Omnis News - Latest Omnis News

June/July 2006

New Studio Release - Omnis Studio 4.2

We are pleased to announce the availability of Omnis Studio 4.2 due for release in August 2006. This version includes new features and enhancements to the Omnis Studio product for up-to-date hardware compatibility, Web Services integration and SQL extensibility. Key improvements include:

• Omnis Web Services - a brand new plug-in, available for purchase, to allow Omnis to act as a client or a server for Web Services (requires Studio 4.2).

• Mac Intel Support - Omnis is now a so-called 'Universal Application' meaning Omnis Studio 4.2 will run on the new Mac Intel processors as well as the older PowerPC chips.

• Direct HTTP access - Studio 4.2 includes a basic HTTP server, incorporated into the Omnis executable, which can handle Web Service and ultra-thin client requests sent directly to Omnis (https not supported).

With the introduction of the Web Services plug-in for Omnis Studio 4.2, developers will be able to incorporate tried and tested, third-party business functionality, provided as Web Services, into their own Omnis applications; alternatively they can provide existing Omnis functionality to many new markets via Web Services.

Further details about the Omnis Studio 4.2 release can be found here, and info about the new Omnis Web Services component is here

How does it work? On the client: The Omnis Web Services wizard creates an object class that encapsulates all the methods in the Web Service, providing easy and dynamic access to functionality. On the Server: Studio lets you expose your Omnis code as a Web Service and allows anyone to easily access your functionality via the Omnis Server

Omnis Developer Conference

This years North American Omnis developers conference, dubbed OmnisCentral Americas 2006, is to take place August 27 to 30 (Sun - Wed), 2006 at the Doral Desert Princess Resort in Palm Springs, California. The conference will allow developers a chance to meet face to face, to share experiences, to develop new ideas, and to get to know the latest developments in the Omnis world. There will be a choice of three tracks in the mornings and afternoons each of the three full conference days, with open time in the evenings for relaxation and networking.

The Program schedule features some fascinating topics hosted by some of the top Omnis developers and mentors in the world (a selection is shown right). If you can attend this event, you won't regret it! And the all-inclusive conference fee will pay for itself many times over in the knowledge you will gain at the conference.

For further information about the conference and to make your reservation, please go to the new OmnisCentral developer portal: www.OmnisCentral.com

Conference Program highlights include (spread over 3 full days):

• Studio Training over 2 days, plus Reporting and Graphing by David Swain
• Requirements Gathering, Building Frameworks, SQL databases, and RFID by Dan Ridinger
• Omnis 7 to Studio Conversion, and Omnis VCS by David Ferri
• Ultra-thin web applications, and Advanced SQL programming by Jim Pistrang
• Omnis Studio & Web Services by Mark Phillips & Vik Shah
• Deploying Omnis apps on Linux, and Agile web development by Clifford Ilkay
• Ultra-thin Studio Application with Ajax, ZPT: A case study by David Barnett
• The Latest Omnis product developments, and 'The Mitford House Chronicles' by Bob Mitchell, Omnis Engineering Manager.
• On the preceding Saturday, a Golf tournament sponsored by The DLA Group (Aus/NZ Omnis distributor), plus a banquet during conference

Omnis for Ubuntu Linux

On June 1, 2006, Ubuntu will release version 6.06 LTS (codenamed "Dapper Drake") of their popular Linux distribution. For those unaware of Ubuntu, pronounced "oo-BOON-too", it is a Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux, and its name comes from a South African word roughly meaning "humanity to others". In this latest release of Ubuntu, users are provided with the opportunity to download and install Omnis Studio. They will be able to visit the Omnis web site and register for an Evaluation serial number to try out the lastest Studio Web Edition. This is an exciting development for us and adds to our support for the RedHat and SuSE versions of Linux. Visit www.ubuntu.com for more information about Ubuntu.

The Omnis Studio IDE on Ubuntu Linux

Omnis Community gets a new 'Home'

The Omnis Community has a new home, or at least a virtual one.
For many years, Omnis developers all over the world have freely shared their knowledge and helped one another in developer-organised conferences and most significantly, the Omnis Developers Mailing List hosted at Omnis-Underground.com. These conferences and the mailing list have proved to be an invaluable asset for members of the Omnis community.

In an effort to provide a more focused and improved collaboration environment for the Omnis community, two long-term Omnis developers and organizers of past conferences, David Ferri and Clifford Ilkay, have teamed up to create the OmnisCentral portal. OmnisCentral is intended to be the focal point for all things Omnis, including the Omnis Developers Mailing List, the conferences, and other things of interest to the Omnis community. While many parts of the new portal will be accessible to non-members, all Omnis developers are encouraged to become portal members to gain extra benefits and greater access to content. Membership of OmnisCentral will give access to the Omnis developer mailing list and easy registration for the Developer conferences. And here's the best part: it's completely free of charge!

Clifford Ilkay said in their announcement, "It is our hope that the portal becomes a central knowledgebase of the collective wisdom of this community." We second that, and would like to offer David and Clifford, and the whole Omnis community, our complete support and wish them well with this latest venture.

And if you are wondering what is going to happen to the 'old' Omnis Developer mailing list, then do not fear: during June this is being transferred to the new portal, and the plan for this is fully documented on the new site. It's all there at www.OmnisCentral.com, so what are you waiting for? Become an OmnisCentral portal member today!

Studio Tech Tip

Did you know? Once you have developed your Omnis application, you can deploy it to end-users using the runtime version of the Omnis Studio executable or program, which contains all the necessary elements to run your application, but does not include the Omnis IDE. The runtime version for each platform is available on the Omnis Studio DVD or to download from this site, but you must obtain the required runtime serial numbers (deployment licenses) from us to do this. To deploy an Omnis web application you need to install the Omnis Server and setup a web server, and again you need a license for the Omnis Server.

If you need to create an Installer file (including the Omnis runtime and your libraries) you can use a standard product such as Install Vise (available from www.mindvision.com) or InstallShield (available from www.macrovision.com). Further information about deploying thick and thin client applications, including info about the Omnis runtime files, is available in the Studio 4.1 edition of the Omnis Programming manual (available to download here). There's also a Tech note on the Omnis web site about this: The Deployment Process and FAQ. Lookup No. TNGI0010.