The Microsoft .NET Framework is an emerging core technology that is starting to be used in many commercial applications. It is the foundation of Microsoft’s vision of how both user and programmatic computer interfaces will execute – not just next year and the year after, but five or more years into the future.

LANSA has long used Microsoft’s core technologies to drive advances in its application development and integration tools, so an obvious question to ask is, “What is LANSA doing about leveraging .NET?” To fully answer that question, we need to be aware that .NET is a broad and far-reaching technology that is advancing on many fronts. So LANSA is advancing its tools along the .NET ‘evolutionary tree’ on several fronts as well.

LANSA Architects CornerLeveraging Microsoft .NET technologies with LANSA

The Technology Evolutionary TreeLANSA is not in the business of creating the low-level plumbing technologies and languages that drive computers and programmatic interfaces. We are in the business of leveraging and hiding the complexity of core technologies like .NET, Java, XML or Web services. Using a scientific analogy, LANSA is about applied science, not about pure science.

Inevitably, some core technologies wither and fade and new ones emerge to replace them. In many cases, there are parallel competing technologies that address the same business objectives.

LANSA not only needs to choose which core technologies to support, we also need to be well positioned to change these choices quickly and with the least disruption possible. This is what we call ‘technology insurance’.

The Three Drivers of LANSA’s Advanced Software Development

Broadly speaking there are three main factors driving the technology choices behind advances in the LANSA toolset:

• Improved Capabilities — doing new things or old things a better or cheaper way

• Better Interoperability — between operating systems, development languages and hardware

• Higher Productivity — when designing, developing and using LANSA applications

Capability Driven AdvancesSometimes, a new technology emerges that lets you do things that you could not do before, either because it was not technically possible or it was too expensive to implement.

For many years LANSA has used Microsoft core technologies to drive advanced application development. For example, Visual LANSA uses the WIN32 API Rich-client interface and the Microsoft C++ compiler. LANSA for the Web and the Visual LANSA Framework have always focused on supporting Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser interface.

The architecture of .NET lets LANSA provide capabilities that it could not deliver before or deliver them in a more effective manner. For example, it will be possible to generate Web-based Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP applications as C# and compile them as .NET CLR executable objects.

Interoperability Driven AdvancesLANSA and .NET applications need to be able to use (that is, publish or consume) the services provided by each other. While you can do this now, it is sometimes technically complex and time consuming. The level of interoperability between LANSA and .NET applications will be improved and refined.

LANSA Open for .NET is a new product that will bring the productivity and discipline of the LANSA Repository to .NET application developers. Shipped as a small and standardized .NET class library, the product will allow .NET applications to easily access LANSA repositories residing on System i and Windows servers. Go to the last page of this article for more details.

LANSA developers will also benefit from enhancements to Visual LANSA that will provide better interoperability with .NET applications and Web services.

Visual LANSA will support the consumption of .NET classes directly and allow LANSA objects to be published for direct use by .NET in the same manner as can now be done with ActiveX components. Visual LANSA will also allow LANSA objects to be published via SOA and Web service interfaces, as well as consuming SOA and Web services directly. This can already be done with LANSA Integrator.

Productivity Driven AdvancesThe development of .NET (or for that matter Java) applications at the 3GL level is labor intensive and requires above average skills. Designing, implementing, testing and deploying business applications in these environments continues to stretch the capabilities and budgets of the small to medium enterprise (SME) community where LANSA has found most favor.

The application maintenance issues inherent with these technologies will only add to the life-cycle cost and there are a number of areas where LANSA can add value. For example, you can already embed Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP applications inside .NET applications as a productive way to modernize 5250 applications. The Visual LANSA Framework will be extended to allow the embedding of .NET applications.

The LANSA Repository has always been LANSA’s unique and strongest value proposition. The inclusion in Visual LANSA of a Business Object Builder will launch the next generation of the LANSA Repository.

LANSA Business Objects will have full class interfaces that are automatically useable in both Windows and Web contexts by LANSA, .NET or Java applications.

LANSA Business Objects can be envisioned as Object Access Modules (OAMs) on steroids that will:

• Hide internal complexity from developers• Allow higher levels of reuse• Contain complex business processes, not just business

rules• Create better IT skills separation• Make user interfaces thinner• Reduce the cost of maintenance and enhancement• Be automatically published using industry standard

interfaces and technologies

LANSA’s Proven Track RecordFor nearly 20 years, LANSA has been about applying core technologies to deliver new capabilities, increase developer and user productivity and to reduce the costs associated with the ongoing maintenance of applications and developer skills.

Better interoperability between LANSA and .NET applications will benefit developers of both LANSA and .NET applications and is another example of how LANSA provides technology insurance.

LANSA is your Microsoft .NET Technology Insurance Policy

Capability Driven Advances: By leveraging the architecture of .NET, LANSA can deliver new capabilities or improve the effectiveness of existing features.

PRODUCT AREA DESCRIPTION AND BENEFIT

Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP as .NET executable objects

It will be possible to generate Web-based Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP applications as C# and compile them as .NET CLR executable objects. This feature is due for release in the first quarter of 2008. These compiled .NET applications will offer significant performance and user interface improvements, while still providing the benefits of a zero deployment model.

Interoperability Driven Advances: The level of interoperability between LANSA and .NET applications will continue to improve and be refined.

PRODUCT AREA DESCRIPTION AND BENEFIT

LANSA Open for .NET Shipped as a small and standardized .NET class library, LANSA Open for .NET will allow .NET applications to easily access LANSA repositories residing on System i and Windows servers. This new LANSA product is due for release in the first quarter of 2008. LANSA Open for .NET will open up the productivity and discipline of the LANSA repository to .NET applications. See the Spotlight section on page 3 for more details.

