Synon/2E: The Premier AS/400 Development Tool

Information Systems (IS) professionals currently face a number of challenges. They must respond to rapidly changing business environments in a climate of ever-tightening budgets. They must leverage new technology and distributed networks while improving application quality and client service. Many IS groups are attempting to involve the end user to enhance the fit of applications to the business needs that drive them.

Discovering that Synon/2 is the solution that addresses these challenges, dedicated Synon customers have made Synon/2 the leading application development tool for the IBM AS/400. Synon/2 is an integrated family of application development offerings designed to deliver solutions that meet the needs of IS organizations around the world.

With Synon/2, developers design, store and modify application models using a single repository of information called a design model. This single design is then used to generate the application for the platform of choice. The principle of a unified development environment with implementation independent designs gives Synon's customers the ability to deploy over applications on their platform of choice, making Synon/2 the clear standard for IBM AS/400 development.

Combining the ability to define and store descriptions of data and process objects at a level of abstraction that makes the implementation independent of the current technologies, Synon/2 separates aspects of the implementation to deliver choice in deployment on the part of the developer. This means that applications for the AS/400 server can be produced from a single design model. Developer productivity and ease of application modification and maintenance result — important benefits for today's time- and cost-pressured IS organizations.

Synon/2 is the foundation Synon customers use to build solutions that meet their application development needs across industries, computing environments and national languages. Rapid Application Development (RAD) techniques supported by Synon's Rapid Prototyping Methodology (RPM) and re-engineering solutions that move legacy applications to CASE-enabled environments are additional ways Synon assists customers with application design, development and deployment.

Synon/2E's functionality goes far beyond that of tools offering a fourth generation language (4GL) approach to application development. 4GL products force customers to adopt the same practices that have failed with traditional programming languages such as COBOL and RPG. These solutions still require the programmer to "re-invent the wheel" for application problems such as screen handling, referential integrity, complex transaction boundaries and standards enforcement. 4GLs also fail to integrate the business rules identified in the data model into the process model, creating redundant development work, compromising integrity and increasing maintenance costs.

Synon/2E addresses these problems by using an object-based "building block" approach. Applications are constructed rapidly by connecting pre-tested functional modules. The Synon/2 programmer makes changes at a high level in the design and these changes ripple through to the panel designs and programs by virtue of the tight integration inherent in the architecture of Synon/2E.

Synon/2E uses a high level data modeling language that helps a designer express data relationships in a clear and concise way. The foundation of an integrated development approach, this data model defines many of the business rules needed by an application.

Much of what is traditionally regarded as programming is no longer required in Synon/2. Programs are constructed using building blocks of functionality. The process logic is described using action diagrams. An action diagram is easy to understand and modify because it uses structured notation to express process logic. The routine processes that occur in most programs such as subfile control and database I/O are defaulted from the data model and the design standards chosen by the customer. This leaves the programmer free to concentrate on business rules that are unique to the application.

Synon/2E is one of an integrated suite of Synon products that deliver solutions for all phases of the application development life cycle. These products range from a diagram based structural design tool, SILVERRUN, to change management facilities with the Synon/CM product and professional reporting.

Synon/2E delivers robust and dependable applications in a fraction of the time necessary with traditional programming languages or 4GLs. Synon/2E takes full advantage of CASE-based construction and RAD methods to deliver quality applications that exploit advanced technology. With integrated storage of data and process designs, applications built using Synon/2E are much easier to enhance and maintain. Deployment is possible using a choice of technologies without the need to re-code.

Synon/2E's advanced architecture means you can continue to benefit from The Power of Choice.

"Using Synon/2E, we developed a better system in half the time, with half the people."

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Synon/2E--The Power of Choice