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MV# Developer Studio Release 2.0 Now Available

July 7, 2017, Pensacola, FL

MV# Developer Studio from ONgroup Intl is an editor for MV BASIC and an IDE for MVON# Netbuilder applications. Netbuilder runs applications in .NET with SQL Server that were originally written in System Builder (SB+). The Studio includes a designer, property pane and other features for rapid development and maintenance of applications.

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MV# Developer Studio 2.0 has been enhanced to be a contemporary editor running in .NET that works for all MVON# customers. MVON# Netbuilder sites still get the big benefits of an IDE, and now those running MV BASIC and related languages without Netbuilder can still get the benefit of this powerful MV# editor. Compiling with the MV# Developer Studio transpiles to C# and runs the MV code in .NET.

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Included in the feature set are color coding, code folding, and multiple tabs, including across servers and databases. “Having been an ardent fan of Easy Developer (ED),” says Peter Carroll, Senior Software Engineer at ONgroup Intl, “I have to admit that using the Studio is a big advance for application development. I highly recommend contacting ONgroup and giving it a spin.”

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Clicking or touching the screen to compile, with or without debug, is what developers working in other languages expect. “It is one place in the demos to MultiValue developers where we hear ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs,’ however,” said Grant Hart, Chief Software Architect for ONgroup. MV# Developer Studio 2.0 feels more like Microsoft Visual Studio than other editors that support MV BASIC, PROCs and Paragraphs.

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The MV# Developer Studio is part of the MVON# suite of tools that free MultiValue applications from using MV-specific databases or MV-specific run machines. MVON# tools run MultiValue applications in .NET with MV data in SQL Server.�

ONgroup Scales Up With MVON# Running in .NET - The Direction for MultiValue is CLR

January 30, 2017, Pensacola, FL

ONgroup Intl now helps organizations boost their value by running MultiValue applications directly in Microsoft .NET. Companies can run in the .NET or Mono CLR, the Common Language Runtime. MVON# is the toolset that allows sites to keep what works while removing barriers to integration with contemporary technologies.

In addition to more obvious gains when using pervasive Microsoft technologies, this alignment with the industry alleviates the strains of interoperability. IT is able to move many tasks directly into the hands of end-users while other tasks go away completely. The ease of managing applications with satisfied users yields an overall increase in the value of those applications.

ONgroup Intl is scaling up with the formation of ONgroup Africa and the global distribution of MVON#. The idea of running MultiValue as managed code in the CLR without a MultiValue-only run machine originated in South Africa where the MVON# toolset is already in use. “By decoupling applications from the DBMS, sites have the first horizontally scalable MV applications,” said Grant Hart, Chief Architect for the MVON# toolset. MVON# is optimized to run with SQL Server and is architected to run with any MultiValue or SQL-based DBMS on the back-end, including Rocket U2 and Oracle.

Developers with their own application generator can use it as a .NET application generator. The opportunity to run in .NET is also extended to sites running in System Builder or SB+ who can experience the new browser user interface for their existing application using MVON# Netbuilder.

“We added the sharp symbol to the name to give a hint that with this toolset, MultiValue source code transpiles to C# to run in .NET. Running applications side by side with everything else running in the Common Language Runtime will be as obvious a choice in the coming years as running applications in common operating systems is today,” said Charles Stauffer, CEO of ONgroup Intl.

For more information regarding ONgroup’s MVON# toolset, visit www.ongroup.com.

The MVON# toolset for running existing MV applications in .NET is now ready for worldwide distribution. For sites that want to avoid lock-in or want to enhance the tools themselves, ONgroup optionally provides full source code. While provided with a rich menu of variations such as Linux Mono and a choice of DBMS, a typical MVON# customer chooses to move away from per-seat pricing and runs MV applications in .NET with SQL Server.

About ONgroup
ONgroup Intl is a software and services company helping organizations worldwide thrive by increasing the value of software applications. ONgroup professionals bring decades of experience in MultiValue and specialize in combining MultiValue and seasoned techniques with SQL, .NET, and successful contemporary approaches for advancing business software. ONgroup celebrates giving new life to solid, mature applications and joy to those who develop and maintain them.

