RDML – the 4GL for business applications

To deliver on our promise of Advanced Software Made Simple, it was necessary to develop our own specific programming language. We call this language RDML, which is an acronym for the Rapid Development and Maintenance Language. RDML is regarded as a fourth-generation language (4GL). By knowing this one language it is possible to create many different kinds of software that will run on virtually any combination of hardware.

A 4GL is a programming language or environment designed with a specific purpose in mind – the development of business-oriented, database-centric systems. In the evolution of computing, the 4GL followed the 3GL in an upward trend toward higher abstraction and statement power.

LANSA RDML — The Fastest Route to Your Destination!

What makes RDML so special?

The natural-language mode of the third-generation programming languages improved the process of software development over previous generations like binary and assembler. However, 3GL development methods can be slow and error prone. It became clear that some applications could be developed more rapidly by adding a higher-level programming language and methodology which would generate the equivalent of very complicated 3GL instructions with fewer errors.

Because RDML is oriented toward a specific task – that of building applications – it is an easy language to learn and delivers significant productivity benefits to the developer. For instance, just one line of RDML code will generate thirty lines of 3GL code.

Jack-of-all-trades versus master of one

It’s surprising that, given the evident superiority of the 4GL approach, some of today’s most fashionable languages are still modeled on 3GL concepts. Java is one such example and has become popular because it can be used adequately for many different applications; business software, games for mobile devices, web sites etc. But Java's main strength – its generic applicability – is also its weak spot.

Java's strength is in technical infrastructure, while LANSA RDML is optimized for building commercial applications. So while it would certainly be feasible to build your next business application using either RDML or a 3GL like Java, when you analyze the significantly higher costs and time taken to go down the Java route, you will understand why so many organizations find the LANSA Way more attractive. LANSA RDML allows developers to transcend the technology stack and stay focused on the business requirements.

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With LANSA we can create green screen, Windows, XML and browser applications from a single set of source code. Everything we write is 100-percent LANSA, so now we are not locked into a specific platform or database.

Gabriel Sgolombis, director of systems architecture at Terminix

The LANSA 4GL takes care of all the grunt work programming for you. The LANSA development process, creating a prototype and evolving it to the final Web code, is between five to ten times faster than a 3GL solution.

Bruce Baxter on behalf of Crown Worldwide Moving

With LANSA my staff are agile enough to work on just about any business project required. I don't have to wait for the RPG expert, WebSphere expert or the C++ expert. Instead we spend time on getting the business solution in place.

Peter Burns, director of information services at High Liner Foods, Inc.

What we like best about LANSA is that you work with an easy 4GL and LANSA generates code that is optimized for the deployment platform you choose. You are not locked into any platform. Our operations are currently supported by iSeries (AS/400) servers, but if we started a similar operation in another country and wanted that operation to run on Windows servers, we don't have to redevelop. We just take another deployment option.

Tom Rosenkrans, Senior Program Manager at Diversified Information Technology