DIGITAL ACMS High-volume, mission-critical, OLTP client/server solution for DIGITAL OpenVMS The number of users conducting global business transactions online is growing daily, jeopardizing system response time and making it more difficult for programmers to maintain applications and respond to rapid changes. While the three-tier client/server application architecture promises to solve these problems, managing a transaction that spans several application servers poses new problems. DIGITAL ACMS[TM] transaction management software makes it easier to develop, run, and manage your mission-critical, transaction-based applications. Whether your business functions include order entry, shop floor control, accounts receivable, or some other function critical to your business, your database systems must simultaneously process an ever-growing number of online and batch transactions for your business operations in virtually every time zone around the world. The DIGITAL ACMS software family (ACMS, ACMSxp, ACMS Desktop[TM], TP Web Connector, and ALSTRA[TM]) provides a high-performance application environment that makes large, complex TP applications easier and more cost-effective to develop and manage. The unique services ACMS provides allow end-to-end development, management, and control of applications and application services, ensuring TP users the rapid, predictable response time they demand. Benefits o High performance for predictable response time o Highly scalable to meet growing business needs incrementally o High availability around the world, around the clock o Application management and control, such as load balancing o Transaction and data integrity, to ensure accuracy and completeness o Fast, flexible development to allow you to respond to rapidly changing business conditions o Easy to use with popular third-party software products o Works with most popular databases Proven robust technology DIGITAL pioneered client/ server computing for business transaction processing (TP) in the mid-1980s. Today, hundreds of companies with thousands of systems are using ACMS for high-performance transaction updates to ensure predictable performance, security, and integrity. Distributed application management Because ACMS divides the user interface, business rules, and data management into separate functions, it's easy to develop and maintain applications. This capability also makes it easy for developers to create well-structured, modular applications. With ACMS, you can develop and deploy applications with assurance and easily distribute and redistribute them to meet dynamically changing business requirements. User interface The ACMS product supports character cell terminals (CCTs), PCs, Web browsers, and specialized devices such as bar code readers and ATMs simultaneously. With ACMS Desktop, users can now take advantage of the power and versatility of the ACMS family from their desktop "point-and-click" environment. Supporting most desktops, networks, and tools, ACMS Desktop offloads the CPU-intensive forms-processing portion of an application to the relatively low-cost but powerful desktop systems. ACMS Desktop client applications can be deployed on a wide range of popular PCs and workstations with server applications running on DIGITAL OpenVMS[TM]. In fact, ACMS Desktop supports a wider range of clients and transports than any other TP monitor. Mobile users of notebook PCs can use ACMS with both dial-in and wireless communication. With the TP Web Connector, users can now take advantage of the power and flexibility of accessing ACMS and ACMSxp applications using their favorite Web browser via an intranet or the Internet. CCT presentation procedures are DECforms[TM] definitions - DIGITAL's strategic forms management package. Application development Developers may create ACMS applications directly on the ACMS application programming interface TDL (Task Definition Language). Application business logic is written in any traditional 3GL such as C and COBOL, allowing you to create mission-critical client/server applications in a fraction of the time. Business logic may be included within the ACMS workflow. As an alternative to TDL, programmers can also use ALSTRA (formerly the DIGITAL Application Generator), a powerful, easy-to-use application generator that facilitates rapid application development (RAD). ALSTRA is capable of generating a complete client/server application, including a VT or Visual Basic client, an ACMS application, and a database. Architecture The ACMS family establishes a client/server control structure for TP applications that allows you to move an application easily from a single, centralized system to a client/server configuration to get higher throughput without changing the application code. A key feature of ACMS is its high-level language, TDL. With TDL, developers describe the overall structure and control flow of an application. TDL applications are both distributable and multiuser. High-volume, distributed computing Designed to meet the needs of high-volume, distributed business operations, ACMS allows you to support large numbers of online users efficiently, with predictable performance. In a single transaction, an ACMS application can update several different types of data resources that support distributed transactions. With ACMS you can build distributed TP applications to meet a wide variety of needs, including the need to link an ACMS application with applications on multivendor systems. Interoperability An ACMS application can interoperate with other applications on other DIGITAL systems or systems from other vendors, using any one of the popular messaging mechanisms available today. Your investment in computing platforms and applications remains intact. Data resource management You can use ACMS applications with a wide range of data resources, including flat files and relational databases. Service and support The ACMS product is backed by the worldwide service organization of Digital Equipment Corporation and DIGITAL's Business Partners. For more information For more information on ACMS, contact your local DIGITAL sales office or DIGITAL Business Partners, or visit DIGITAL on the World Wide Web at: http://www.digital. com DIGITAL believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date; such information is subject to change without notice. DIGITALis not responsible for any inadvertent errors. DIGITAL conducts its business in a manner that conserves the environment and protects the safety and health of its employees, customers, and the community. DIGITAL, the DIGITAL logo, ACMS, ACMS Desktop, DECforms, OpenVMS, and VT are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. ALSTRA is a trademark of Mirus Data AB. Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Visual Basic is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Printed in U.S.A. EC-F8482-93 Rel.# 0000000000000000 Copyright 1997 Digital Equipment Corporation. All Rights Reserved.