What is Nucleus Technology?
Nucleus Technology is an environment for managing and presenting information.

Nucleus incorporates a Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment or "IDE" that offers a FAST-TRACK to development. Nucleus Technology supports a user-friendly Web Browser interface as well as "high-speed" text entry using PC' or dumb terminals. more

Of interest to the Stockholders
Nucleus keeps the nitty-gritty "Grunt Work" away from developers so that they can concentrate on building applications quickly. It's not about just keeping up, it's about getting ahead.

Of interest to Management
Changing government regulations, industry standards and customer requirements mandate the use of a RAD tool that not only meets the needs of today, but will evolve to meet the needs of tomorrow - Nucleus.

Nucleus Technology,is a robust systems environment that speeds development and drastically reduces the cost of system maintenance and operations

What are the advantages in using Nucleus Technology?
Using standard "Pick/U2" style data dictionaries, Nucleus enables prototyping screens in minutes... screens which are attractive, easy to use, and bug free with a Windows-like interface. Nucleus provides a single threaded, dictionary driven data entry model which forces all database updates through a single "thread" of logic resulting in an integrated system that is highly consistent, quickly modified, and easily maintained.

How is Nucleus different from other "4GLs"
Nucleus is a hybrid system, comprised of Data Dictionaries, and SCRIPTS. Nucleus provides super-sets of standard Multi-Valued dictionaries (in a SCREEN DICTIONARY file), offering greatly expanded functionality. FAST Prototyping can be done in a strictly "interpreted" mode, or, by utilizing compiled, run-time tables. These tables (or run-time drivers), working in conjunction with the Nucleus engine and associated subroutines, are one of the keys to the fast operation of Nucleus screens. Nucleus is NOT a code generator. As a true 4GL, Nucleus provides generalized routines and methods for the processing of information.

Nucleus allows the developer to incorporate user-written code sections, which will NOT be stepped on, as an application travels through the development cycle of prototype, modification, enhancement, change and re-work. Nucleus run-time modules are fast. Nucleus makes proper use of dimensioned and dynamic arrays to enhance system throughput. It’s not a resource hog.

What cross-referencing tools are available?
Nucleus offers many choices in how to access information. B-tree indices (or balanced trees), can be incorporated in any field, allowing multiple lookup paths. Where multiple keys exist, Nucleus allows the user to select the desired lookup path (or root). Support is provided for:

Internal (system btrees)	Intersect lookups	Inverted-key access
Direct-key access	Yes/No tables	Basic b-trees (external)
Local table	Foreign table	Save-lists

Pop-up choice windows can include numerous identifying fields/characteristics, which the developer can QUICKLY and EASILY incorporate, to aid the user in making selections. Cross referencing tools are both extensive and flexible offering the developer a wide range of tools to incorporate lookups. Intersected searches are supported.

I’m a busy programmer, what’s the learning curve like?
The learning curve is SHORT. Nucleus uses STANDARD MultiValue conventions, dictionaries, formatting options, conversions, and correlatives. It’s written ENTIRELY in BASIC. If you understand Dictionaries and file structures in a relational database environment which follows the "Pick/U2" model, you can begin developing Nucleus screens after a few hours of introduction.

Everything has limits, what restrictions will we encounter ?
There are few hard rules. No screen module can contain (at present) more than 1600 input fields. No screen can contain more than 50 pages. As with everything, good taste and human-factors engineering should be used in screen design.

Does Nucleus have a menu system?
Not just one, but six styles. . . Window Pop-up "Bar", "Pull Down List", "Traditional", GUI bar, GUI drop-down list and GUI push-button menus. The "Traditional" menus will support many other vendor styles, including Ultimate menus. These menus can support any combination of Nucleus screens, or legacy applications.

I keep reading about "Object Oriented". What is this all about?
Object orientation facilitates the clean definition of interfaces, and makes it possible to utilize re-entrant, generalized code modules, REDUCING program core-size, thereby INCREASING throughput..