Healthcare Management Systems

February 2013, Richmond, VA.

Healthcare Management Systems (HMS) has been a MultiValue VAR providing business solutions to health care providers since 1976. HMS provides turnkey billing software for practices that desire their own independent billing operation. Radiology, Pathology, Anesthesia, and Emergency Room practices each utilize HMS software specific to their own specialty. HMS also provides a billing service thru a separate division for medical groups who do not wish to face the challenge of an internal billing operation. This service employs cloud technology. These proven solutions were developed in the very comprehensive MultiValue environment Power95 in Unix AIX on expensive IBM RISC 6000 servers. Part of the challenge facing HMS management was that Power95 stopped being supported by any MultiValue provider. Richard Usry states “it was a challenge finding a replacement for Power95. Other MultiValue systems didn’t have many features that were available in Power95 and in one comparison was missing over 200 features that would have required program modifications. ONware had only 3 features that needed program modifications.”

HMS president and chief developer, Richard Usry, was looking for a way forward for their existing customers that continued to provide the medical business solutions HMS had spent years developing and that their customer Medical offices and Medical billing companies were familiar with. Usry also wanted to move into the 21^st century by providing the latest technology including replacing the no-longer-supported Power95 database with the popular Oracle Relational Data Base Management system and all the Relational tools available in the Oracle environment. However the option of rewriting their existing medical business applications in a new language specific to the Oracle environment would have been a multi-year project requiring the hiring of a new development team that would have cost millions of dollars.

Some options Usry evaluated were migrating to D3, the latest MultiValue offering supported by his current Power95 supplier, and UniVerse, another MultiValue environment. Neither option supported all the options HMS currently used in Power95. And, of course, neither provided the ability to move to the relational database Oracle.

Usry discovered ONgroup, the supplier of a MultiValue environment, ONware, that would enable his applications to use Oracle as the database, retaining HMS MultiValue source code by just recompiling them with ONware.

A requirement for Usry was minimal, if any, change to application function. This would alleviate training and support. ONware satisfied this requirement. According to Richard Usry, "We have had a very positive experience with our ONware conversion processes. Our clients don't see their daily processes change; and, because no re-training of our clients employees is necessary, this has been a significant advantage in upgrading their systems with ONware. We have been able to provide enhanced reporting capabilities for our clients, and the speed of the Windows ONware product has been phenomenal." Usry added, "ONgroup added functionality to ONware that was unique to Power95, they worked with us to create Oracle specific utilities to replace the versions that were dependent on Power95."

With identical source code, HMS customers are now running on Oracle or Power95, with the same functionality. Most of the customers have upgraded to Oracle on Windows to obtain the derivative benefits, yet there is no requirement for them to do so.

ONware is a framework that emulates most MultiValue frameworks (e.g. UniVerse, UniData, D3) with the power to employ relational database systems (e.g. Oracle, SQL Server) or other MultiValue database systems. The ONware software and related services are offered by Blacksmith Corporation and its distributors, such as ONgroup Inc (www.ongroup.com) of Pensacola FL.

ONgroup / New York State Migrate UniVerse Applications to SQL Server

April 14th, 2003, Ventura, CA.

New York State runs the nation’s first statewide amateur sports program. The Empire State Games is the largest of its kind and a recognized program of the US Olympic Committee.

The annual event of 2,400 games has been supported by applications developed on the UniVerse DBMS platform. The applications consist of a collection of BASIC programs, dictionary definitions, paragraphs and sentences. The system has been fine-tuned over the years and supports the Games functionally very well. In this information age, however, real-time access to the Games data is imperative.

NY State, with the help of ONgroup, www.ongroup.com, recently moved the Games database to SQL Server. Why move from UniVerse to SQL Server? The State has been providing Games data on the Internet for years. \"I\'ve been accomplishing this with ODBC\", stated Pepper Rayfield of NY State, \"but it is difficult. I first have to export the data and then make it available on the Web. The main benefit of this move,\" said Rayfield \"is that we now can view real-time Game results in Active Server Pages (ASP) on the net; my data is now directly available.\"

SQL Server gives the NY State IT team the tools they need to accomplish their IT goals easily and effectively. \"We’ve put so much work into this system over the years,\" states Rayfield. \"We couldn’t justify tossing it aside and starting over. ONgroup offered us an interesting alternative, the best of both worlds. We keep our applications, but move our data to standard relational technology.

