ALPHA FIVE PLATINUM BRINGS AJAX TO THE ENTERPRISE

Released on: September 24, 2008, 4:27 am

Press Release Author: Richard Rabins

Industry: Software

Press Release Summary: Build AJAX-powered enterprise applications faster than any
other developer tool. Alpha Software is now shipping Alpha Five Platinum Edition,
the ninth major release of the companyÕs flagship Web database development platform.
ItÕs the first development tool that can visually build AJAX-powered applications,
integrate SQL databases with drag+drop simplicity, and deliver enterprise-scale
availability, without having to write pages of computer code.

Press Release Body: Press contact: Kate@GregoryFCA.com
Company contact: Richard@AlphaSoftware.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Review copies available: PRESS & BLOGGERS ONLY

ALPHA FIVE PLATINUM BRINGS AJAX TO THE ENTERPRISE

Build AJAX-powered enterprise applications faster than any other developer tool

BURLINGTON, Mass.Sept 14, 2008ÑAlpha Software is now shipping Alpha Five Platinum
Edition, the ninth major release of the companyÕs flagship Web database development
platform. ItÕs the first development tool that can visually build AJAX-powered
applications, integrate SQL databases with drag+drop simplicity, and deliver
enterprise-scale availability, without having to write pages of computer code.

And while coding is optional, Alpha FiveÕs integrated development environment (IDE)
still gives developers full access to forms, interactive reports, browses, Web
components, APIs, XML, and more. ItÕs packed with 200 reusable ActionScripts,
ÒSupercontrols,Ó HTML and CSS builders, the full Xbasic/Xdialog language, Portable
SQL, and ÒGeniesÓ that generate editable code for any custom requirement.

ThereÕs also a full-featured custom report generator (with drill-down support), a
role-based Web security framework, and native SQL support for every major
databaseÑincluding Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, IBM DB2, and
EnterpriseDB/Postgres Plus.

ÒBuilding state-of-the-art business applications for the Web just got faster and
easier,Ó says Richard Rabins, Co-Chairman of Alpha Software. ÒWith Alpha Five
Platinum, you can build 100 percent pure Internet and intranet apps that look, feel,
and perform like desktop applications. And with Alpha, you can build them up to 10
times faster than .Net, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, or Ruby. We think developers will
agree that Alpha Five Platinum is the ultimate front-end for their enterprise data.Ó

Alpha Five Platinum boasts 85 new features, key among them:
# AJAX for everyone. Alpha Five Platinum is the first development tool that makes
it easy to build AJAX-powered Web applications. Extensive knowledge of JavaScript,
XML, or an AJAX framework is not required. AJAX applications are built in a
fraction of the time other tools require. One of the hottest development
technologies today, AJAX allows developers to ship applications that behave and
perform interactively, like desktop apps. Users donÕt have to click SUBMIT buttons
to get feedback or flag data entry errors. Instead, they interact in real-time with
the online screen, just as they do with offline desktop apps. But building AJAX
apps has been a complex process for developers, with a steep learning curve. Now,
with Alpha Five Platinum, the learning curve is gone, and the process has been
simplified to a drag+drop operation. No other developer tool builds AJAX apps
faster.
# Application Server Improvements, including a new Cluster Manager for automatic
load balancing and unattended fail-over of enterprise-class database applications;
GZIP compression to turbo-charge data transfer performance; Persistent Connections
to optimize network traffic and improve latency; and Pipelining to more efficiently
fetch batches of files from the server (such as embedded style sheets and images).
# Active Link Tables that turn several SQL databases into one. Just a few clicks
links multiple SQL databasesÑincluding those with stored proceduresÑinto virtual
tables, complete with insert, delete, and update support. Developers can build
Forms, Browses, Reports, Labels, Letters, and more against distributed SQL data, as
if they were native tables.
# Interactive Reporting that allow for drilling down or drilling through data to
provide business intelligence.
# Mapped Tables that allow developers to define virtual tables that display data
from one or more physical tables.
# Heterogeneous Joins, which allow developers to join tables from multiple SQL
database servers, or a server and a local table, within the same query.
# Intelligent Query Optimizer that achieves optimal performance by determining
where filtering and sorting should be done: on the client or on the server.
# Optimistic Record Locking lets multiple users view and edit the same database
record, without locking anyone out.
# Supercontrols that let developers embed hyperlinks, Web content, clocks,
calendars, PDFs, live reports, and more in their database forms, with point and
click ease.
# HTML forms that include regular HTML tags and as well as customized Alpha Five
tags: accordion, tab, conditional, dynamic content, and image).
# XML Parser that can be used as a more capable alternative to the Microsoft XML
parser. With the Alpha XML parser developers get have the power of Xbasic string
functions for manipulating XML data. They can more easily extract and transform
information; and add, change, and reorder elements and attributes.
# HTML Memo Fields that offer more formatting power than RTF (rich text) memos, and
support rich media types, such as images, videos, and hyperlinks.
# Enhanced Field Rules allow lookup windows to display images, be resized or
edited, or have new values added.
# And much more.

In all, Alpha Five Platinum sports 85 new or enhanced features. The complete set of
new features in Alpha Five Platinum can be reviewed at
http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafive/platinum/. Insights into Alpha Five
PlatinumÕs new features are being posted daily to the companyÕs blog, at
http://blog.alphasoftware.com. Each posting covers one feature, and provides a
description and demo video that illustrates how the feature is used, and the
benefits the feature brings to developers. The latest feature listing can be viewed
at http://snipr.com/a5v9features.

Alpha Five Platinum Edition is available now. Pricing starts at $299.00 for an
upgrade from an earlier version. Complete pricing information is available at
http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafive/platinum/index.asp. A 30-day unlimited trial
version of Alpha Five Platinum can be downloaded at
http://www.alphasoftware.com/trial/platinum/index.asp.

ABOUT ALPHA SOFTWARE INC.
Since 1982, Alpha Software has been providing developers with award-winning tools
that make it easy to rapidly build robust database and business applications. Today
over 1 million developers rely on Alpha SoftwareÕs flagship platform, Alpha Five, to
build desktop, client-server, distributed, Web 2.0, and AJAX applications for
organizations of any sizeÑfrom SOHO to the Fortune 100. Every day, tens of millions
of people and businesses rely on applications built in Alpha Five. With the
introduction of Alpha Five Version 9 Platinum Edition in 2008, Alpha Software set
new standards for speed of development, portability, reporting, and security for
database applications of all stripes. The company is privately held, and based in
Burlington, Mass. Alpha Software can be found on the Web at
http://www.alphasoftware.com.

PRESS RESOURCES
Press/blogger contact
Kate Ritchie
610-642-8253, ext. 162
484-557-5518
Kate@GregoryFCA.com

Alpha Five Platinum microsite
http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafive/platinum/index.asp

Alpha Software blog
http://blog.alphasoftware.com

Alpha Software home page
http://www.alphasoftware.com

USER REFERENCES, IMAGES, AND PRESS EVALUATION COPIES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

Web Site: http://http://www.alphasoftware.com/alphafive/platinum/index.asp

Contact Details: Alpha Software, Inc.
70 Blanchard Road,
Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 229-4500

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