Things are changing fast in our industry. I am concerned about "locking in" to a design set.
One of the exciting things about Nucleus, is the ease with which you can quickly modify your applications to deal with changing business conditions. As an organization changes, your Nucleus applications can be quickly modified. Nucleus not only makes the programming task faster and easier, it also dramatically reduces "bugs".

How did Nucleus come to be?
Nucleus is the outgrowth of research that Harvey Rodstein did back in the mid 1980s, to speed up development for some of his clients (like the Bank of America, City of Orange, the United States Navy). Harvey disliked spending hours to manually write and debug a screen. He realized since almost every screen requires a number of similar steps... Selecting a file, selecting an item to process, displaying the data, providing for edits, filing the change, etc. etc. etc., there had to be a way to create a generalized group of routines to do just that.

If you have had the opportunity to read Harvey's book, Pick for Professionals TAB Books, ISBN 0-8306-0125-2) (copies are still available on Amazon), you will see prototypes of the early routines, that he designed. Since Harvey worked as an independent consultant, he was not under pressure from anyone to "hurry up and finish the product". He was able to optimally develop Nucleus and not be forced to complete a routine just to push a new release out the door. As a result, Nucleus is a resource efficient and programmer friendly development environment.

When did Nucleus first come to market?
At the February 1995 annual meeting of the Sequoia user group, held in Clearwater Beach, Florida, Harvey met with Lee Bacall (who was a pupil of Harvey's, back in 1987). They sat down for a few nights, talked programming, and re-developed a security package, which according to Lee, originally took about 3 weeks to write. The entire security package was re-written in Nucleus in less than 8 hours. The first demonstration of a Nucleus application was made at the end of the Sequoia user group meeting. Shortly thereafter, Binary Star Development Corporation was formed to nurture and market Nucleus.

I understand that 4GLs are "resource hogs" and will cripple the throughput on my already slow machine!
Interesting thought, but essentially not the case with Nucleus. A slow machine is not always a slow machine. There are many ways in which applications can be enhanced to dramatically enhance throughput. Nucleus Technology provides a variety of methods to improve efficiency and speed access to information.

We need to "beef up" the security in our legacy system, can Nucleus help?
You bet! Nucleus has an extensive set of security features that can easily be integrated in your "legacy" systems so that you can incorporate sophisticated security. Interestingly, many security enhancements can be made WITHOUT using any of the 4GL features at runtime. In addition to operations security, a comprehensive source code control system maintains the integrity of programs and applications developed using Nucleus.

Is there a tutorial program available?
There is an easy to follow tutorial currently in the works with actual images depicting every step of how to develop a sophisticated contact screen. It will quickly lead you through each development stage as you add pop-up windows, btree lookups, validations, column searches, color display, tickertape entry fields, multiple pages and note fields, all without writing a single line of code. The 15 minute tutorial is free and is available for download now. (this is a 98 megabyte AVI file, non-streaming)

Are there demonstration programs available?
An extensive demonstration account includes an operational CRM system, Order entry, General ledger company setup, AR terms, a calendar program, vendor maintenance and others. Demonstration programs illustrate how to add validations, lookups, drill-downs, in-screen menus, message boxes, choice lists, hot-buttons and many other features and coding examples.

Can Legacy applications coexist, without having to "wrap" our applications?
Absolutely! Nucleus provides many methods for implementing a "Mixed application environment". You can interactively run ANY legacy application from any Nucleus menu, or from TCL if you desire. We know from experience, that the real world needs to keep working, while development works in stages. It’s imperative that applications can be rolled out using Nucleus that can leverage your investments in existing applications.

Running your reports using a Nucleus front-end will allow you to use multiple POP-UP choice windows to make run-time selections for any parameter. This dynamic operating environment reduces user frustration and increases operator efficiency while improving security and data reliability.

