PowerBuilder - Is the Application a Good Fit for the Internet?

Is the Application a Good Fit for the Internet?

Not all PowerBuilder applications will move smoothly to the Internet with every approach described here. Variables such as the size and complexity of the application, the use of Windows-only features such as OLE, DDE, and third party OCXs, the number of DataWindows used in each Window, the size of the SQL result sets retrieved, the PowerBuilder framework used, and even coding practices and the general quality of the code will all determine the options open to you. Other variables that will all impact your decision include the complexity of the UI presentation style and the use of drag and drop in the application. The chart below should serve as only a general guideline and not an indication of which approach is best for your organization.

Technique	PB Windows Forms	PB Web Forms	PB Web DataWindow	CITRIX or Terminal Svcs.	Appeon
MDIInterface	Y	Y, using tabs	N/A	Y	Y
Drag and Drop	Y	N	N	Y	Y
OLE, OCX	Y	N	N	Y (server-side)	Y
Client-Side Integration	Y	Via JavaScript	Via JavaScript	Disks and printers only	Y
Server-Side Integration	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Level of Effort	Minor	Significant	Highest	Least	Minor
Fidelity of UI	Highest	Good	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Strengths	Easy, good UI, broad capability	Best for simple UI, ground up true web dev	Scalability, good for Java and low level control	Easy to set up and deploy	Client & server integration, scalability, performance
Weaknesses	Bandwidth, footprint on client	Event postback model inherent to ASP .NET 2.0	Strong need for good 3-tier architecture, more hand coding	Scalability, cost	Technology created by a Sybase Partner.