INNOV-14: A Look Inside the
OpenEdge® UI Research Lab
Shelley Chase
schase@progress.com
Bruce Gruenbaum
bgruenba@progress.com
Architect
Principal Software Engineer
Purpose of this Talk
 UI is a critical component of a
successful business application
• Provides sizzle for functionality
• Differentiator during a sale
 Recent focus has been SOA components
 Expanding our focus on UI
• Share our research efforts with you
• Get your feedback (today, e-mail, PSDN)
• You can influence future UI direction!
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Under Development
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D I S C L A I M E R
This talk includes information about potential
future products and/or product enhancements.
What we are going to say reflects our current
thinking, but the information contained herein is
preliminary and subject to change. Any future
products we ultimately deliver may be materially
different from what is described here.
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INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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Agenda
 What’s available today in OpenEdge
 Future UI Industry Trends
 A look inside the OpenEdge Research Lab
 Next steps - discussion
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
OpenEdge GUI Options Today
OpenEdge GUI Comparison
Products
OpenEdge
GUI
WebClient™
WebSpeed®
Benefits
Built-in widgets
plus ActiveX
controls
Supported by
OpenEdge
frameworks
Zero footprint –
no install
Runs anywhere
Open Client
Supports defacto standard
Leverages host
environment
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
Limitations
Future
Rich client
requires ActiveX
for modern UI
ActiveX has
limited
lifecycle
Built-in controls Vista doesn’t
tied to Win32 API use Win32 API
Browser security
limitations
Moving
towards rich
client (AJAX)
Requires
expertise in
.NET™ / Java™
Requires
expertise in
.NET / Java
5
© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
OpenEdge UI Product Landscape

Support for thin to rich clients
WebSpeed
WebClient
OpenEdge GUI
Open Client
Thin
UI
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
Rich
UI
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© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Modern UI “Today” – Outlook Look and Feel
Microsoft Office 2003 – de-facto standard
Toolbar
control
Dockable
Panels
Listbar
control
Main
panel
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© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
OpenEdge UI - In Summary
 OpenEdge developers can build state-of-theart UI today using….
• Third party controls (ActiveX)
– Built-in GUI widgets are limited
– Frameworks (ADM2, Progress Dynamics®) are
based on built-in widgets
• Open Client (Java, .NET)
– Need to use Java / .NET development
environment for client
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
OpenEdge UI - In Summary
 OpenEdge developers can build state-of-theart UI today using….
• Third party controls (ActiveX)
– Built-in
GUI widgets
are
limited
MOVE–5:
Improving
the Look
and
Feel of Your Application
– Frameworks (ADM2, Dynamics) are based on
built-in widgets
• Open Client (Java, .NET)
– Need to use Java / .NET development
environment for client
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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© 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Agenda
 What’s available today in OpenEdge
 Future UI Industry Trends
 A look inside the OpenEdge Research Lab
 Next steps - discussion
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
10 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Industry UI Landscape

Exciting UI work within the industry
• Support for full range from thin to rich
WebSpeed
AJAX
Thin
UI
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
WebClient
Flex/Flash
OpenEdge GUI
Open Client
MS .NET / Vista
Java / SWT
Rich
UI
11 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Industry UI Landscape

