PowerBuilder Roadmap
Paving the way for a simpler, faster, open-standards approach to building cloud apps for .NET!
Appeon is innovating PowerBuilder in agile cycles. Over the next few years, we plan to revamp PowerBuilder’s approach to .NET, its server-side architecture, and the UI of your apps. We are committed to making C# development with PowerBuilder super easy while adhering to open standards. While we believe that a Desktop Cloud App (rather than HTML) is the best approach for business apps, you are free to use whatever client-side technology you wish. Of course, we are also enhancing development of traditional desktop apps.
Rapidly develop C# Web APIs using the native PowerBuilder IDE, DataWindow technology, and automated migration tools. 100% managed code, secure, and scalable.
Develop eye-catching desktop apps that are powered by C# Web APIs and deploy seamlessly over the Internet. The desktop and web converged.
C# Development
PowerBuilder 2018 will provide new targets to enable developers to rapidly create RESTful Web APIs and non-visual .NET assemblies, in a test-driven manner, with the native PowerBuilder IDE and C#.
This is a total revamp of the existing .NET Web Services and assembly targets, designed with interoperability, security, and performance in mind. As such, these targets are 100% managed C# code and compatible with the .NET Core[1]. OAuth 2.0[2] authentication is provided out-of-the-box. And you should notice a significant boost in performance and scalability.
PowerBuilder 2018 will be a fantastic opportunity to expand your development arsenal with the plethora of third-party and open-source components in the .NET ecosystem as well as valuable cloud services, while developing apps faster than Visual Studio developers.
Compared to traditional C# development in Visual Studio, PowerBuilder 2018 offers the following key benefits:
Low Learning Curve
As little as 2 weeks.
Less Coding
Even less than PowerScript.
Easy Migration
Migration tools provided.
Roadmap Details
This list shows the specific new features or enhancements planned for a particular release of PowerBuilder. Based on customer feedback and technology trends, it is possible a particular item may be changed, delayed, or removed. As such, it is important that you participate in the product roadmap by voting and commenting on the product roadmap. As a customer-driven company, we will carefully consider your feedback to make PowerBuilder work for you!
| Feature | Video | Planned Date | Updated Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Native PDF Print |
30 June, 2017 | 28 Feb, 2018 | Released | |
|
Windows 10 and latest DB, environment |
30 June, 2017 | 22 Dec, 2017 | Released | |
|
Mobile Applications |
30 June, 2017 | 28 Feb, 2018 | Released | |
|
Cloud Licensing Model |
30 June, 2017 | 28 Feb, 2018 | Released | |
|
PowerBuilder Compiler Supporting Multiple Build Agents |
30 June, 2017 | 01 Mar, 2018 | Released | |
|
Localization Runtime Files for 8 European Languages |
8 December, 2017 | 15 Mar, 2018 | Released | |
|
Datawindow JSON Retrieve |
31 January, 2018 | 15 Mar, 2018 | Released | |
|
JSON Parser and Generator |
31 January, 2018 | 21 Mar, 2018 | Released | |
|
Native interface to Git & SVN |
31 January, 2018 | 01 Mar, 2018 | Released | |
|
Consume RESTful Web Services |
31 January, 2018 | 01 Mar, 2018 | Released | |
|
PostgreSQL Database Support |
31 January, 2018 | 31 Jan, 2018 | Released | |
|
Enhancing Native Interface to Git & SVN |
31 July, 2018 | 15 Mar, 2018 | Planned | |
|
Further Enhancing the Native PDF |
31 July, 2018 | 21 Mar, 2018 | Planned |
[1] Although .NET Core-compatible apps can be run on the full .NET framework, deploying the .NET Core framework instead offers the following key benefits:
- Cross-OS – run on Windows or Linux servers as well as open-source .NET servers (e.g. Kestrel)
- Easier Deployment – container-friendly and supports side-by-side installation of .NET versions
- Higher Performance – designed from the ground up to perform better than the full .NET framework
Please refer to the following page on Microsoft.com for more info about the benefits of the .NET Core framework: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/choosing-core-framework-server
[2] In the context of PowerBuilder 2018, OAuth, an open standard, is being used to grant your applications (regardless developed in PowerBuilder or not) the right to access your C# Web APIs securely without having to share credentials (e.g. passwords). Passing credentials back n’ forth is not a best practice from a security perspective, and in fact some third parties may require that your application uses OAuth or something similar.
