I am facing the need to integrate our baan application with window applications and I am wondering what I need to accomplish this.

For example, I am able to communicate with BaaN using VBA in an Excel SS, but am reluctant about going down that path. We do not have open world. Do we need it? Will the commands used in VBA work in VB? VB.NET? (I'm not sure what the difference is.) JAVA?

Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise.
- Joy

It is my understanding the commands will work in VB and VB.net - no experience myself with these. Now what we did do was create a baan table that some middle ware writes to directly into Oracle. This software runs and updates this table directly in the Oracle table. Then this table is processed by a user - basically the user just processes the records. In once case I move the records to a history table, leave the error records for review and correction. Just one way to do this - of course this is assuming you own the source code(or developed) the other application. In our case this other application has its own Oracle ID with write permissions to only this one table.

Thank you Mark for responding.

We have some window applications using VBA for both Microsoft Access and Excel. In both cases, servicing these applications is difficult because there are missing libraries when running / installing on a plethora of PCs. A problem I thankfully don't have in the BaaN environment.

I have written a simple library in BaaN to update a record in a table. This is a custom table and custom development. Also, I have used VBA to execute the library. Based on my comments in the first paragraph, I just think that VBA is the wrong development tool.

I'm looking for opinions regarding a more robust approach.

- Joy

Joy,

Sticking with the VBA approach, you can (or at least used to be able to) purchase an Office extension that allowed you to package a runtime version of Access with your program and set it up in an installer. That way, your application would run with the runtime version (regardless of any version the user has installed) and everything would be packaged.

Beyond that, Mark's suggestion of creating a table (or set of tables) in Baan that you write directly to from your app (instead of going through Baan), and then using a Baan session to process that data, is a very common approach. Of course, you still have to decide what technology you are using to create the app on the PC side.

Also, I was just reviewing documentation on the latest ERP LN feature pack today, and it still supports the OLE interface via the BW, so any versions previous to that (including all 4 and 5) should as well.

If you are using the OLE technology (and it sounds like you are), any language that can use COM components is viable. At that point, it's your developer's preference. As far as VB vs VB.NET, VB.NET is the newest version of Visual Basic (although there are some fundamental differences between the two). Also, you can use Java. Also, to address the distribution/missing library problems you mention, you may want to look at a web-based technology (ASP.NET on the M$ side).

Sorry for the babbling, but hopefully, something in there helps.

Vince

Sorry, further comment on the OLE: it does take a license while it's running, whereas writing to a table via ODBC does not (just when you run the session you would have to process the data written via ODBC). Also, OLE lacks some flexibility because you have to have the password saved in a bwc file or enter the password when using it. Last, there are some throughput and stability issues if you try to push a lot of data or keep the OLE session open for a long time. That being said, at my last company, I had an entire VB6/SQL Server shop floor control application that integrated to Baan via OLE connections.

Vince

Thank you Vince for your insightful response. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Given the various options, which option requires Open World. Obviously VBA does not. But what about Java and VB.Net?

Joy,

Actually, any of the languages can use Openworld, OLE, or direct database access. None of them require Openworld, per se. However, long term, you will get more support from Infor if you go down the Openworld/Infor SOA route as that is their stated direction for integrating systems.

Without knowing the specifics of what you are trying to accomplish, I would probably recommend going with Mark's suggestion of writing to custom tables directly, then writing sessions to process that data into standard Baan tables.

Thanks,

Vince

VB still better & latest VB.net /java can be used to read and update (only to custom tables) baan tables.

Special integrations like calling functions servers etc can be done by OLE / open world etc .

I agree with Mark approach. In the past I've done an interfacing system between Baan IV and Wonderware using Oracle 'plain' tables to update the production data from field system.
'Plain' means that dates are stored in alfanumeric, no enum, etc. Putting flags in those tables to implement a semaphore system you can have even 'real-time' updates.
There was no need to install expensive middleware like Openword, no waste of a licence like using OLE system.

Try with Dixsi. Call felipe_saavedra_olvera by skype. We use that. You can publish all Baan an LN functions with Web services. It's very goog.