BBj is a software development framework which consists of a dynamic programming language by the same name, an integrated development environment, a GUI forms designer, a Rapid Application Development tool called Barista for generating database-driven graphical applications.

BBj is Java-integrated and optimized for efficiently programming business applications, combining the simplicity of the programming language Business BASIC

Business Basic

Business Basic is the name given collectively to variants of the BASIC computer programming language which were specialised for business use on minicomputers in the 1970s and 1980s...

 with the scalability, OS independence and general versatility of Java.

Handling

In BBj, the source code is precompiled and interpreted at run time like Visual Basic, Java or C#. This allows dynamic compilation as well as instant testing during development. BBj supports procedural programming

Procedural programming

Procedural programming can sometimes be used as a synonym for imperative programming , but can also refer to a programming paradigm, derived from structured programming, based upon the concept of the procedure call...

 as well as object-oriented programming

Object-oriented programming

Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...

 paradigms.

BBj applications can be deployed on all popular operating systems including Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

, Solaris and other UNIX

Unix

Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...

 systems without the need of any changes to the source code.

Architecture

BBj runs on the Java Virtual Machine. Programmers can enhance their source code with Java resources without restrictions. Its real 3-tier architecture makes BBj applications easy to maintain and deploy. BBj applications can be deployed to a Swing GUI Thin Client, or a Web Thin Client from the same codebase. There is also a legacy ASCII thin client available.

Databases

BBj comes with its own integrated DBMS, but BBj applications can access data from all major SQL database systems such as Oracle

Oracle Database

The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....

, MS SQL Server, DB2

IBM DB2

The IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition is a relational model database server developed by IBM. It primarily runs on Unix , Linux, IBM i , z/OS and Windows servers. DB2 also powers the different IBM InfoSphere Warehouse editions...

, Informix

Informix

IBM Informix is a family of relational database management system developed by IBM. It is positioned as IBM's flagship data server for online transaction processing as well as integrated solutions...

, Sybase

Sybase

Sybase, an SAP company, is an enterprise software and services company offering software to manage, analyze, and mobilize information, using relational databases, analytics and data warehousing solutions and mobile applications development platforms....

, MySQL

MySQL

MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...

, PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...

 etc., or combinations of them, through JDBC/ODBC.

History

The name "BBj" was coined in 1999. It stands for "Business Basic for Java". BBj is the modern successor of BASIS' own, non-proprietory Business BASIC

Business Basic

Business Basic is the name given collectively to variants of the BASIC computer programming language which were specialised for business use on minicomputers in the 1970s and 1980s...

 dialect created in 1985. Business BASIC is a derivative of BASIC oriented towards business programming.

BASIS strives to keep BBj downward compatible with predecessing product generations such as PRO/5, Visual PRO/5, or BBx

BBx

BBx is the original name for the Business Basic interpreter developed by BASIS International in 1985. Subsequent generations of BBx have been BBxPROGRESSION/2, BBxPROGRESSION/3, PROGRESSION/4, PRO/5 and Visual PRO/5...

. It is also compatible with other Business BASIC dialects provided by Thoroughbred, ProvideX

ProvideX

ProvideX is a computer language and development environment derived from Business Basic in the mid-1980s....

and others.

External links

• BASIS International Ltd.
• BASIS Europe Distribution GmbH