NY State made the choice many organizations are making when they consider the value of their legacy MultiValue applications. Mature applications are the heart of the organization. Re-engineering them or replacing with an off-the-shelf package can take years, upwards of millions of dollars and introduce risk. NY State chose to continue to use their legacy systems and incorporate the new technology needed to succeed.

According to Denise Buttrey of ONgroup, \"The first step in a project like this is to copy the data files to SQL Server using the ONware Enterprise suite of products. File pointers are configured. The BASIC programs and dictionary objects are then compiled in ONware, and the QA process begins.\"

\"ONgroup put together an effective team, and we enjoyed working together,\" said Rayfield, \"and as a result we learned how to find our way in the new SQL Server environment. We were able to continue to get value out of our UniVerse staff while learning new technology.\"

ONgroup specializes in helping organizations with MultiValue technology, such as UniVerse, UniData, Prime and PICK, migrate to or integrate with standard relational technology such as Oracle and SQL Server. Visit www.ongroup.com for more information

$3.8 Million Transaction with Union Pacific Proves Key Indicator of Critical Value of MVON Oracle So

July 1998, Ventura, CA.

Within four months following MVON Oracle\'s emergence on the market, ON Corporation, in cooperation with Oracle Corporation, recently completed a $3.8 million transaction, which included a license for one thousand Oracle Enterprise seats, Oracle Financials and MVON Oracle. Skyway Freight Systems Inc., a division of Union Pacific Corporation, made the purchase, which included consulting services.

MVON was critical to the sale, says Oracle Rep Keith Franco. \"Like many large companies, Union Pacific has a division, Skyway Freight, which uses the UniData DBMS, a MultiValue environment from Ardent Software. For Skyway, the prospect of switching to Oracle seemed like your typical conversion nightmare, until recently, when MVON became available,\" he remarked.

With MVON, Skyway can migrate its existing UniData and Sybase applications to Oracle and quickly begin using the popular Oracle Financials applications and other powerful development and reporting tools. MVON bridges the old and new systems, letting MV programmers maintain their applications, but run them directly on relational databases. MVON is a MultiValue environment that runs directly on any of the common relational database managers, such as Oracle, and other MultiValue database managers.

From a business perspective, MVON offers a simpler and cost effective alternative for integrating databases, phasing in a UniData-to-Oracle system conversion, or streamlining the maintenance of two different systems. This can mean potential cost savings of millions of dollars and months of delay in developing new applications and updating legacy programs.

For large companies worldwide, Oracle databases are the most widely used, making them the de-facto standard database. This is largely due to Oracle\'s availability to a wide range of state-of-the-art tools, vertical/business packages, trained professionals, and staffing. Oracle also allows easy access to company data by WEB applications. MVON supports integration with Oracle7 and the recently released Oracle8.

Trademarks

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. ONware is a trademark of ONgroup. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

The Multivalue Environment ON Oracle

This article appeared in the 1998 March/April, Issue of International Spectrum Magazine

MVON ORACLE engineers have created an elegant solution to a problem which has confounded developers and frustrated business managers alike. ON Corporation has developed technology which understands both the major MultiValue environments and the target relational database.

What was once an oxymoron is now a reality. Oracle includes support for multivalue data structures, and On Corporation has just announced a MultiValue environment which emulates UniVerse, UniData and D3 operating environments and incorporates Oracle as its primary database. This effectively eliminates that ugly barrier between the MultiValue environment and RDBMS environments.

