home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
OS/2 Shareware BBS: 14 Text
/
14-Text.zip
/
appbrf.zip
/
APPBRF.TXT
Wrap
Text File
|
1993-06-23
|
5KB
|
93 lines
OS/2 APPLICATION BRIEF
May 26, 1993
************************************************************************
* This application brief first appeared in hardcopy and can be ordered *
* through Mechanicsburg. It is being distributed here for those who *
* are not aware of, or do not have access to, the hardcopy version. *
* This is the first of what is planned to be a series of these briefs. *
************************************************************************
MAKING THE DIFFERENCE: OS/2 LAUNCHES ARA INTO THE FUTURE
You see them everywhere. Everywhere you eat, that is. From hospitals
to schools to vending machines to stadiums, even to Barcelona and the
Summer Olympic Games, ARA is serving food.
ARA is a $5 billion corporation and the largest services-management
company in the world. Until four years ago, ARA's headquarters was
still using card readers and key-to-tape machines for batch processing,
a process that meant reports were at least 24 hours old. But with IBM's
OS/2, ARA was launched into a new era of technology.
Today ARA is using OS/2 and PS/2s to speed its processing and build
its own applications. "Both developers and users are much happier with
the new computer environment because OS/2 is so flexible and easy to
use," says Scott Hedrick, Director of Management Systems Development.
Getting ARA's operations up to speed meant getting information into the
hands of the user. By upgrading the mainframe with Query Management
Facility (QMF) and DataBase 2 (TM) (DB2), individuals could talk
directly to the host and access data for the first time. Says Jim
Gutschow, Director of Technical Services, "As more and more people got
excited about this access, ARA installed a token-ring network to help
users meet the unique requirements of each line of business."
Simple user access was not enough to meet those requirements. ARA also
searched for user control and found it with OS/2 and Database Manager
(DBM). Each day, data are extracted from the mainframe and downloaded
to file servers and DBMs for each business. These individual DBMs give
every business within ARA control of the information they access. For
example, since the Campus Dining and Healthcare Nutrition businesses
utilize data differently, they can customize their applications and
databases to make their information as meaningful as possible. With
OS/2 and DBM, information is organized, access is faster and data
analysis is improved.
The OS/2 Advantage
OS/2 2.0's multitasking capabilities will mean even more power for the
user. By running a combination of DOS, Windows(TM), mainframe and OS/2
applications simultaneously, users can take advantage of every resource
ARA has to offer. "Because 2.0 is so much more stable," says Hedrick,
"our policy is that ARA will support Windows applications only running
under OS/2."
With the power of OS/2 2.0, Hedrick and Gutschow also plan to introduce
multitasking capabilities to remote users. Soon, field managers will
be able to dial in to headquarters to communicate with the mainframe or
any DBM. They will have immediate access to the same resources
available to users at headquarters.
"Overall, we see the growth of OS/2 accelerating," continues Hedrick.
"We're building mission-critical, client-server applications that
require a platform robust enough to support them. That platform is
OS/2."
Database Manager
Database Manager (DBM) makes extensive use of IBM's database technology
to provide database consistency, integrity and optimized performance.
It includes facilities to create, maintain and back up databases,
update information, review existing data, print reports, reorganize
tables and generate statistics. DBM functions include:
Database Services - as the DBM engine, Database Services handles all
data base requests and instructions.
Query Manager - by providing both a menu-driven interface and a
command line interface, the user can access and
manipulate the data base.
Remote Data Services - to aid interfacing, Remote Data Services
provides data management functions for remote
databases on numerous networks, including IBM
Token-Ring, ETHERAND, SDLC and 3174 Peer
Communications.
Database Tools - these tools are separately installable and provide
functions for the user to perform database and DBM
configuration tasks.
Command Line Interface - in addition to Database Tools and user
applications, the command line interface gives
the user access to both OS/2 and host databases
providing extra user flexibility.