Omnis Studio
Encyclopedia
Omnis Studio is a rapid application development
(RAD) tool that allows programmers and application developers to create enterprise, web, and mobile applications for Windows
, Linux
, and Mac OS X
personal computer
s and servers across all business sectors.
The Omnis web client is an ActiveX
control or Netscape
plug-in which can be embedded into an HTML
page providing an application interface in the end-user's browser. Developers can use the Omnis web client to build all types of web application
s and rich Internet application
s by presenting a highly functional interface in the user's web browser or on mobile devices. The business logic and database
access in such web and mobile applications is handled by the Omnis server. The Omnis server also can act as a hub between database servers, services based on Java
and .Net
and clients like Adobe Air & Flex transferring data in the form of XML or Web services.
Omnis Studio is owned and developed by TigerLogic Corp from Irvine, California
. There is an active worldwide developer community which runs a mailing list and holds technical conferences, such as the EurOmnis
conference held annually in Europe.
Rapid application development
Rapid application development is a software development methodology that uses minimal planning in favor of rapid prototyping. The "planning" of software developed using RAD is interleaved with writing the software itself...
(RAD) tool that allows programmers and application developers to create enterprise, web, and mobile applications for 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...
, and 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...
personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s and servers across all business sectors.
The Omnis web client is an ActiveX
ActiveX
ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....
control or Netscape
Netscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
plug-in which can be embedded into an HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
page providing an application interface in the end-user's browser. Developers can use the Omnis web client to build all types of web application
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
s and rich Internet application
Rich Internet application
A Rich Internet Application is a Web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered either by way of a site-specific browser, via a browser plug-in, independent sandboxes, extensive use of JavaScript, or virtual machines...
s by presenting a highly functional interface in the user's web browser or on mobile devices. The business logic and database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
access in such web and mobile applications is handled by the Omnis server. The Omnis server also can act as a hub between database servers, services based on Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
and .Net
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
and clients like Adobe Air & Flex transferring data in the form of XML or Web services.
Omnis Studio is owned and developed by TigerLogic Corp from Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
. There is an active worldwide developer community which runs a mailing list and holds technical conferences, such as the EurOmnis
EurOmnis
EurOmnis is a week-long technical conference held annually in Europe for developers of the Omnis Studio application development tool. The conference is organised for and by the Omnis developer community and is an opportunity for developers to exchange their knowledge and experiences of using the...
conference held annually in Europe.
Omnis history
- 1979: Paul Wright and Geoff Smith founded Blyth Computers Ltd (later renamed Blyth Software Ltd, then Omnis Software) in WenhastonWenhastonWenhaston is a small village of 818 people situated to the south of the River Blyth in northeastern Suffolk, England. Roman coins, pottery and building materials unearthed in local fields indicate the existence of a settlement at Wenhaston from the 1st century AD, and indeed this was probably a...
, Suffolk, in the UK, which became the first Apple dealership in East Anglia. Paul Wright was the nephew of Peter Harold WrightPeter Harold WrightPeter Harold Wright VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
.
- 1982: BlythRiver Blyth, SuffolkThe River Blyth is a river in Suffolk, England, with a tidal estuary between Southwold and Walberswick.It can be crossed by pedestrians by a public footbridge called the Bailey Bridge about a mile upstream from the sea or by the Walberswick rowing boat ferry between 9am-5pm daily.The estuary mouth...
released its first "Omnis" product, a database application tool for the Apple 2 designed by David Seaman and written using Apple Pascal. Omnis was also developed at the time using the UCSD PascalUCSD PascalUCSD Pascal was a Pascal programming language system that ran on the UCSD p-System, a portable, highly machine-independent operating system. UCSD Pascal was first released in 1978...
environment which enabled a simple port over to other popular machines of the time. The company was later renamed Blyth Software.
- 1984: Omnis 1, 2 and 3 were released together in April 1984 as a suite of Omnis products. Omnis 1 ("the file manager"), was intended to be an easy to use way of handling simple data, i.e. non-relational data. Omnis 2 ("the information manager"), was similar to the original Omnis but had more programmability. Omnis 3 ("the database manager") was designed for programmers and business owners to build their own customized applications. At about that time Blyth Software also produced the Blyth Accounting packages based on the Omnis 3 engine to enable Accounting for small businesses. Omnis 3 was one of the first cross-platform database application tools for Apple computers and IBM compatibles running under MS-DOS.
- 1984: (May) Blyth Software Inc. was incorporated and opened offices in San Mateo, CA.
- 1985: Following the launch of the Apple Macintosh in 1984, Omnis 3 Plus was released, one of the first database generation tools for the Mac. Initially as a textual product rather than a GUI. UK headquarters moved to Mitford House in Benhall, Suffolk.
- 1987: Released Omnis Quartz, one of the first GUI databases for Microsoft Windows. Blyth Holdings Inc was created & floated on NASDAQ raising $7m.
- 1987: Released Blyth Craftware, a set of off-the-shelf business packages (vertical solutions) for the management of mailing lists, personnel, assets and stock in small businesses.
- 1989: Released Omnis 5, one of the first cross-platform development tools for building applications under Windows and Mac.
- 1992/93/94: Released Omnis 7 v1, v2, and v3 in consecutive years, an integrated development environment providing client/server access to many industry standard server databases such as Oracle, Sybase, and Informix.
- 1997: Released Omnis Studio v1, a cross-platform, development environment for Windows and Mac OS. Company was renamed Omnis Software.
- 1998: Released Omnis Studio v2, a cross-platform, multi-database development environment for Windows and Mac OS.
- 1999: Released Omnis Studio v2.1 including the Omnis Web Client or "thin client" for browsing data and applications via the Web.
- 1999: Released Omnis Studio for Linux making Omnis one of the first RAD tools available under Linux, Windows, and Mac.
- 2000: Released Omnis Studio v3. Later that year Omnis Software merged with PICK Systems to become Raining Data Corporation.
- 2004: Released Omnis Studio v4 including support for MySQL, JDBC, and Java Objects.
- 2005: Released Omnis Studio v4.1 including support for Unicode.
- 2006: Release of Omnis Studio 4.2 including native support for Mac-Intel and introduction of Web Services Component
- 2007 Release of Omnis Studio 4.3 including Windows Vista and Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) support, and component for accessing .Net objects.
- 2009 Release Omnis Studio 5.0 which includes application development for Windows Mobile based devices, and Unicode support.
- 2010 Release Omnis Studio 5.1 which includes support for the iOS platform (iPhone, iPad)
External links
- Official Omnis website
- Omnis Developer Mailing list & Archive
- European Omnis Developer Conference
- EurOmnis WikipediaEurOmnisEurOmnis is a week-long technical conference held annually in Europe for developers of the Omnis Studio application development tool. The conference is organised for and by the Omnis developer community and is an opportunity for developers to exchange their knowledge and experiences of using the...