Synergy DBL

Synergy DBL (Data Business Language) is a compiled, imperative programming language designed for business use. The language was originally called DBL; later it was referred to as Synergy Language; as of 2012 the official name is Synergy DBL. It is based on Digital Equipment Corporation’s DIBOL programming language.

DBL has an English-like syntax that was designed to be self-documenting and highly readable, but not verbose. The language is procedural and, since 2007 (version 9.1), object-oriented.[1] Support for Microsoft’s .NET Framework was added in 2010 (version 9.5).[2]

Code is split into two divisions (data and procedure) and uses a rigid hierarchy. The language includes a standard library consisting of 240 built-in subroutines and functions, 10 built-in classes, and 11 APIs that provide functionality such as access to XML from within DBL programs and sending and receiving data via HTTP/HTTPS.

Synergy DBL is cross-platform, with the current version running on all modern Windows platforms (Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 and higher), as well as on HP-UX, IBM AIX, Oracle Solaris, several varieties of Linux and OpenVMS. Applications can be developed on one platform and ported to other platforms.[3]

Traditional DBL is implemented as bytecode, which is executed by the Synergy Runtime. Synergy .NET programs are CLS-compliant and run under the .NET Framework.

DBL is distributed as part of a suite of programming tools sold as Synergy/DE Professional Series by Synergex International Corporation.

History

Synergy DBL is based on Digital Equipment Corporation’s DIBOL. DBL was developed by Digital Information Systems Corporation (DISC; the company name was changed to Synergex in 1996) in the late 1970s as a DIBOL alternative, targeting system integrators who combined DEC hardware with third-party peripherals. DIBOL ran only on DEC hardware, while DBL ran on most major business computer platforms.

By mid-1979, DBL was being sold as a DIBOL-compatible compiler for PDP-11 (and compatibles) running RT-11 and RSTS/E.[4]

November 1980: DBL 2.0 released for DEC’s PDP-11- based systems. It compiled and executed programs written in DBL 1.3 or Dibol-11, and ran on RT-11, TSX, RSTS, and RSX-11M. This was the first structured version of DBL. New features included an INCLUDE facility, global storage definition, and fixed-length binary I/O.[5]

January 1983: VMS native-mode version of DBL released to run on VAX. At this time, DBL was also available for DEC RT-11, TSX/TSX-Plus, RSTS, and RSX-11M/M-Plus.[6]

Summer 1984: Initial version 4 released for MS-DOS. (Other platforms were released in 1985, including VMS and TSX-Plus.) The language was rewritten in C and included support for virtual memory, multi-dimensional arrays, and the ability to bind two or more programs together into one executable.[7][8]

December 1984: DBL version 4 released for the AT&T Unix operating system. It included the ability to chain to non-DBL programs and interface to subroutines written in other languages.[9]

December 1987: First DBL utility announced, a windowing tool designed to simplify the display of menus and help screens. It enabled developers to open up to 256 windows.[10]

February 1993: DBL replaced DIBOL on Digital Equipment Corporation’s VAX, Alpha AXP, DEC OSF/1, and Intel-based SCO Unix systems.[11][12]

April 1995: Version 5.7.3 expanded the supported platforms to include Linux and Microsoft Windows (Windows 3.1, 95, and NT).

April 2007: Version 9.1 added support for object-oriented programming, and the compiler was rewritten to support objects and provide better error detection.[13]

November 2010: Version 9.5 added support for Microsoft’s .NET Framework, giving programmers access to .NET Framework classes in addition to DBL classes. The language was integrated with Microsoft’s Visual Studio.[14]

December 2014: Version 10.3 added support for creating programs that can run on Android and iOS devices.[15]

References
  1. "Synergex announces release of Synergy/DE 9.1 - Synergex". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  2. "Synergy/DE 9.5 Provides Seamless Integration with Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft's .NET Framework - Synergex". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  3. "Supported Platforms - Synergex". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  4. Independent's Compiler Puts Dibol on PDP-11. Computerworld. 1979-06-18. p. 34.
  5. DBL Substitutes for Dibol on PDP-11-Based Systems. Computerworld. 1980-11-24. p. 44.
  6. Runs on DEC VAX: DBL/VMS Version Out. Computerworld. 1983-01-17. p. 46.
  7. Edwards, Brian (June 1984). "The Secret World of DIBOL Comes to Light". Hardcopy (June 1984): 81.
  8. "Business Programming Language". Professional Computing (June/July 1984): 70. July 1984.
  9. Digital Information Systems Corp. Version 4, DBL for Unix. Computerworld. 1984-12-10. p. 76.
  10. Weixel, Suzanne (1987-01-01). Firm Develops Tools for Use with Dibol: Digital Information Systems' DBL Synergy Utilities Do Windows under MS-DOS, VAX/VMS. Computerworld. p. 28.
  11. "DISC ANNOUNCES NEW DIBOL STRATEGY IN ASSOCIATION WITH DIGITAL - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  12. "Area Software Firm Gets DEC Contract". nl.newsbank.com. The Sacramento Bee. February 18, 1993. p. G1. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  13. "Synergex announces release of Synergy/DE 9.1 - Synergex". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  14. Clancy, Terry (December 6, 2010). "Another Language for Visual Studio and .Net: Synergex release Synergy/DE". Developers, Developers, Developers. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  15. "Synergex Announces Synergy/DE 10.3 - Synergex". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
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