Accelerator (Software)

The Accelerator is a collection of development solutions for IBM i and Windows platforms using LANSA, and/or Microsoft .Net technologies provided by Surround Technologies(http://www.surroundtech.com). The Accelerator development architecture is a tool for building Windows and Web apps within a structured framework ^[1].

The intent of the Accelerator solutions is to provide a Rapid Application Development environment, that produces well-architected n-tier code that can run in a client/server or web deployment. The use of Microsoft’s .Net, is recommended for zero-lock in development and optimal deployment flexibility including both Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or Silverlight clients.^[2]

The Accelerator uses customizable templates, standards and naming conventions to generate code. The generated code is human readable, and standardized to minimize testing, debugging, customization, and future maintenance efforts. The generated code follows Object-oriented programming design principles, the Inversion of control (IoC) pattern, Observer pattern, Model View ViewModel (with OO techniques to avoid redundancy, promote ease of testing, ease of maintenance). ^[2] Version 3.0 also supports the ASP.NET MVC3 Framework.^[3] Other patterns followed by the architecture, or are adapted depending on the case; flexibility promoted by the typical use of abstraction patterns when practical. Abstraction is promoted though the use of Windows Presentation Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation.

Accelerator for .NET

The Accelerator's core system architecture provides a base set of functionality and wizard-driven code generation through the implementation of:

• N-tier architecture that encourages reuse patterns includes :
  • Data Access Layer (DAL) with multi-threaded data access
  • Modular and componentized architecture
  • Business entity patterns to enable reuse of logic across all tiers
  • Multitasking and multifunctional default user experience
  • A very thin user interface to enable reuse of UI logic across multiple UI technologies
• WPF, full utilization of WPF provides a unified framework for building applications and high-fidelity experiences in Windows that blend application UI, documents, and media content.^[4]
• .NET Framework, includes a large library of coded solutions to common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework which can be accomplished with the Accelerator.
• Microsoft Silverlight, web application framework fully integrated with Accelerator offering cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device compatibility to integrate multimedia, graphics, animations and interactivity into a single runtime environment.^[5]
• MS Visual Studio, is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft that assists on the elaboration of software utilizing Accelerator.
• IBM i Systems,advanced user system implementation to enrich your development with web services, multithreaded performance, advanced web technologies and platform independence.
• HTML5 support for ASP.NET

Accelerator for Visual LANSA

The Accelerator architecture supports Service-oriented architecture which includes built-in features like Business Objects, Frameworks, Bus Interfaces, Plug-Ins, XML, Dashboards, and Wizards simplify deployment.

The Accelerator Business Objects and Services implements a framework that consists of server-side Business Objects, Presentation and Data Service Buses, and Service Adapters. The Service-oriented architecture integrates with adapters for XML, SOAP, REST, Active X, .NET, XAML/WPF, etc. Because of SOA, BOS functions under IBM i, Windows, LANSA – virtually any server.^[1]

References