Developing applications with Rapide uses the same Gen design and development techniques that will be familiar to Gen developers.
The application is developed using standard client/server design principles, with the client and server logic modelled using procedure steps and the window design performed using either the Gen toolset window designer or screen design with the block mode option. Enhanced control over the UI layout and design is performed using a toolset plug-in called the Rapide Designer.
A key advantage of Rapide is that the Gen developer can develop all aspects of the application - the user interface, client logic and server logic using Gen. This promotes a much more flexible and agile development approach compared to developing the user interface in a different technology.
One of the main benefits of developing with Gen is the low cost of maintaining applications, due largely to integrated nature of the analysis and design tools. If the user interface is developed with a separate tool, the interface between the presentation layer (client) and the business logic (server) has to become much more formalised at an early stage in the life-cycle, especially when the client and server parts are developed by separate teams.
There are many situations when a rapid, iterative approach to development will benefit from having one person develop the client and its closely coupled servers at the same time and with the same tool, and Rapide enables the development of sophisticated user interfaces, thus enabling the use of Gen for the client and server components of the application.