ASNA Readies Wings Update For Next ‘palooza
November 14, 2011 Dan Burger
Having application development tools at your disposal is all well and good, but having the skills to make use of them in a big way is what really makes the boat float. That’s why a company like ASNA came up with the idea 11 years ago to host a tech conference for the users of its products. If you are admittedly not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer when it comes to developing and modernizing applications the ASNA way, the ASNApalooza conference is a wise choice to hone your skills with hands-on lab sessions, meetings with the big brains at ASNA, and networking with a lot of other folks who are facing–or have already faced–the same challenges you are up against. Even though a lot of IT folks are hard pressed to escape their day-to-day workload, the choice is often between continuing to work in the dark or gaining the knowledge that flips on some lights. So ASNA has its ‘palooza. Primarily this is a two-day developers’ conference filled with nerdy coding stuff directly related to legacy application issues on the IBM i. Taking existing assets and applying them to present business needs and being better prepared for future requirements. There’s a big dose of application modernization, but that’s not what it’s all about. “Everything we do at ASNA has to do with modernizing applications, but it also is about writing new code, pulling old code in, and integrating old code with new code,” Roger Pence explained in a phone call with IT Jungle last week. “Our customers are doing a lot of new development and building new things.” When it comes to new things, Pence says mobile applications come into the discussion right away. The company’s main tool for app modernization is Wings, which was introduced in January and is based on IBM‘s RPG Open Access technology. A feature upgrade to the product, which will facilitate large scale conversion of green-screen to .NET interfaces, is expected to become generally available within a month from now and mobile application development features will be available next spring. At the ASNApalooza event held in ASNA’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas, on April 23 and 24, there will be sessions on mobile development as well as product enhancements to the ASNA Wings product. Windows 8 will also be featured on the session agenda at the event. The main focus of the conference, however, will be on topics of greatest value to the majority of existing ASNA customers. That means guidance for AVR Classic and Visual RPG customers who have green-screen applications and are looking for assistance in designing and implementing browser-based apps in .NET Windows and Web environments. Much of this comes down to core construction techniques, Web enablement, and client-side Web work with JavaScript. Early registration discounts for ASNApalooza are available through the end of the year. For registration details, click here. By the way, next month ASNA will be celebrating 30 years of doing business in the IBM midrange market. RELATED STORIES Roger Pence, the ‘Anti-PowerPoint,’ to Hold ASNA Workshops on Wings ASNA’s Newest RPG to .NET Option Now Available ASNA Dips Its New ‘Wings’ Into OAR Waters ASNA Updates RPG Technology for MS Visual Studio 2010
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