Control 2010 is also fully compatible with 2007, so all current projects can easily be transferred to the new platform and benefit from its improved features and capabilities.
The Control 2010 platform includes a generic HTTP, or WebServices driver. This means that anything that talks HTTP can talk to any system controlled by Stardraw Control, anywhere. For example, you can use any browser on any device anywhere on the planet as a UI - that includes Smartphones of any kind; PDAs, tablet PCs or any device capable of running a web browser, and you can still have all of the advanced graphical features in your UI that you would have on a full-blown PC running a dedicated application.
Key to this is support of Ajax (asynchronous JavaScript and XML). With Ajax, web applications can retrieve data from the server asynchronously in the background without interfering with the display and behaviour of the existing page - in other words, when you transmit and/or receive new data, the browser does not have to reload the whole page.
Another new feature is event logging: deployed projects write all events to a self-contained log file (.txt file) during use so that the installer can review any and all events over any timeframe to analyze and diagnose system activity remotely. In this way, if the client encounters a problem, all he has to do is email the log file to the installer who will be able to identify exactly what happened and when in order to take the appropriate action.
Also new to Control 2010 is the ability to write and debug drivers using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, (including the free Express edition). Visual Studio can also be used to debug the control program while it is running, allowing serious developers to set breakpoints, examine and set values, and use the full arsenal of professional developers' techniques.
Stardraw Control 2010 also includes a wealth of low-level technological advantages derived from its use of the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5: firstly, the support of both 32- and 64-bit platforms, which means that the software can exploit whatever hardware it is running on to the maximum. The same generated executable will run as a native 32-bit application on a 32-bit machine and as a native 64-bit application on a 64-bit machine, thus maximising performance. In a similar vein, support of Parallel Extensions means that the application is able to exploit the full number of CPU cores in any machine.
Stardraw.com CEO, David Snipp, commented: "Stardraw Control 2010 uses the very latest technology to provide stunning UIs, blazingly fast performance with scalability, reliability and integration with the very latest development tools from Microsoft that makes writing sophisticated drivers even easier - in any .NET programming language you choose. This, together with the ability to be controlled from any type of device means that there are no limits to the level of customization and integration that an installer can provide to their customers."
(Lee Baldock)