Change and Version Control is becoming a serious issue at our company. Is there help?
Being able to control the efforts of multiple programmers, as well as maintaining separate test environments, AND production environments is essential to every business. Nucleus was designed to support complex life-cycle environments. Nucleus maintains ALL source code modifications, revisions, patches, and releases to production. Source Code Control will NOT allow multiple programmers to modify the same program at the same time (although it can be viewed). Source Code Control DOES allow you to "roll-back" your source code to prior patch levels, or release levels if necessary. Methods exist to "promote" applications from development to Quality Assurance and then to live/production environments. More...

Can I have multiple "scrolling windows" on the same screen?
Nucleus allows not only numerous scrolling windows of multi-value sets on the same screen, but will also allow multiple NOTE windows on the same screen as well. We have seen an order inquiry screen developed with 4 multi-valued sets, 3 of them with two fields, and one with four fields. Each of the multi-value sets showed a depth of 6 lines of data, and all had graphic boxes surrounding them. In addition, there was a 3-line note window at the bottom of the screen, which incorporated a text processing system. Three of these screen elements included "POP-UPS" to select criteria from code files or other data files. You can be as creative as you wish with Nucleus.

Is there a messaging system?
Messaging is an integral part of the Nucleus engine. Not only can users get messages quickly, they can get their messages, send a reply, and then RETURN directly to the same line on a screen. The messaging routines in Nucleus were an outgrowth of work that was done for an emergency Police Dispatch system. Because of this, Nucleus messaging is ideal for providing fast corporate communications or even a 911 system. Nucleus messaging also helps to fulfill requirements dictated by Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

The time interval for message checking can be set for each system user. For example, if you have a 911-dispatch operator, they need messages FAST. A payable clerk, or warehouse operator, can be set to receive messages according to priorities that you establish. Messages can be delivered once an hour, once a day or once every 30 seconds.

Can I expect productivity gains from Nucleus?
Users and programmers both experience gains in productivity. Since Nucleus provides a common user interface and a consistency of operation, there is never a question as to how a particular screen is going to accept standard commands such as <FILE>, <EXIT>, <SEARCH>, <HELP>, <PAGE>.

Programmers can gain at least 500% increase in productivity and more importantly, greatly reduce the time and costs of maintenance! One of our development managers was able to implement 9 simple maintenance screens and 7 pop-up windows that were part of an auto rental reservation system, in just under 1-1/2 hours. That’s right, one and a half-hours. Okay, most of the screens were only comprised of seven or less fields, but they ALL had pop-up selection windows and numerous validations, three had B-tree lookups against large files, one a sort by a secondary index, and another used a local list for selection options.

 "We’re not saying that Rome can be built in a day, but the construction schedule can be greatly accelerated."

Can Nucleus help standardize how our systems work?
Since Nucleus is a single threaded environment, there are no "mysterious paths". The beauty of Nucleus, is that real standards are created, and a common interface for the user always exists.

Nucleus routines provide a STANDARDIZED method for CALLing routines specific to the rule set of how your business operates. It ensures that procedures are handled the SAME way every time. Standard algorithms ensure the integrity of your data. Even when multiple programmers work in the Nucleus environment, ALL their screens are consistent in how they work! The user interface remains the same and their frustration level is minimized. Default colors can be set for screens, menus, pop-up lists, and reports to provide custom corporate standards.

Are there any "trick" routines to further reduce development time?
Nucleus offers numerous shortcuts to the programmer for screen and system development. A short list of these utilities include routines to: Draw boxes, clear boxes, generate id’s, call pop-up windows, automatically retrieve data from b-trees, write reports, provide standardized reporting, and allow "short hand coding" using function libraries. In addition, Nucleus has standardized input routines, standardized display routines, integrated word processing and a help screen authoring system. Additionally Nucleus includes fully integrated messaging/email, extensive security tools, three menu systems, display message utilities, utilities to control printer queues or select printers using pop-ups, and much more.

Contextual jumps which allow the operator to easily jump from a field in screen such as order entry, to the customer setup screen and add a new customer. Once the new customer is added the operator can then return directly to the order entry screen at the same point where the originating jump occurred.

Our users are demanding Windows like displays. What can Nucleus offer?
Three tier browser based applications can be deployed, using the SAME ruleset as character based applications.

