Alpha Anywhere Product
Roadmap and Overview
Selwyn Rabins
President and Co-Chairman
Alpha Software
Overview
• Alpha Anywhere - Full-stack, low-code,
platform for developing and deploying web
and mobile applications.
Recent Developments
• Version 3.0
– Major enhancements to the List control in the UX
to support disconnected applications
– Many other enhancements
Roadmap
• Server-side
• Client-side
• Deployment
Server-side Roadmap
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Server-side JavaScript
Node.js
Oauth
Reporting
Datasources
NoSQL databases
Server-side JavaScript
• Why?
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One language client side and server side
Most popular language in the world
Fast
Multi-threaded
V8 engine is cross-platform
• Demo
– .a5w page written in JavaScript that does a SQL query
– .debugging server-side JavaScript
Server-side JavaScript (Cont’d)
• Xbasic to Javascript translation (demo)
– User Code
– System code (goal is to allow Alpha Server to run
on Linux)
• Components.a5w
– Server-side event handlers in either JS or Xbasic
Node.js
• Calling Node.js services from Xbasic (or
Server-side JavaScript)
• Exposing Alpha services to Node.js
OAuth
• Authentication done (login with Google, etc).
• Consuming services (e.g. Google drive,
calendar)
• OData
Datasources
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Strong SQL support
Web services
Odata
Salesforce
SAP
Siebel, etc.
Reporting
• Custom data sources (demo)
• JSON and XML datasources from web services
• Templates
NoSQL Databases
• Mongo (demo)
• Couch
• Pouch - Built-into Alpha (Pouch runs both SS
and CS)
Client-side Roadmap
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Disconnected application enhancements
Touch optimized forms
Large Single Page Applications (SPA)
Client-side data store
3rd Party Library Integrations
New style builder
Disconnected Apps
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Local storage for pure HTML5
PhoneGap file system for hybrid apps
Image capture (both HTML5 and hybrid)
Video/audio capture
Static HTML pages / Application Cache (demo)
Touch Optimized Forms (Demo)
• Editors
– Many fields share same editor - benefits?
– Editors are instantiated in slide-in Panels or Windows
– Text editing can at top of screen
• Template driven layout
• Keyboard optimization
• Built on new 'ViewBox' (demo)
• User-defined keyboard/keypads
Large Single Page Applications
• What is a SPA?
• Why do you need large SPAs?
– Disconnected Applications
• UX ‘Sections’
• Advantages of a SPA over dynamically loading child components
– One namespace
– Light DOM load to keep performace good
Client-side Data Store
• MVC Pattern
– Angular ‘friendly’
– Fits well with disconnected applications
• Bind UI controls to the client-side data store
3rd Party Libraries
• Angular
• 3rd party control libraries - e.g. KendoUI
New Style builder
• More 'SASS' friendly
• Easier to use
• Map 3rd party styles (e.g. Bootstrap) to AA
themes
Deployment Roadmap
• IIS
• Alpha Cloud
IIS
• Benefits of IIS
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Tight integration with ASP.net
Performance
Scaleability
No need for Always Up
• Tighter integration into IDE
– Eventual goal of replacing existing Application Server
Alpha Cloud
• 3rd deployment option
– Self hosting
– ISP hosting
– Alpha Cloud