This new MultiValue environment, called MVON ORACLE, supports Oracle 7 and other common RDBMS products as well as Oracle 8. So, if you are getting pressure to convert applications to an RDBMS, On Corporation promises a way to do this without a painful and costly conversion. According to Charles Stauffer, President of On Corporation, \\\"You can use your existing MultiValue programs, and your technical staff can continue to use the familiar MultiValue environment application program interface.\\\" Charles adds, \\\"You can mix UniVerse, UniData, D3 and other MultiValue environment files with RDBMS tables.\\\" MVON ORACLE technology delivers the benefits of both environments - existing MultiValue applications running on a mainstream relational database. That means that programmers who are familiar with MultiValue architecture and MultiValue/BASIC can continue to maintain applications, utilizing their current skill set, even though they now run on a mainstream relational database.

MVON ORACLE technology delivers the benefits of both environment - existing MultiValue applications running on a mainstream relational database. That means that programmers who are familiar with MultiValue architecture and MultiValue/BASIC can continue to maintain applications, utilizing their current skill set, even though they now run on a mainstream relational database.

Programmers who are familiar with MultiValue architecture and MultiValue/BASIC can continue to maintain applications, utilizing their current skill set, even though they now run on a mainstream relational database.

MVON ORACLE engineers have created an elegant solution to a problem which has confounded developers and frustrated business managers alike. On Corporation has developed technology which understands both the major MultiValue environments and the target relational database. MVON ORACLE technology compiles MultiValue/BASIC applications for execution on the Oracle platform. The applications are automatically enabled to run on a variety of hardware and software platforms with Oracle as the target database. The MultiValue capabilities that the application expects are translated into constructs which are supported natively by the Oracle database but appear multivalue to the application. If this all sounds too simple, you get the concept. It is.

Although achieving the desired result seems straightforward, the underlying MVON technology is quite sophisticated and necessarily so. MVON supports all major MultiValue environments including UniVerse, UniData, PICK, Prime INFORMATION, PI/open, D3, AP/PRO. It automatically supports all of the desirable features of MultiValue application architecture. It is precisely these MultiValue features which have caused the most serious compatibility issues when migrating a MultiValue application to a mainstream relational platform. MVON automatically manages support for MultiValue/BASIC, data structure translation from Multivalue to relational and back, data typing differences, and table space allocation issues.

This is the core of MVON technology, but there is much more. MVON supports other MultiValue facilities, including the MultiValue reporting language, the MultiValue editor, and the MultiValue dictionary definitions. MVON also includes transition tools to create Oracle tables and tools to normalize a nested MultiValue data structure.

Ken Carpenter-AK Steel Corporation: \"We were faced with a rapidly approaching deadline to get on Oracle. We researched packages and found nothing to replace our functionally excellent in-house system, developed in INFORMATION and UniVerse. MVON ORACLE gave us an option we did not think possible.\"

Skeptics might argue that almost anything is possible programmatically. The real test is performance. By all initial accounts MVON surpasses expectations. In this regard there are two areas of MVON technology which require a fuller explanation - the MVON application server technology and the MVON data server technology. The application server consists of a BASIC compiler, a run machine, and several other elements which provide compatibility with the facilities available in a traditional MultiValue environment. MVON ’s BASIC compiler is an efficient, superset of existing MultiValue/BASIC instructions, providing support for different flavors of MultiValue/BASIC source. When an existing program is compiled with MVON , it produces pseudo machine code which is executed at run time. The compiler understands the variations in UniVerse and Advanced PICK BASIC, for instance, and creates an executable that will run under any environment that supports MVON. That means virtually anywhere since MVON is compatible with Windows, Windows NT, and UNIX. This solves compatibility at the program level. The MVON data server addresses database platform compatibility. It insulates the application from the target database and performs I/O on its behalf. The application presumes a MultiValue architecture while the data server attends to the details of access and update of the target database whether it is a traditional MultiValue database like UniVerse or UniData or a mainstream relational database like Oracle, Sybase, or Microsoft SQL Server. The data server transparently generates the appropriate SQL to manipulate data on behalf of the application and presents the data requested by the application in the form it expects. The MVON data server and application server are both written in C. That and an elegant architecture combine for a surprisingly simple and effective solution. Ken Carpenter at AK Steel Corporation agrees, \\\"We were faced with a rapidly approaching deadline to get on Oracle. We researched packages and found nothing to replace our functionally excellent in-house system, developed in INFORMATION and UniVerse. MVON ORACLE gave us an option we did not think possible. It keeps the best features of MultiValue online with Oracle.\\\"

MVON offers an exciting environment in which to develop new applications which allows you to develop once, maintain a single source, and deploy anywhere.

