Uniface Runtime Paradigm

The Uniface runtime paradigm rests on three major pillars: Multi-platform Operation, Connectivity, and Technology Integration. In fact, Uniface can be used almost purely as an integration platform.

  • Multi-platform support—Uniface provides servers, connectors, and executables that can run in a distributed environment that includes Windows, Unix and Linux, and iSeries platforms. These tools can execute Uniface application components, manage connections to databases and remote server, and interface with operating systems, devices, and character sets. For more information, see Uniface Runtime Environment and Platform Support.
  • Connectivity—Uniface enables application components to connect with each other over a distributed network, and to transparently connect with a wide variety of databases, ranging from SQLite to Oracle.
    • Network connectivity—client and server machines need to be visible and accessible to each other over a network. Uniface supports TCP/IP and TLS for network communication and supplies a TCP/IP connector to enable the Uniface runtime engine to access resources on remote servers. For more information, see TCP Connector and TLS Connector.
    • Application connectivity—different applications or components connect to each other via declared interfaces that hide the actual component implementation. For more information, see Component Communication .
    • Database connectivity—applications connect to their data sources, including relational databases, files, or directory servers. For example, an application could connect to an Oracle database, files on a server, and an LDAP server. For more information, see Database Connectors and DBMS Support.
  • Technology integration—Uniface applications can be integrated with other components and technologies, including web services, POP, SMTP, .NET and Java applications. The Uniface Request Broker architecture supports bidirectional communication, and synchronous or asynchronous communication between both Uniface and non-Uniface components. For more information, see Integrating with Other Technologies .

The actual deployment process is largely a matter of installing the Uniface tools and application archive files (UARs) on the desired machines, and configuring Uniface to find the components and resources it needs. Configuration files contain path definitions for various application resources and connectors, as well as settings that control default behavior for application and platform, and other settings that are used to integrate with other technologies. For more information, see Deploying Applications and Configuring Uniface and Uniface Applications.