Visual LANSA classes published as .NET objects

It will be possible to publish Visual LANSA objects (or more correctly, classes) for direct binary level use inside .NET CLR applications in much the same way as they can now be published as ActiveX components.

Visual LANSA classes published as SOA and Web services

It will be possible to publish Visual LANSA classes with SOA and Web service interfaces. It is already possible to publish these interfaces for LANSA applications using LANSA Integrator.

Visual LANSA to consume .NET classes

Visual LANSA applications will be able to consume .NET classes directly at the binary level in the same way as they can now consume ActiveX components.

Visual LANSA to consume SOA and Web services

Visual LANSA applications will be able to consume Web services. It is already possible for LANSA applications to consume these services using LANSA Integrator.

Productivity Driven Advances: Here are some areas that the LANSA Repository can improve the productivity of 3GL level .NET application development.

PRODUCT AREA DESCRIPTION AND BENEFIT

Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP embedded inside .NET applications

Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP applications can already be embedded inside and managed by .NET applications. This feature will be strengthened and standardized in the next release of the Visual LANSA Framework. This capability offers significant productivity benefits to customers migrating 5250 applications to .NET environments.

Embed and manage .NET applications inside Visual LANSA Framework and RAMP

The ability to embed .NET applications inside the Visual LANSA Framework as a new type of snap-in component will allow the Visual LANSA Framework to be used to manage .NET-based applications. This will provide significant benefits to .NET-focused customers who lack the skills and/or time required to design and build their own commercial grade application framework.

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Asia Pacific: Headquarters – Sydney, Australia Tel: +61 2 8907 0200 Email: info@lansa.com.au

The Americas: Headquarters – Chicago, USA Tel: +1 630 874 7000 Email: info@lansa.com

Europe: Headquarters – London, UK Tel: +44 1727 790300 Email: info@lansa.co.uk

www.lansa.com

LANSA Open for .NETOpening up the LANSA Repository to Microsoft .NET Developers LANSA Open for .NET opens up the productivity and discipline of the LANSA Repository to .NET Framework developers. Shipped as a small and standardized .NET class library, it allows .NET applications to easily access LANSA Repositories residing on System i and Windows servers.

LANSA Open for .NET brings the scalability of LANSA applications, the maintainability of LANSA’s object repository and the portability of LANSA’s server technology to the .NET Framework. LANSA Open for .NET will be released in the first quarter of 2008.

Why use LANSA Open for .NET?As .NET becomes a pervasive frontend for business applications, integrating the LANSA Repository with .NET client applications offers an important strategic step towards improved Windows development productivity.

In-house LANSA development groups can use LANSA Open for .NET to share the benefits of the LANSA Repository with other groups or departments that want to or are already using .NET development tools.

For LANSA Solution Partners, LANSA Open for .NET enables their existing LANSA solutions to be customized by .NET developers. Their customers can use .NET development tools to extend or enhance a LANSA-based solution without the need to understand or even be aware of the underlying LANSA technology used to build the solution.

Getting Started is EasyNo knowledge of LANSA is needed to use LANSA Open for .NET. The industry standard class library is straightforward and is shipped with ready-to-run samples in both the C# and VB.NET languages. There is almost no learning curve for .NET developers.

If you already use Visual LANSA, all you need is Microsoft Visual Studio, the LANSA Open for .NET DLL and the online documentation. Nothing else is required.

If you are not already a LANSA development site, you will need to identify and train a LANSA Repository Administrator to administer the LANSA environment on the server. The rest of your .NET team only needs the LANSA Open for .NET class library and documentation. Your whole team is now ready to start using LANSA Open for .NET.

Benefits of LANSA Open for .NET• Opens up the System i to .NET developers in a productive, safe

and disciplined fashion.

• No knowledge of LANSA required by .NET developers.

• Productivity and discipline enforced by centrally stored business rules on the server with data validations, error messages, multilingual and DBCS support, referential integrity, database triggers and derived (virtual) fields.

• Faster and more secure than ODBC. Unlike basic table I/O applications, all client applications are automatically subjected to rigorous System i security checks, data validation and referential integrity checks.

• Secure encryption between Windows and the LANSA Repository using industry standard DES or Twofish.

• Full .NET CLR ‘verifiable’* class library. LANSA Open for .NET is not a class library frontend to a non-CLR compliant WIN32 application.

• Small footprint. Deploy as a single DLL within your .NET applications.

• Standardized error handling, tracing and diagnostic capabilities.

About Microsoft .NET FrameworkThe Microsoft .NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering that aims to make it easier to develop Windows rich-client and Web applications. Applications can be coded in any .NET language, most commonly C# or VB.NET. The .NET Framework Base Class Library (BCL) covers a large range of programming needs, including user interface and database connectivity. The functions of the class library are used by developers who combine them with their own code.

Programs written for the .NET Framework execute in the Common Language Runtime (CLR), which provides the appearance of an application virtual machine, so developers do not need to consider specific server capabilities. It also handles security, memory management and exception handling. The BCL and the CLR together compose the .NET Framework. n

LANSA Open for .NET is shipped as a small and standardized CLR verifiable* .NET class library that does not require any other LANSA software to be installed on the .NET client system. The LANSA Open for .NET Class Library defines the LANSA Repository interfaces that the .NET developers use to easily access LANSA Repositories residing on System i and Windows servers.

*Verifiable assemblies offer increased security by conforming to requirements that allow the Microsoft CLR to guarantee that the code does not violate current security settings.