Any discussion of modern application architecture would not be complete without a discussion of application deployment options. As a byproduct of converting existing applications to MVON , deployment options are multiplied on two fronts - platform and application architecture. The application topology options are as impressive as the platform alternatives. MVON supports thin client, application partitioning, and provides the mechanisms for web application support. These topics are beyond the scope of our present discussion, but additional technical information is available from On Corporation at www.on-corp.com.

The MVON technology is very impressive. It delivers the benefits of MultiValue and mainstream relational without forcing you to leave MultiValue in order to take advantage of the benefits of a relational database. MVON extends the life of existing MultiValue applications by adding platform and application deployment options. It also offers an exciting environment in which to develop new applications which allows you to develop once, maintain a single source, and deploy anywhere.

MVON technology calls into question whether \"having your cake and eating too\" is really a clich or is now a possibility. Check out the technology and decide for yourself.

Oracle and ON Corp Deliver Multivalue Compatibility

This article appeared in the 1998 March, Issue of Computing News & Review

ON is positioning the MVON technology as a way to make MultiValue application technology available to mainstream relational database users.

Existing MultiValue applications now run directly with the Oracle database. ON Corporation’s recently announced MVON Oracle product is the key. According to ON marketing VP, Denise Buttrey, existing MultiValue applications recompiled with ON’s MultiValue BASIC compiler will execute under ON’s compatibility engine and use Oracle as the target database. The MVON product supports applications originally written for all of the major MultiValue environments. MVON also supports application partitioning and facilitates the move to advanced three tier client/server architecture.

ON is teaming with Oracle to deliver a special offer to entice skeptical MultiValue users. Qualified MultiValue users can acquire both an NT Server based Oracle 8 license and an MVON full capability product license at a cost of $295 per seat. Oracle 8 is Oracle\'s latest database technology and includes object support. The special pricing is available for a limited time at the ten user license level directly from ON Corporation.

ON is positioning the MVON technology as a way to make MultiValue application technology available to mainstream relational database users. Of most importance to existing MultiValue sites, it includes a BASIC compiler for Oracle providing a MultiValue environment in the mainstream relational world without forcing happy MultiValue users to abandon existing applications.

According to ON president, Charles Stauffer, \"The MVON technology simplifies the whole integration process. In fact, MVON makes the formerly impossible easy and automatic.\" From a business perspective, it liberates MultiValue users who are happy but need to move to another database platform. It also simplifies application integration issues for firms which need to support both MultiValue and Oracle environments concurrently.

MVON simplifies application integration issues for firms which need to support both MultiValue and Oracle environments concurrently.

With MVON, existing MultiValue staff are able to maintain the original applications without any special training on the new Oracle environment. They continue to work in a familiar MultiValue environment. MVON is a cost effective solution for Oracle database integration, phased application migration from MultiValue to Oracle, and the efficient concurrent maintenance of Oracle and MultiValue environments.

MVON supports applications originally developed in all major MultiValue environments including UniVerse, UniData, PICK, Prime INFORMATION, PI/open, D3, AP/Pro, Mentor, and General Automation.

MVON automatically manages support for MultiValue BASIC, data structure translation from MultiValue to relational and back, data typing differences, and table space allocation issues. MVON also provides a suite of familiar tools that all MultiValue users expect including an MultiValue editor, MultiValue reporting language, and MultiValue dictionary with I-type support. MVON includes transition tools to create Oracle tables and to normalize a nested MultiValue data structure.

With MVON, existing MultiValue staff are able to maintain their original applications without any special training on the new Oracle environment.

Partitioning allows the developer to control exactly how much of the application resides on the client as opposed to the server. In distributed environments, this would allow a fat client configuration for a one-person sales office and a thin client deployment for a major office with an application server all from the same application source. MVON partitioning is a deployment option; it does not require the partitioning scheme to be hard coded into the application source code.