Exciting UI work within the industry
• Support for full range from thin to rich
OpenEdge GUI
WebClient
Open Client
WebSpeed
INNOV–16:
Rich UserAJAX
Interface for the Web? AJAX to the Rescue
Flex/Flash MS .NET / Vista
Java / SWT
Thin
UI
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
Rich
UI
12 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Future Microsoft Technologies
 VISTA (formerly “Longhorn”)
• New operating system with extended graphics
capabilities
• Supports WinFX programming model
– Replacement for Win32 APIs
– Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
formerly “Avalon”
– Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
formerly “Indigo”
• Promotes Vista User Experience Guidelines (UX)
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
13 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Future Microsoft UI Technologies
 WPF and XAML
• WPF: Framework classes and engine
– Will ship for XP as well as Vista
• XAML: Declarative language for UI layout
– Separates UI design from UI logic code
– UI roles: designer and developer
 Aero
• Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, Open
• New user experience
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
14 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Windows Vista – Sample Explorer Window
INNOV–8: Demystifying Windows Vista
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
15 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Shorter Term - Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Office continues as the de-facto standard
 Office 2007 – Enhance Productivity
• Controls used to simplify common use cases
– Ribbons, Quick Launch Toolbar
– Not based on WPF, uses some Aero concepts
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
16 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Future UI Trends - In Summary
 The industry is investing heavily in rich client
user interfaces
• Microsoft is the leader
– Short term:
– Long term:
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
Office 2007 look and feel
Vista, WPF, XAML, Aero
17 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Agenda
 What’s available today in OpenEdge
 Future UI Industry Trends
 A look inside the OpenEdge Research Lab
 Next steps - discussion
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
18 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Back in Bedford…
After looking at the industry…
 Focus on Microsoft’s UI direction
• Look and feel of Office 2007 is our first target
• Vista / WPF is longer term strategy
– Analysts say: Vista’s UI impact is not an
immediate driver for business applications
 Combine MS and OpenEdge technologies
• Full .NET UI support (Future: Vista support)
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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Goals of a New UI
 Build UI applications fully in ABL and OpenEdge
tools
• Extend ABL to support modern UI natively
–Development done using ABL exclusively
• UI Design done using OpenEdge Architect
–Integrate with T4BL, Catalog, DB NAV, etc.
• Leverage work in industry, use standards
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
20 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
New UI Runtime Architecture
OpenEdge and .NET CLR communicate through a bridge
ABL Program
w = NEW Form( ).
WAIT-FOR CLOSE OF w.
Window
EventHdlr1( ) …
EventHdlr2( ) …
1
4
7
3
5
OpenEdge
OpenEdge
Runtime
OpenEdge UI
(Controller) Bridge
Microsoft
CLR
2
Bridge
.NET UI
(View)
6
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
21 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Closer Look at Possible ABL – Create Form
Leverage Object-oriented extensions in OpenEdge 10.1A
DEFINE VAR w AS System.Windows.Forms.Form.
DEFINE VAR b AS System.Windows.Forms.Button.
DEFINE VAR e AS System.Windows.Forms.Edit.
w = NEW System.Windows.Forms.Form( ).
b = NEW System.Windows.Forms.Button( ).
e = NEW System.Windows.Forms.Edit( ).
...
/* Add controls to form */
w:Controls:Add(b).
w:Controls:Add(e).
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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Closer Look at Possible ABL - Events
Leverage Object-oriented extensions in OpenEdge 10.1A
/*Subscribe handler to event */
SUBSCRIBE THIS-OBJECT:BtnClick
TO CLASS-EVENT b:Click.
...
/* WAIT for form to be closed */
WAIT-FOR w:Show().
/* Handler to run when event published */
METHOD PUBLIC VOID BtnClick(Object o, Object arg):
b:Text = “I’ve been clicked”.
END.
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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OpenEdge Architect – Prototype support
ABL Editor
Tools for
Business
Logic
Meta Catalog
Future:
New
Visual
DB
Debugger
Navigator
New
Plug-ins
Designer
Eclipse (foundation platform)
OpenEdge Development Server
OpenEdge Studio
Application Server
WebSpeed Transaction Server
Client Networking
AppBuilder
Pro*Tools, ProxyGen
WebSpeed Workshop
OpenEdge Database
Data Administration
OpenEdge
OpenEdge
RuntimeRuntime
/ Microsoft CLR
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
24 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
New UI Demos
 Demo 1
• OpenEdge ABL
– Modern UI Look and Feel
 Demo 2
• Build using OpenEdge
Architect
– Reduce hand coding
required for Demo 1
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
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OpenEdge New UI Goals – In Summary
 OpenEdge developers need to build a state-ofthe-art UI where:
• ABL natively supports state-of-the-art GUI
• Built using OpenEdge Architect
• Customization available at design time and
runtime
 Developers can focus on building business
applications
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
26 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Agenda
 What’s available today in OpenEdge
 Future UI Industry Trends
 A look inside the OpenEdge Research Lab
 Next steps - discussion
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
27 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Frequently Asked Questions
 I love it, when can I have it?
• No specified release / commitment
 I hate it, are you open to changing direction?
• Let us know your needs/requirements.
Contact Salvador Vinals at svi@progress.com
 Will .NET forms and existing GUI windows be
allowed in a single application?
• Of course 
 What should I do now?
• Move to OpenEdge 10, learn OO, follow MVC model
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
28 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Questions for You?
 What do you think of this direction?
 Did we miss something?
 Was this sharing of information
useful?
 Open Q & A
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
29 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
In Summary
 OpenEdge development is
researching a UI solution
that is:
• Build entirely in the ABL
using OpenEdge tools
• State-of-the-art
• Positioned for the future
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
30 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
Thank you for
your time
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
31 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation
INNOV-14: A Look in the OpenEdge UI Research Lab
32 © 2006 Progress Software Corporation