Introduction

PowerServer Toolkit, a component of Appeon PowerServer, extends the capabilities of PowerBuilder, allowing a new or an existing PowerBuilder application to be converted into a bona fide Web application or a native mobile application using only PowerBuilder skills.

PowerServer Toolkit provides a set of tools that enable the entire PowerBuilder-to-Web or PowerBuilder-to-Mobile process to take place within the PowerBuilder IDE. These tools are accessed via a toolbar in the PowerBuilder IDE, which automatically loads each time PowerBuilder is opened.

Figure 1. PowerServer Toolkit embedded in the PowerBuilder IDE

PowerServer Toolkit embedded in the PowerBuilder IDE

PowerServer Toolkit converts a PowerBuilder application by parsing the PBLs (source code) of PowerBuilder applications and generating a set of corresponding HTML, JavaScript, and XML files. When deployed by PowerServer, these generated files form an exact Web-based or mobile-OS-based replica of the source PowerBuilder application. Any user can open a standard Windows Web browser and access the Web-based version of the original PowerBuilder application over the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet; or access the native mobile application deployed by PowerServer using a mobile device, such as an iPhone, an iPad, Android-powered tablets and smartphones, etc.