On Monday, I talked about how MQ Visual Edit is 10 years old (and how I got to where I am). Now lets talk about the future of MQ Visual Edit (MQVE).
Here is a list of features that I was thinking of adding to the “next generation” MQVE (aka v2.0.0):
(1) Several years ago, I did a couple of mock-up designs (on paper – yup, old school) of the “nouveau modern” interface for MQVE. I was thinking of bringing functional features to the main window of MQVE and not simply adding useless graphics or bells & whistles. And no, MQVE will not be an addon to MQ Explorer or an Eclipse RCP plugin. It will continue to be a Java/Swing desktop application. When I designed the original MQVE main window, way back in 2002, most PCs had a resolution of 1024×768. Now 2013, most screen resolutions are much larger plus a lot of people have dual-displays. The main window of the “next” MQVE needs to have a balance between useful information and not being too cluttered.
(2) Build for and use Java SE 6 or 7 (currently it is built with JDK v1.4.2).
(3) Build for and use MQ v7 & higher (drop support for v6 and earlier).
(4) Fix the # 1 bug in MQVE to allow users to edit EBCDIC data in the Message Edit window rather than forcing the user to use the Hex Edit window. This requires a change at the very core of MQVE (which is why I have never fixed it).
(5) MQRFH2 versus MQ v7 message properties. Long time MQ users like to see the MQRFH2 header with embedded properties whereas new users only want to see the message properties. Question: Should MQVE become “new-age” and only display message properties?
(6) Change the file (aka CommProfileDB.properties) which holds all of the “Queue Manager Access Profile” information to a real database.
(7) Add a Group feature so that “Queue Manager Access Profile”s can be organized.
(8) Add the ability to Rename a “Queue Manager Access Profile”
(9) Add direct support for CCDT (Client Channel Definition Table) files.
(10) Add “Find Previous” feature to go with the “Find Next” feature
(11) MQVE currently supports 8 languages and I would like to add some double-byte languages like Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. except I don’t speak any of these languages, so I need to find a translator or 2. If anyone knows of a good technical translator then let me know (also, I need a Russia translator too).
(12) Add the ability to change the background “mouse” (Clyde) graphic on the main window. Some people just don’t like Clyde – I don’t understand why? 🙂
(13) Remove the Google Search Toolbar (unless people are using it). I do not know if people are actually using it. Speak up if you are using it.
(14) Add official support for Windows 8 (Note: users are already running MQVE on it).
(15) The MQVE licensing model will change slightly. When a user purchases a license for MQVE, they will get support and free updates for 1 year and not forever. I never really thought about it when I started out but the “forever licensing model” is like a pyramid scheme. New users are paying for old users to get support and free updates.
So, that’s it for me. What feature or functionality would you like to see in the “next generation” MQVE? You can post here or send your comments to support@capitalware.com
Regards,
Roger Lacroix
Capitalware Inc.
