DBTA: Revelation recently unveiled OpenInsight 9.1. In beta the new release was OI 9.0.1. What is the significance of the change?
Catalano: Many product enhancements and new features made their way into the product. As more and more new features were added we decided that the release number should reflect more than just a patch release.
DBTA: Is there an over-arching theme to the new release?
Catalano: We plan releases over a 3-year period. We try to have a new release each year addressing the needs and requests from our developers and end users alike. Patch releases are also made from time to time within the year. Since we are Windows-based we also need to work in conjunction with the software deployed by Microsoft. We also analyze current technology trends and see what makes sense to incorporate into our products.
DBTA: Among the new features in the new release are NetOI and RevDotNet. What do these features enable?
Catalano: Using the NetOI .NET assembly, developers can code entirely in Visual Studio and develop a Windows application that utilizes OpenInsight as its data source. RevDotNet is a set of API calls made from within OpenInsight to a .NET control.
DBTA: Can you tell us about some of the other key features in OI 9.1?
Catalano: In no particular order, the new release provides the ability to send a fax from OpenInsight using the standard Windows Fax Server, the ability to send an email using SSL, the creation of a task scheduler that can be called as an API or as a GUI, the ability to process system indexing utilizing the Engine Server, the ability to create code templates in the System Editor++, and the ability to insert graphics and textual separators within OpenInsight menus.
DBTA: Have you started planning OI 9.2 and what are some of the new features Revelation is working on in that release?
Catalano: OpenInsight 9.2 will include a web reporting tool and development toolkit called "O4W." The OpenInsight for Web (O4W) Development Toolkit makes it possible for OpenInsight developers with limited or no HTML/XML/javascript experience to develop feature rich web pages. O4W is designed to work the way OpenInsight developers think, taking advantage of the skills and knowledge they already have. While users with more web development experience can use O4W's advanced features, all developers can create modern web applications (using javascript, XHTML, and AJAX) through O4W's Form Builder, Report Builder, Menu Builder and APIs. O4W will also be an entire browser-based front end for OpenInsight database development. The O4W toolkit will run on IE8, Firefox, Safari and Chrome browsers.
For more information on Revelation Software and the latest release, go here.