For character based environments, Nucleus provides "DOS windows-like" pull down menus, pop-up windows, graphic lines and full use of mouse and arrow keys for screen navigation. Function keys have the same effect in ALL screens. The Nucleus GUI/Graphic User Interface, fully adheres to windows, standards. A Web Browser interface allows the developer to use any standard Web Browser such as Chrome, Mozilla/Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc., to address screens developed using Nucleus Technology over the Internet, or in an Intranet (in a corporate network).

Does Nucleus support the use of a mouse?
Yes, of course. If you are using a PC with either Accuterm, Viaduct, Winnix, Wintegrate or Termite, mouse clicks for moving to a field, selecting an item or initiating an event are fully supported. In addition the ATGUI interface using Accuterm 2K2 supports scroll bars.

Does Nucleus support "event triggers"?
Nucleus is an object oriented, event driven environment. Events or "triggers" can initiate almost any imaginable procedure.Nucleus offers a wide latitude of programmatic control, coupled with exceptional flexibility. Nucleus offers 29 different trigger methods.

Are there special controls and modifiers for screen displays?
Nucleus includes a wide range of field modifiers that the developer can quickly and easily implement:

Required, NO-Change and Display Only	Display Headings & Literal messages – Horizontally
Multiple pages with tab select , page or mouse	Display Headings & Literal messages – Vertically
Graphic Boxes, vertical and horizontal lines	Multiple styles of ID selections
Default Entry and display	Color display based on a standard
Output or Input conversions – (Multiple)	Pop-Up selections or choice options for ANY field
Calls to external subroutines for validation of data	Validations & Help messages
Pop-up Context sensitive help	Ticker-tape entry fields (data length, field length)
Restrict number of entries in a multi-valued set	SAVE REQUIRED
Note processing field	"Jumps" to other screens and MUCH MORE!

Many other options exist that the developer may utilize in developing data entry or view screens with a very wide range of user-friendly features.

What security features does Nucleus have?
There are numerous levels of security in the Nucleus Environment, that address everything from TCL accesses, down to field level security. Nucleus even has a facility to automatically audit changes to ANY file by merely adding the name of the file to the AUDIT_FILES configuration.

In addition to the security inherent in the Nucleus environment, there are subroutines that can be CALLED from existing legacy applications, to incorporate additional controls, Task Level security and privilege assignments.

Nucleus also provides utilities to ease conversion issues, with tools to track usage of programs, PROCs and MD procs. In addition, there is also a GROUP security feature that can be incorporated at FILE, VERB, PROGRAM and MENU levels.

There is an extensive group of operations security tools, to document and/or protect entry to any menu, as well as the selection of any menu option. Methods are available to document the use of any PROC, program or MD / VOC item in your system. This can help to determine when/OR IF a program is used. Nucleus security is a freestanding product and can be implemented as a stand-alone security environment for existing legacy systems.

As a developer, it has always been hard to estimate "how long". Is there any help?
Absolutely! Applications can be quickly prototyped; some can be created in less than 5 minutes start to finish. Incorporating lookups are a snap. Basic "Order entry" type screens can be developed (without bugs) in well under an hour. We know of a developer who used Nucleus to re-develop an auto rental reservations application which originally took 3 months to write by hand. The re-engineering of the reservation application was done in less than 4 hours, start to finish... including 9 table lookups, and 2 b-tree lookups. Nucleus accelerates the developers abiity to get applications on line quickly, and under budget. Nucleus Technology offers an easy to learn method to be more productive and more competitive.

I understand that 4GLs limit what you can do. What is the case here?
The sky is the limit. Anything logical can be done with Nucleus Technology. If a standard method, generalized routine, or object does not exist, you can write routines to do anything that you can logically envision. There are NO assembler routines. You can develop extended system functions, that we will review. If we feel that they follow the proper standards, we will incorporate the change (after testing), in a future Nucleus release.

Nucleus is a constantly evolving environment. We welcome your contributions and ideas.