Product Development
This page outlines the current status and plans for iBase product development
Background
The iBase online library system consisted, for some years, of three main components:
- - iBase Manager - a windows client application used for creating and maintaining catalogues. Manager would be installed on the PC of each cataloguing user.
- - iBase Net - a browser based system for web / intranet searching / viewing / downloading.
- - iBase Publish - a utility enabling catalogue records in a source iBase Manager database to be published to one or more destination databases used by iBase Net.
However, with the increasing capacity of internal networks and broadband it is now technically viable to deploy a single instance of iBase Manager on a server, accessible by multiple users via a terminal services approach such as Citrix or Windows Server 2008. This in itself makes it possible for Mac users to use iBase Manager.
Furthermore, nowadays iBase Manager can be installed on a Mac running Windows virtualisation software, such as Microsoft Virtual PC or VMware.
These factors, combined with Net 6 functionality (see below), enable a Manager / Net system to be regarded as a single entity, and marketed as iBase Online library.
iBase Net 6 is only the first stage of a major new product development.
Product Development Stages
The objectives of the product development are to create an entirely new underlying architecture and design for a system which will have much the same functionality of Manager + Net , but all accessible with a standard web browser, for example Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Stage 1 - iBase Net 6
The first stage of the product development Net 6, enables browser access to not only all of the features of iBase Net versions 1 - 5, but also to direct data uploading and editing. There is administrator access to enable management of a wide range of permissions based controls. iBase Manager can, if required, also be used for data creation and editing, and for more fundamental backend administration tasks such as creating schema relationships, adding pick list values etc...
iBase Net 6 can be seen on the iBase demonstration picture library.
Stage 2 - iBase Trinity
The second stage of the product development will be known as iBase Trinity. This will enable the tasks necessary to create, administer and run the system to be carried out using a web / intranet browser. iBase Trinity can work alongside the super-user interface described in the Online Library, which can be used for carrying out additional tasks as required.
To discuss these matters, or for any other information about iBase products and services, please contact us at sales@ibase.com or call +44 (0) 1943 603636