visualization — Leverage shareable interactive charts and dashboards with advanced drill-down capabilities, which can be created without coding.4
• Embedded analytics — Access real-time analytics and advanced BI features in your IBM i (AS/400) applications with LANSA BI’s flexible developer options.
• Self-service analytics — Guided natural language queries (NLQ) allow anyone in your organization to get the right answers without relying on developers or analysts to extract insights.
• Assisted insights — LANSA BI offers users a quick and effortless way to gain meaningful explanations or comparisons from their dashboards and reports to eliminate the need for manual analysis. Powered by automated AI technology, it helps users uncover the “why” behind the data and empowers users to build on the insights as needed.
• Data stories — LANSA BI enables users to create and share compelling data stories that add context and a narrative, making any insights more relatable and actionable.
• Security and compliance — LANSA BI features an integrated governance model to help organizations control who uses proprietary data and for what purpose.

When choosing a Web Query alternative, consider factors such as integrations, automation, data management capabilities, and the company’s experience with the IBM i.

Learn more about LANSA’s business intelligence solutions [2] that are designed for IBM i.

Smooth and Hassle-Free Transition from IBM Db2 Web Query to LANSA BI

The end of IBM Db2 Web Query has now turned the choice for migrating to LANSA BI into a window for added functionality and support. Transitioning to LANSA BI is seamless and user-friendly. You can easily connect your existing data sources and recreate critical reports or dashboards without a steep learning curve. Because it is built to natively integrate with your Db2, all your vital information remains accessible and actionable.

LANSA BI’s intuitive interface and ready-to-use BI features reduce development time, streamline workflows, and allow IT teams to focus on delivering actionable insights rather than grappling with complex migrations. Besides our reliable technical support team, you can also get help from LANSA Professional Services and regional partners with demonstrated experience in both Db2 Web Query and business intelligence automation to unlock your full business intelligence potential.

As a leading alternative to IBM Db2 Web Query, LANSA BI ensures robust security and compliance, offering features such as data encryption, user authentication, and granular access controls. It also offers low latency, improved cache options, and scalability through a web-based client-server architecture.

Take the next step to greater analytics, better performance, and easier report management. Bring your team one step closer to driving insights and innovation without worrying about downtime.

Make the switch to LANSA BI, where analytics becomes more accessible, integrated, and secure. Contact us to plan your migration now.

References

1. https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/announcements/db2-webquery-eom
2. https://lansa.com/products/business-intelligence-designed-for-ibm-i-as400/

The post What Is the Best Alternative to IBM Db2 Web Query? appeared first on LANSA.

To install this update, you can get complete instructions here. If you’re not currently under maintenance, please contact your Account Manager to discuss your options.

Advancing Offline Capabilities

An example of a local database – Data Model tab of a Server Module in the Visual LANSA IDE

Extending our offline capabilities, this EPC introduces local databases and offline support, enabling developers to build robust applications that operate smoothly even without a stable internet connection. Advancing our “Offline-first” strategy for VL-Web, this feature allows users to store and manage data locally, guaranteeing uninterrupted access and enhanced performance.

Embracing W3C Accessibility Standards

An illustration of W3C Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Standards. © W3C.

EPC150060 significantly enhances accessibility. We have aligned our VL-Web applications with the W3C Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Standards, including WCAG, ATAG, and UAAG. This alignment ensures that our applications are accessible to a broader audience, including individuals with disabilities, thus improving user experience and compliance.

LANSA Connect OpenSSL for Enhanced Security

Recognizing the utmost importance of security, EPC150060 introduces LANSA Connect OpenSSL. This enhancement boosts the security and reliability of system-to-system communications. Utilizing the latest SSL/TLS protocols ensures encrypted and secure data exchanges, and this nows extends to Visual LANSA v15+ and LANSA Open .NET.

We are confident that this release will empower LANSA users to create more powerful applications. For any questions or concerns about this EPC, please do not hesitate to contact our Support Team.

The post LANSA EPC150060: New Features and Updates Unveiled appeared first on LANSA.

As we look forward to the exciting possibilities ahead, let’s take a moment to celebrate the progress we’ve made over the past year. Read on to explore the enhancements and innovations that will power your success in the years to come.

