File Upload Feature Added to mrc’s m-Power

September 9, 2008 Alex Woodie

E-mail is a wonderful technology that has a hundred practical uses. However, when it comes to moving large numbers of files in a simple and timely manner, e-mail and its attachment capability are far from ideal. With the latest release of mrc m-Power Web application development tool, users gain the capability to build file uploading capabilities directly into their m-Power applications.

Introduced more than four years ago to supplement its OS/400-only Productivity Series 4GL environment, m-Power is a Web application development environment designed to enable rapid generation of J2EE-based programs, such as Web portals, dashboards, and reports. The software utilizes a model-based development approach that utilizes programmers’ existing knowledge of their databases and eliminates the need to learn new languages and syntaxes. m-Power applications run on practically any operating system or databases (including i5/OS and DB2/400); the main requirement is a Java application server, such as Apache Tomcat (which is pre-integrated and included with the product).

Last week mrc unveiled the introduction of a major new feature to m-Power: file uploads. The new feature is expected to give m-Power users the capability to replace the use of e-mail and e-mail attachments as a way to move and manage files, according to Brian Crowley, director of development for the Chicago-based company.

“Even though e-mail is the most common file transfer option, it is not secure and usually comes with size restrictions,” Crowley states in mrc’s announcement. “m-Power users can now bypass the hassles of e-mail attachments, and quickly build upload functionality directly into their applications.”

There are numerous ways the new feature can be put to work in production applications, according to mrc. A car insurance company could use it to allow customers to upload photos and claim documents electronically, or a shipping company could allow its customers to upload pictures of damaged shipments. “The possibilities are really very wide,” Crowley says.

The new feature was added to m-Power as part of the company’s ongoing development effort. Instead of bundling new features and fixes into new versions and point releases, mrc continually posts new features and fixes to its Web site so users can download them. This year alone, the company has posted more than 100 new features and fixes to m-Power and Productivity Series.

Pricing for m-Power starts at $10,000 (for a software “lease”), and $28,800 for a license that enables an unlimited number of developers access to one database. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.mrc-productivity.com.