New CA Modeling Tool Supports WCF

12/17/2008

By John K. Waters

CA’s latest release of its Plex rapid application development environment now lets developers model and generate Microsoft .NET-based services based on Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).

Plex is a multiplatform, model-driven development (MDD) environment that includes architectural and design objects known as patterns, which can reduce the need to code repeatable elements in applications. Islandia, N.Y.-based CA, a supplier of IT management software, announced its latest version, Plex 6.1, on Tuesday.

WCF support in Plex 6.1 facilitates the mixing and matching of.NET-based services across the enterprise and with business partners, according to William Hunt, a CA product manager. With Plex 6.1, developers can build applications utilizing Windows Workflow Foundation and perform business process automation modeling using a single dev environment, Hunt said.

“As we see it — and as we believe Microsoft sees it — WCF is the future of how service-oriented architectures (SOAs) will be adopted in applications,” Hunt said. “So it’s important for us to provide this kind of capability going forward.”

The tool is designed to support a number of platforms: Windows/.NET; Java/J2EE; servers that run Java on Linux, UNIX and other OSes; and IBM System i, formerly known as iSeries or AS/400. Plex 6.1 also runs on Windows Vista desktops.

Plex is historically popular among System i users, Hunt said, and its new WCF capabilities are aimed at helping AS/400 shops face a changing future.

“We see AS/400 users pondering what their modernization strategies will be,” he said. “We also believe that the model-based development approach that we offer is ideal for the quick adoption of SOAs. That’s because it’s an environment that largely shields developers from low-level details of certain technologies.”

The WCF capability is the most compelling part of this release, said John Rhodes, CTO and cofounder of ADC Austin, a system integrator based in Austin, Texas. Rhodes has used Plex for years, and his company was part of the beta program for version 6.1.

“It [WCF] enables Plex to generate Microsoft-compliant Web services,” Rhodes said. “It helps customers expose their large models to external services.”

ADC Austin did more than kick the tires on Plex 6.1. The company worked with the Indiana University Foundation to codevelop an application to manage that organization’s endowment using the new tool. They dubbed the application ETA, for “Endowment Trust Accounting.”

This was ADC Austin’s first real foray into WCF territory.

“This was a good way to see how Plex works in a real .NET framework,” Rhodes said, adding that he is sold on the MDD approach to application development. MDD-style software development employs “models” from which code and other artifacts are generated. “We like Plex because it’s one of the few tools that generates both C# and Java code,” he said.

A growing number of vendors, large and small, are offering MDD tools and frameworks, including IBM (with its acquisition of Telelogic), Intelliun, and Mendix. For its part, CA offers four MDD tools: Plex; 2E; Gen, a dev environment for high-performance business applications; and Aion Business Rules Expert, a rules-based application development tool.

Other improvements to the Plex 6.1 release include easy viewing and documenting of group model updates, improved APIs for extending the Plex environment programmatically, and IPv6 support. More information on Plex can be accessed at CA’s site here.

John K. Waters is a freelance writer based in Silicon Valley. He can be reached at john@watersworks.com.

December 16, 2008 09:00 AM Eastern Time 

CA Plex r6.1 Streamlines Development and Maintenance of Multi-Platform Service-Oriented Applications

ISLANDIA, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CA (NASDAQ: CA) today announced CA Plex r6.1, a powerful rapid application development environment that enables model-driven development of Microsoft .NET Framework, J2EE and IBM i Web services. By empowering developers to apply model-driven techniques to Web services development across multiple platforms, CA Plex helps IT organizations to deliver sophisticated and highly manageable SOA-based business solutions.

Mixing and Matching Diverse .NET-Based Services

The new release can model and generate .NET-based services based on Microsoft’s Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), the unified communication technology for .NET developers. Support for this standard facilitates the “mixing and matching” of diverse .NET-based services across the enterprise and with business partners. By supporting WCF, CA Plex applications can now utilize a variety of .NET technologies, such as Windows Workflow Foundation, to enable Business Process Automation modeling from a single, intuitive development environment. In addition, CA Plex 6.1 supports the Windows Vista operating system on the developer desktop.

“CA’s broad support for Microsoft technologies enables our mutual customers to fulfill demanding business requirements even in the most heterogeneous enterprise computing environments,” said Greg Kirchoff, director of Global ISVs and Strategic Alliances at Microsoft. “CA Plex’s support for WCF is particularly valuable as more and more companies embrace .NET as the foundation for their service-oriented architectures.”

Other enhancements include easy viewing and documenting of group model updates, improved APIs for extending the CA Plex environment programmatically, and IPv6 support.

“Within state government, new legislation frequently changes business practices unexpectedly. Today’s economy is forcing state agencies to downsize and do more with less; yet public demand for innovative software and services does not waver,” said Tami Boston, Information Systems Analyst at the State of Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB). “CA continues to improve CA Plex in ways that allow the CDB technology staff to tackle these challenges and meet project deadlines, despite the constraints on developer headcount.”

Insulates Developers from Coding Details of Java/J2EE, Windows/.NET and IBM i

In addition to insulating developers from low-level coding details of Java/J2EE, Windows/.NET, IBM i and the Web, CA Plex facilitates team collaboration and management through a unified development environment. CA Plex also implements common services within a shared runtime framework—helping to optimize performance and reduce the required amount of generated code.

“Enterprise IT organizations need to become more efficient and services minded,” said William Hunt, principal product manager for CA Plex. “CA Plex r6.1 is designed to achieve these goals.”

A global network of authorized resellers, service providers, education providers and technology partners provide pattern libraries that extend the technologies and capabilities of the CA Plex environment.

About CA

CA (NASDAQ: CA) is the world’s leading independent IT management software company. With CA’s Enterprise IT Management (EITM) vision and expertise, organizations can more effectively govern, manage and secure IT to optimize business performance and sustain competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

Subscribe to CA

• CA Newsletters
• CA Press Releases
• CA YouTube Channel
• CA Podcasts
• CA Blogs

Trademarks

Copyright © 2008 CA. All Rights Reserved. One CA Plaza, Islandia, N.Y. 11749. All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Microsoft, Windows and Windows Vista are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. J2EE and Java are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.