Reviews : AccelTree Fulcrum 1.2 :

Review: AccelTree Fulcrum 1.2 Page 2

Query Designer

The query designer tool allows the developer to create SQL SELECT statements using a WYSIWYG interface. This tool will connect to a database, then display all of the tables and fields available. You simply check the fields you would like to return in a query set and this tool will autocreate the SQL as well as the connection code (that you can write yourself). The query designer, however, currently only works with Oracle and IBM DB2 databases. It is easy to use and one of the better query tools I have seen.

Business Rule Editor

Fulcrum's business rule editor allows for the developer to create business rule validations that can then be easily reused throughout an application. Essentially, this wizard-based system generates boolean if/else statements that developers can then reuse in their session beans. The tool is relatively straightforward, the developer simply enters a variable name, chooses the operator (==, >, etc), then enters the value for comparison. This tool is mainly for complex business logic that includes multiple constraints. Using this tool, the developer can focus on the logic itself instead of getting bogged down by syntax.

Fulcrum Enterprise

I should also mention that Fulcrum is available in an enterprise edition. The enterprise edition includes both a client module and a server module, thus allowing entire workgroups to use Fulcrum on the same application simultaneously. Essentially, this is a source control mechanism. In the enterprise version of Fulcrum, developers check in and out templates and Java files.

Using Fulcrum

To be frank, I had little luck getting up and running with Fulcrum. Installation went smoothly on my Windows XP machine, however, when I tried to actually use the program it would quit on me, whenever I tried to launch either the Business Rule Editor or the Resource Editor. Because of these flaws, I was never really able to get in the swing of things with this tool nor fully test all of its features.

My assumption is that this version has not been fully tested on Windows XP. Indeed, the enclosed ReadMe says Fulcrum requires Windows 95, NT, 2000 or ME The XP os was not listed. However, I discovered this only after the software was installed. The review on their Web site, mentioned XP as a supported OS.

Installation issues aside, the key to the success of any productivity tool rests on how quickly users can get up and running using it. Fulcrum included a number of items to help me learn their process and how to use Fulcrum. It was a little time-consuming going through the User's Guide, the Computer-Based Tutorial and the Tutorial Guide, but the information I needed was mostly there if poorly organized. A little refinement would go a long way to help new users. I would estimate in a working environment it would probably take about a week for one employee to get comfortable using this tool to the point where he/she could show others how it works.

Conclusion

Let's face it, the bottom line on deciding to use a productivity tool is how significantly it will reduce the time it takes to develop applications. In other words, how much more productive will it make developers? In the case of Fulcrum, I think that there is a lot of possibility. Template-based development is worth looking into, though not every development shop will necessarily benefit by using it, and there are others available. Creating templates takes longer than writing just the code, so if there is minimal code reuse, there will be minimal benefit in using a tool like Fulcrum. However, if a development team does a number of redundant coding tasks, using Fulcrum can certainly reduce programming time. And, once templates are in Fulcrum, less experienced developers can put together significant portions of an application without having to understand the underlying code. And because templated code will have been previously coded and tested, testing time can also be reduced. Ultimately, you will have to try Fulcrum yourself to determine if it will work on your project or for your team.

Fulcrum is still a little rough around the edges. The Web site could use some help. There is no support information at all online. The enclosed documentation, though well-intentioned has a few gaps in it and doesn't fully explain what a user needs to know to adapt their entire development process to this tool. It is obvious it is written by people who are perhaps too familiar with the software product. And the software itself still has some holes, not to mention the bugs I experienced. A lot of the tools enclosed are readily available in many of the more robust IDEs, or at least available as plugins.

Even given its roughness, I definitely think that there is room in the development world for tools like Fulcrum that allow developers to use building blocks for creating code instead of starting from scratch every time around. And I think AccelTree is on the right track by not building a new IDE, but instead focusing on an external tool that assembles Java code. As Fulcrum matures, along with its documentation and parent company, I look forward to it evolving into an indespensable tool.

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