After months of hard work, we are proud to present USoft 11 to you. The new range of possibilities of the 11 series make it easier to work together as a team on innovative solutions. At the same time, stability and consistency are ensured. 

The primary technical improvements and features in USoft 11

Version-controlled repository 

Summary: You can now use file-based version control software of your own choosing, to synchronize work done on the repository by multiple concurrent developers. 

Benefits: All changes made in a local version of your USoft project repository can now be synchronized. This unlocks all the benefits of file-based version control, synchronizing to the latest version of a branch, as well as going back to previous versions.  

Template defaults for web UIs 

Summary: You can now replace the USoft factory default for web pages by a custom default. You can re-use your default as a template in multiple applications or Development environments. 

Benefits: Low-code developers are relieved from painstakingly “painting” individual details of UI controls in web pages. “Painting” is now only needed if the web page requires special features. 

Studio – App factory experience 

Summary: SBVR color-coding is now available in the USoft Definer. Business rules and their SBVR colour-coding are now cross-referenced directly from the various artefacts (Constraints, Components, Jobs...) that implement those rules.  

Benefits: Quick and easy 2-way cross-references between USoft Studio rules and USoft Definer implementations. Insight into rule-implementation mappings at a click of the mouse. 

USoft Studio-USoft Definer data model alignment 

In USoft 10, USoft Studio and USoft Definer both covered formulations, but there were many differences between the 2 data models. 

USoft 11 brings the 2 data models more in line: 

• Desirable functionality that only existed in one of the data models has also been added on the other side.  
• Quirks that made their way into 1 of the data models but that we do not want anymore have been eliminated. 
• USoft Definer Business Rules look much more like USoft Studio Formulations than before. 
• Terminology differences are minimised. “Formulations” make their way into USoft Definer. Into the future, we use “vocabulary” for collections of interrelated formulations. USoft Studio “Project” is renamed to “Vocabulary”. USoft Studio/ USoft Definer “Classification” is renamed to “Label”. 

EAR diagrams for metadata editing 

Summary: You are now able to draw an EAR diagram in USoft Definer as an alternative to defining your data model by filling in forms. Conversely, existing data models can be displayed as EAR diagrams with a single click of a button. 

Benefits: Drawing a data model is easier and more fun than filling out forms. Reading a diagram gives a visual overview of the model, even to non-technical readers. 

Authorisation, next iteration 

A complete overhaul of the USoft authorisation system took place in USoft 10. Role-playing was drawn into the development environment. This allowed much richer features than before, when authorisation consisted essentially in distributing RDBMS grants. 

USoft 11 completes this transition by adding useful extras. 

• Single sign-on (SSO) in C/S 
• Simplified user model in USoft Authoriser 
• USoft 11 extends its authorization capabilities for components such as .NET components and USoft internal components
• Front-end users. No need for a seperate Application User record
• Automatic cache refresh
• Passwords used by USoft applications, including RDBMS passwords, are now encrypted at all levels

Browser control in C/S UIs 

USoft 11 also extends the versatility for traditional C/S applications for back-end power users. An exciting new feature in this area is a new browser control that will not only display application data enhanced by HTML5 but also allow instant communication with the USoft Rules Engine. This opens up very advanced C/S data rendering and takes away the burden of making controls in obsolete techniques. For example, when a back-end application handles resource allocation (rooms, utilities, human resources, whatever you can imagine) a stunning HTML5-based representation can be displayed that acts interactively and updates the underlying data.

If you want to know more about USoft 11 please reach out to our customer success team through our support portal https://usoftsupport.atlassian.net/servicedesk/ or if you do not have an account there, send us an email support@usoft.com