MVON architecture does not require the application and data servers to reside on different hardware platforms. They can both reside on the same physical computer. Logically, they are distinct, which provides for upward scalability without disruption to the application environment. With the MVON technology, applications are truly independent of the original environment for which they were developed. Even the physical location of both application logic and data can be dynamically relocated on the network without adverse impact to MVON based applications.

Although the MVON technology is quite sophisticated, the process for moving existing MultiValue applications to Oracle is quite straight forward. The first step is compiling the source for the existing application. This is performed by the MVON application server. The application server includes MultiValue BASIC, a virtual MultiValue machine, and several other elements which provide compatibility with the traditional MultiValue environment.

The MultiValue BASIC compiler is a superset of the flavors of the major MultiValue BASIC instruction sets. The compiler produces pseudo code which is executed at run time by the virtual MultiValue machine. The compiler is intelligent. It understands and accommodates for the differences among the major MultiValue environments. The virtual MultiValue machine solves compatibility at the program level. As a virtual machine, it offers compatibility to different hardware platforms and software environments.

The MVON data server addresses data management compatibility. It insulates the application from the target database and performs I/O on its behalf. It manages data structure differences taking advantage of Oracle8’s ability to store multivalue data as a nested table or use MVON’s normalization feature to store multivalue data in a flat two-dimensional structure. Either way the MultiValue application is able to run and present data in its original format.

The MVON technology is very impressive and the promise of MVON is substantial. It allows you to preserve the best of MultiValue legacy applications while changing the underlying database platform.

It also allows you to integrate Oracle without substantial retraining or support costs. And it promises write once, deploy anywhere application development. Ken Carpenter of AK Steel Corporation agrees, \"We were faced with a rapidly approaching deadline to get on Oracle. We researched packages and found nothing to replace our functionally excellent in-house system, developed in INFORMATION and UniVerse. MVON Oracle gave us an option we did not think possible. It keeps the best features of MultiValue online with Oracle.\"

Although ON Corporation is a relatively new company, its engineers and management have had considerable experience in both the MultiValue and Oracle environments. Its ability to team with Oracle in such a complex and serious undertaking is testimony to the serious potential of the ON technology. To determine whether MVON is a solution for a particular integration or application migration task requires serious testing. Obviously, that\'s exactly what Oracle and ON have in mind with their special offer.

Announcing ON Corporation

February 1998, Ventura, CA.

Their mission is to provide a MultiValue (MV) environment with a radically new slant. ON Corporation offers a MV environment that behaves like UniVerse, UniData, D3 and other major MV environments with one important difference. ON software is designed to run On any database, On any platform, On any user interface and On any topology (data and program distribution architecture).

The first product to be offered by ON is MVON ORACLE (MVON). MVON is a MV environment that incorporates Oracle as it’s primary database. UniVerse, UniData and D3 are also fully supported. Using MVON, the data administrator can mix UniVerse, UniData and D3 files with Oracle tables.

ON’s flagship customer is AK Steel, the Nation’s most profitable and fourth largest steel manufacturer. With the help of IBM Global Services, AK Steel has redeveloped a graphical version of its plant maintenance application using MVON technology and BLACKSMITH Visual Developer. The system is being deployed at various manufacturing plants, some of which have Oracle, others with UniVerse and some with a mixture of the two. AK Steel selected MVON as its MV environment because they can use the same programs without change regardless of the database.

\"We were faced with a rapidly approaching deadline to get to Oracle. We researched packages and found nothing to replace our functionally excellent in-house system. MVON ORACLE gave us an option we did not think possible. It keeps the best features of MultiValue online with Oracle.\" Ken Carpenter, IBM Global Services for AK Steel Corporation.

\"MVON ORACLE is designed to maximize the features of MultiValue while exploiting the benefits of mainstream relational databases. We believe that applications should be programmed once and deployed on any combination of database, platform, user interface, and system architecture. Organizations are empowered to focus on the cost/benefit of their technology decisions, knowing that they can be integrated with technology choices of yesterday, today and tomorrow.\" Larry Keller, President, ON Corporation.

Trademarks

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. ONware is a trademark of ONgroup. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.