ASC Releases ABSTRACT for Operations Navigator
Joanna Doyle
Advanced Systems Concepts (Schaumburg, Ill.) recently released the successor to Abstract/Probe+, its cross-referencing and documentation system for AS/400. ABSTRACT for Operations Navigator, which was introduced last week, offers the same features as it predecessor, however, the new version is designed to work in conjunction with IBM’s Windows-like Operations Navigator GUI for AS/400. It is one of the first products to take advantage of the plug-in support IBM has made available on the Operations Navigator system.
ABSTRACT provides tools for analyzing applications and building a “where-used” cross-reference of system objects and is able to perform such operations more quickly than what is possible using OpsNav alone. ABSTRACT tracks object and field usage, relationships between objects, file analysis and other important reference information. Pop-up menus allow users to edit source, view object usage, recreate file relationships or initiate a number of other options. All of these functions can be performed through IBM’s AS/400 point-and-click graphical interface, or it can be used along with a “green screen” version of ABSTRACT that mirrors Abstract/Probe+.
“ABSTRACT allows users the ability to view any object relationships on their AS/400 through the Operations Navigator interface with little or no difference in performance from the ABSTRACT green-screen interface,” says Chris Wilson, director of programming tools at ASC. “In fact, ABSTRACT allows for far quicker response time for real-time object lists than what Operations Navigator normally permits. Using plug-in support protocols, ASC has also extended many ABSTRACT real-time functions to other nodes in Operations Navigator, making the entire OpsNav framework more useful.”
ABSTRACT for Operations Navigator will be available in January, according to ASC. The company has announced it will offer special introductory period upgrade incentives for current Abstract/Probe+ sites. It will also make available “competitive upgrades” for users of other AS/400 cross-referencing tools. Further information, including details regarding a free trial offer for the product, can be obtained by visiting ASC’s Web site,
www.asc-as400.com.