PowerBuilder

CSC 340F – Information Systems Analysis and Design
Assignment 4 – Research Question 7
Instructor:	Eric Harley
Submitted By:	Michal Jordan-Rozwadowski

An Overview of PowerBuilder

PowerBuilder is an object-oriented applications development tool which has taken the world

of system design by storm. Developed by Sybase, it enables programmers to develop

working, multi-level applications in a fraction of the time that it used to take.

Sybase’s product is often referred to as a 4GL, a fourth-generation language. It provides a

level of abstraction from the programming code which enables the programmer to view his

work in terms of the objects involved, rather than a jumble of symbols.

This abstraction qualifies PowerBuilder as a Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool. As

such, it enables the programmer to put together a working prototype for the user to look at

in a fraction of the time it takes to do the same thing in C, C++ or other third generation

languages.

This is not to suggest, however, that PowerBuilder is simply a protoyping tool. Fully

functional, multi-platform applications can be constructed in a relativey short period of

time.

PowerBuilder’s main competitors in the RAD market are Visual Basic and Delphi.

Additional Information:

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