Recent Releases

In the last 12 months, we have focused on delivering value for our LANSA customers, through both feature-rich releases and quality improvements across Visual LANSA, aXes and LongRange. We’ve also started on our journey of enhancing the onboarding experience through numerous modernization updates to the Visual LANSA look and feel and improved documentation. Here is a recap of our recent releases:

Visual LANSA EPC150050 Release

In September 2022, we released the latest version of Visual LANSA 15 – EPC150050. This EPC release built on the feature set of Visual LANSA v15+, which introduced Progressive Web Application support, providing developers with a quick and easy way to create progressive web apps (PWAs) utilizing the power of low-code.

LANSA EPCs are Expedited Program Changes that contain fixes and enhancements to LANSA products. It is recommended to be at the latest EPC level to ensure that all the most recent fixes, features, and enhancements are available.

This quality release included 117 improvements, optimizations, and bug fixes. It had all the latest fixes and changes shipped via hotfixes and patches since the last EPC.

IDE Enhancements

EPC150050 benefited application developers with improved stability in the IDE in the areas of ActiveX, editor usage, and support for Excel integration, and expanded UTF-8 support in the IDE.

Additional Improvements

This release offered improvements for Base64 data support in web services (API blob support for v15). Developers could use a new BytesAsObject format to send and receive fields of type BLOB as a JSON object with properties for file name, mime type, and Base64 encoding of BLOB file contents. This release also included support for BitShiftLeft and BitShiftRight intrinsics.

User Interface Updates

The Visual LANSA interface was modernized with home screen and welcome screen user interface updates, providing an enhanced getting started experience to LANSA customers. Customers could also experience a sneak peek at the upcoming look and feel of the upcoming Visual LANSA UI redesign.



Shown: Updated Welcome Screen



Shown: Updated Home Screen

aXes 4.2.1 Release

In October 2022, we released the latest version of aXes 4.2.1. This release included 30+ quality enhancements.

With the new aXes management console in 4.2.1, aXes administrators no longer need to perform the tedious and error-prone task of programmatically modifying a file to configure and manage the settings of their aXes instance and web server. Configurations and changes can be quickly made through an easy-to-use web interface by simply toggling settings on/off, selecting from available configurations, copying configurations, and more. The new aXes management console is supported on all major browsers.

LongRange 1.38 Release

In September 2022, we launched the latest version of the LongRange mobile application, v1.38, which was packed with new features and enhancements, ensuring a seamless user experience.

LongRange is a mobile app builder for creating and maintaining native apps for Apple iOS, Android and Windows PCs and Tablets using IBM i development tools and methods.

This enhancement-focused release was an effort to improve the user experience and usability of the LongRange application.

This release consisted of numerous new features that had been long requested by our customers and greatly enhanced their LongRange user experience and overall application capabilities. This included:

• Enhancements to the image element to allow for selection of multiple pictures
• aXes Mobile ASR-022 (Barcode reader) support
• Support for NFC tag reading on iOS and Windows devices
• Ability to show an “English keyboard” for the Barcode element

LANSA Open.NET 6 Support

We recently released Open.NET 6 support for Visual LANSA. With this release, users can take advantage of the improved performance and expanded language support offered by Open.NET 6, enabling them to build powerful applications with greater ease and efficiency.

Looking ahead into Calendar Year 2023 and Beyond

Now, onto the exciting part! We’re unveiling our product roadmap for Visual LANSA, reflecting our commitment to elevate your development experience.

Stay tuned for hot fixes and additional features like Offline for Web Support and Web Accessibility Support, designed to help you build better applications faster. We’re also working on improving user experience, SQL performance, API integrations, and much more!

Please don’t hesitate to share comments and suggestions by writing to LANSA’s product manager at sohaib.waheed@lansa.com. We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

In Development Now

Quality Enhancements

We are focusing on addressing top customer requests in Visual LANSA and the aXes application and introducing new features​. It focuses on extending the capabilities of the application and along with that, some priority patch requests related to the quality enhancements with DBCS and more.

Developer Productivity

EPC150060 Release

The LANSA team is very excited about the upcoming EPC150060 release. This release will include the following features:

• All the latest fixes and changes shipped via hotfixes and patches since the last EPC.
• Required updates to LANSA for Windows 11 support in V15
• Offline for Web Support for v15: This will introduce the ability for application developers to store and persist data on the client side to facilitate offline-first experiences through the Visual LANSA development environment. Application developers will programmatically and visually run operations on a browser-based IndexedDB database and object stores.
• Web Accessibility Support for v15: This will introduce Visual LANSA Web Applications compliance to the Level AA requirements of the WCAG 2.x specification.

