CobMaker Software - APEX - COBOL Solutions for the End User

Solutions

APEX - Solutions for the End User

Our end-user product APEX makes it easy to execute enterprise applications, based on COBOL. Select a category to learn more about some APEX solutions for the end user:

Company-Oriented Processing
User Accounts and Groups
Secrecy Functions
Application Menus
Easy-To-Use Desktop Interface
Spool Manager and Print Queue
Application and System Messages
Activity Logging
File Retrieval Functions
COBOL Process Manager
Multi-Language Processing
Programmer's Interface

Company-Oriented Processing
The very basic core in APEX is the application company, which allows the grouping of data files together into a logical entity. This is typically a division of a company having its own discrete files, but running the application by means of common programs. For each company individual configuration variables and runtime properties are registered.

User Accounts and Groups
Users in APEX are registered with authorization codes and some other properties. In a typical live environment users would be set up with identical names as for the host system, suppressing the APEX log-in but anyhow using the defined properties. Users with equal properties can belong to predefined groups, simplifying the system administration.

Secrecy Functions
APEX contains powerful secrecy functions protecting companies, menus and programs against unauthorized processing. Protected components are invisible for users without permission and any unauthorized attempts to log-in or to select protected parts of the application will be logged and later reported. Idle processes can automatically be ended after a predefined inactivity period. All users can anytime change their own password during log-in.

Application Menus
APEX contains a powerful feature for the presentation of menus. The application menu structure is prepared as bilateral relations between menu pages and menu positions. On the lowest level, COBOL programs are recorded with properties like program-id, launching method, protection code, logging and user interface. Every company in APEX is associated to a menu structure, but different companies can also share the same menu file.

Easy-To-Use Desktop Interface
APEX offers an easy-to-use desktop interface controlling the installed COBOL application. The GUI version includes Windows-style components like menu bar, tool bar and status bar. In the workspace area application menus are displayed. Frequently used functions are presented as push buttons or function key bars. The user can launch COBOL programs from within the displayed menu structure or alternatively by shortcuts like program-id, list of favorites and last used programs.

Spool Manager and Print Queue
APEX contains a powerful pre-spooling system managing all print files produced by application reports. Spooled reports are stored as temporary files, registered in the APEX spool catalogue, and then passed to the print spooler of the host system. Basic spool and printer parameters are defined on company level, but values defined for groups and users override these settings. The APEX print queue feature allows background printing in priority order. The front-end spool manager allows the searching, viewing and reprinting of spool files, as well as editing their spool attributes.

Application and System Messages
APEX offers the preparing of application messages related to certain system events, such as log-in, log-out, company selection and program start. These messages appear as pop-up windows for all or selected users at a specific day and/or time. A message can also be combined with a lock, i.e. the related system part is locked for execution. The administrator can also prepare ad-hoc messages to all users, interrupting their screen processing.

Activity Logging
APEX has the ability to log all user and system activities that are performed during a processing session, from log-in to log-out. The logged information is stored a specific number of days and can be displayed or printed by means of retrieval functions.

File Retrieval Functions
APEX contains a number of powerful file retrieval functions. The file editor is an interactive utility giving access to all application data files and offers functions to add, change, delete, find and view data records. The Query module offers a database retrieval function, based on simple SQL syntax, in order to search, view and print records in application data files.

COBOL Process Manager
APEX has a powerful process manager, giving the administrator full control of all ongoing application processes. This function is most useful at sites with many users, offering different views of all active APEX sessions and the option to kill idle processes.

Multi-Language Processing
APEX supports multi-language processing, covering one native language and up to 8 foreign languages. Application objects (like screens, reports and messages) can be displayed and printed in different languages. This offers a mixed language processing of the application, dependent on the language code a user receives when logging into APEX.

Programmer's Interface
APEX provides different interfaces to extend the functionality of the application environment. User-defined COBOL programs can be automatically executed at system startup, log-in, log-out and company selection. Individual spooling parameters can be passed to APEX from within user-written report programs. Environment values of the running APEX session can be fetched from within the application programs like user-id, company, authorization code, workstation number, language code and much more.