AppForge, iAnywhere Upgrades Ease Mobile Database Development

AppForge Inc. and iAnywhere Solutions Inc. are sharing mobile database technology to make the development of cross-platform, enterprise-class applications for handheld computing devices quicker and easier.

Atlanta-based AppForge integrated iAnywheres SQL Anywhere Studio mobile software into Version 4.0 of its own MobileVB development environment, which the two companies demonstrated last week at Comdex, in Las Vegas.

At the same time, iAnywhere, a subsidiary of Sybase Inc., in Dublin, Calif., released SQL Anywhere Studio 8.0.2, an update of its mobile data management and enterprise synchronization software.

SQL Anywhere Studio 8.0.2 features the new UltraLite Component Suite, a database deployment option for small computing devices, such as PDAs (personal digital assistants), that could support databases of about 50KB to 100KB. UltraLite will be included in MobileVB 4.0. MobileVB 4.0 beta tester Brian Holmes said that putting UltraLite into field workers PDAs will allow years worth of data to be stored on handhelds and then synced wirelessly or via cradle. Without it, field workers would need to constantly transmit data wirelessly via devices such as smart phones, said Holmes, chief technology officer at Basebridge.com Ltd., which makes software for inspection automation.

Syncing a lot of information is important for users of Basebridges thin-client solutions because they cant count on having an open connection to a database through an Internet connection.

“A lot of our clients were trying to give somebody direct access to a database on a server, wirelessly,” said Holmes, in Bedford, Nova Scotia. “Problem was, if you lose the Internet connection, you lose your connection to the database. And our guys can be anywhere—inside a boiler, where theres no Internet connection. With [AppForges new product], they can sync when theyre back in a covered area.”

AppForge MobileVB 4.0 is available now at no charge to current SQL Anywhere users.

Meanwhile, SQL Anywhere Studio 8.0.2 also adds a native .Net data provider for integration of data with enterprise applications built using Microsoft Corp.s .Net Framework and .Net Compact Framework.

The update also features support for Insignia Solutions Inc.s Jeode JVM (Java virtual machine), as well as Microsofts Visual Basic and Embedded Visual Basic.