LANSA Connect with new OpenSSL Support Release

The LANSA Connect OpenSSL support release aims to enhance the security and reliability of system-to-system communications. With the latest SSL/TLS protocols, LANSA Connect OpenSSL ensures secure and encrypted data exchange between your LANSA applications and external systems for Visual LANSA V15+ and LANSA Open.NET.

Coming Up Next

Quality Enhancements

These quality releases will focus on LANSA Composer and Integrator, focusing on quality improvements related to the Altova Mapforce update in LANSA Composer and more.

User Experience

Visual LANSA UI Modernization
Our next major release will focus on improving the overall getting started experience through UI modernization. This release will bring a new look and feel to all the icons used in the Visual LANSA application without any changes to the user flow. We understand that first impressions matter and our goal with this release is to make the initial experience of using Visual LANSA as seamless and enjoyable as possible. This will not only improve the aesthetics of the application but also make it easier for users to navigate and understand.

Developer productivity

SQL Performance Enhancements
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the performance and efficiency of our application, the LANSA team is working on enhancing the performance of SELECT queries in SQL by implementing bind variables. This change is expected to result in a substantial performance increase of 15-25%. With bind variables, the SQL engine is able to cache query execution plans and reuse them for subsequent queries with different input parameters. This optimization significantly reduces the overhead of generating a new query execution plan for each query, resulting in faster query execution times.

In simpler terms, this means that SELECT queries will now be executed much faster, resulting in an overall improvement in the performance of SQL queries. The enhanced performance of SELECT queries will also lead to increased productivity for users. With faster query execution times, users can complete tasks more quickly and efficiently, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives that drive their business forward. Additionally, the reduction in query execution times means that users can access the data they need more quickly, increasing their productivity and enabling them to make informed decisions faster.

IBM i Apache HTTP  Web Server for Publishing APIs
The IBM i Apache release is set to bring about significant changes to the way web services are published through the LANSA platform. Specifically, the release will introduce the ability to publish REST APIs natively on IBM i using the IBM i Apache web server plugin. This will be achieved through the use of the IBM HTTP Server powered by the Apache module, which will replicate the functionality of the Windows IIS plugin on both IBM i and Linux-based servers.

This is a significant development for LANSA users who have been looking for a more streamlined way to publish web services, without having to rely on external plugins or services. With the IBM HTTP Server powered by the Apache module, users will be able to publish web services through the familiar LANSA interface, using the same development tools and techniques they are already accustomed to.

By providing this functionality on both IBM i and Linux-based servers, LANSA is ensuring that its users can take full advantage of its capabilities, no matter what their hosting environment may be. This is just one of the many ways in which LANSA is helping to make application development faster, easier, and more efficient for its users.

LANSA Open.NET 7 Support
This release will help enable application developers to continue to utilize the Visual LANSA repository on IBM i or Windows systems but also have access to new .NET technologies such as ASP.NET, Blazor, and cross-platform development.

Coming Up Later

Quality Enhancements

Addressing top customer requests in aXes application. It focuses on the aXes enhancements related to V7R5 support and priority patch requests and jar file updates for quality improvements and compliance.

Developer Productivity

Extended Capabilities

• API Builder with a focus on simplifying API integration and expanded support for third-party APIs
• Enabling applications to interface directly with device file systems and storage
• Expanded support for Progressive Web functionality by implementing access to device media such as camera, and audio
• Routing improvements
• Certification and support for terminal emulation software
• Push Notifications
• Research enhancements for aXes related to screen extensions like Scrollable Subfile Table, Subfile Context Menu, Subfile Enhancer, etc
• Research aXes responsive design capabilities enhancements

VLF-One Enhancements
We are having discussions internally on what to add next to VLF-One. If you have requests for VLF-One that you would like the product team to consider, please reach out to us.

Containerization and Microservice Architectures Release
This will provide organizations with the ability to modernize their legacy applications and move them to the cloud. This release also enables containerization and microservice architectures, allowing for greater flexibility and scalability in application development and deployment.

Note: These plans and roadmap represent our intentions as of this date, but our development plans and priorities are subject to change. Accordingly, we can’t offer any commitments or other forms of assurance that we’ll ultimately release any or all of the described products on the schedule or in the order illustrated or at all. These general indications of development schedules or “product roadmaps” should not be interpreted or construed as any form of a commitment, and our customers’ rights to upgrades, updates, enhancements, and other maintenance releases will be outlined in the applicable software license agreement.

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