Opening up the LANSA Repository
to Microsoft .NET developers
LANSA Open for .NET allows developers to write .NET applications that take advantage of resources on the IBM i withoutleaving Visual Studio. It is a Visual Studio plugin that gives .NET developers the means to incorporate IBM i services(including data and programs) in Windows rich-client and Web applications. The developer views the IBM i data andprograms as resources within Visual Studio.

With LANSA Open for .NET, LANSA brings the productivity, discipline,
security and performance of its repository to the .NET world. By storing
enterprise business rules centrally in the LANSA Repository, RPG, COBOL
and .NET programs can be subjected to the same validation constraints.
The results are zero duplication of source code for business rules, tighter
security, faster performance and cleaner, more reliable data for IBM iorganizations.
In LANSA, business rules critical to enforcing data integrity are storedcentrally in the LANSA‘s Metadata Repository rather than in the databaseor application. This locks down system-wide validations, calculations
and other business rules by delivering a completely independent dataservices layer that governs all database access. With LANSA’s Repository,these business rules, algorithms and calculations reside centrally within
the repository and are not duplicated and sprinkled across manyprograms. Changes only need to be made once to these business rules,
algorithms and calculations and do not require the client programs
to be recompiled or redeployed, whether the client is a .NET or IBM i
application.

Access LANSA Repository objects
from the Visual Studio IDE
Developers working with Microsoft Visual Studio can use IBM i objects
in their .NET applications. The objects available are database table
schemas, data definitions, validation rules, business logic algorithms
and multilingual text (field labels, headings and help text). Developers
access the objects using the Repository Explorer and Data Model Editor
supplied with LANSA Open for .NET.
The Repository Explorer and Data Model Editor operate like anyother .NET provider in Visual Studio and include IntelliSense support.
Developers prepare a data model for their application from databasetables defined in the LANSA Repository by dragging objects from theRepository Explorer and dropping them on the Data Model Editor.
Saving the data model will generate the .NET classes and methods thatwill access the tables on an IBM i server from the .NET application.

.NET applications work collaboratively
with IBM i server functions.NET developers have access to IBM i server functions including
programs, spooled files, message queues and operating systemcommands. They can write programs that inspect spooled files, issue
operating system commands, start programs and use message queues.

Immediate and secure access toenterprise data
LANSA Open for .NET’s allow IT departments to safely open up theirenterprise data to a variety of internal and external applications without
risking security or data integrity. Completely eliminate the need for
database synchronization and provide a single version of the truth tousers as .NET and IBM i applications operating independently can now
use the same enterprise data.

Inexpensive mechanism for delivering
Web services
Microsoft provides tools for publishing Web services that companies
can combine with LANSA Open for .NET to expose the data and services
running on an IBM i as Web services. There is no need to implement theIBM Web service infrastructure on the IBM i. The Web services will use
LANSA Open for .NET to retrieve data and/or execute programs on theIBM i and return the response to the Web service. Suppose you wanted
to include an order entry form in a Web site or a SharePoint portal. TheWeb service will collect the order data from the Web form and pass thedata to LANSA Open for .NET which will run the order entry program on
the IBM i to insert the data. This architectural approach provides you
with the capability to extend the reach of your line-of-business systems
while protecting the databases that manage them.

Tighter security
LANSA Open for .NET’s runtime DLL encrypts and compresses data
during transmission between the client and server, protecting sensitive
data from being compromised as it is sent down the wire. These features
enable packaged software vendors and in-house development teams tosecurely and quickly update IBM i information from .NET applications.

Easier management of multiple IT
development teams
IT managers have found it challenging to manage siloed development
teams and multi-platform projects because there hasn’t been an
effective way for mixed development environments to share resources.
When .NET developers use the LANSA Visual Studio plugin, RPG, COBOLand .NET developers can all reuse the same enterprise business logic,validation rules and calculations within both .NET and IBM i applications.
Reuse removes the need to duplicate business logic, validation rules
and calculations within in each application, speeding up both ongoing
application maintenance and development of new applications.
IT managers can use LANSA Open for .NET to break down theirdevelopment silos, share enterprise wide business rules and resources
across all development environments and improve the speed andquality of application development.

With LANSA Open for .NET developers working with Microsoft Visual Studio can use
IBM i objects in their .NET applications.

Why use LANSA Open for .NET?
After new applications are deployed they are subject to continualmodification and extension. Centralizing the business rules andaccessing them from .NET applications means not having to code thebusiness rules in any .NET program. Only having to change the businessrules once in the repository, when change is required, means less cost,less time and less risk.
Business rules centralized in the LANSA Repository are independent ofplatform and database, allowing your .NET programs to access different
server types and different databases without changing any code.
LANSA Open for .NET enables IT departments to safely open up theirenterprise data and applications to a variety of internal and external.NET applications without risking security or data integrity. IBM iorganizations with hosted .NET Web sites can now tightly integrate themwith the data and business processes on the IBM i server to deliver abetter customer experience.
Completely eliminate the need for database synchronization and provide
a single version of the truth to users as .NET and IBM i applications
operating independently can now use the same enterprise data.
The LANSA .NET provider gives developers flexibility when building thepresentation layer for business applications. You can now choose .NETdevelopment tools to build the user interface.

by .NET developers. ISVs can use the LANSA .NET provider for IBM i todevelop .NET add-ons for their application. Even their customers canuse the .NET provider with .NET development tools to extend or enhance
the application and they don‘t need to understand or even be aware of
the underlying technology used to build the application.

Getting started is easy
Following the footsteps of other LANSA products, LANSA Open for .NETis easy to use and implement for .NET developers. The class library is
shipped with ready-to-run samples in both the C# and VB.NET languages.
There is almost no learning curve for .NET developers.
No knowledge of IBM i, DB2, or LANSA is needed.
No additional LANSA software needs to be installed on the .NET clientsystem.
If you already use Visual LANSA, all you need is Microsoft Visual Studio,
the LANSA Open for .NET DLL and the online documentation. Nothingelse is required.
If you are not already a LANSA development site, you will need toidentify and train a LANSA Repository Administrator to administer theLANSA environment on the server. The rest of your .NET team only needs
the LANSA Open for .NET class library and documentation. Your wholeteam is now ready to start using LANSA Open for .NET.

.NET Application

LANSA
Repository

IBM iFunctions

Application Logic• Business rules• Data validation• Error messages• Referential integrity• Database triggers• Derived fields• Multilingual support• Programs• System commands• Spooled files• Message queues• Data areas

LANSA Data
Model Classes
LANSA Open for.NET Class Library

SERVERPLATFORM

VISUALSTUDIOFor ISVs with applications built on the LANSA platform, LANSA Openfor .NET enables the extension and enhancement of these applications

Developers and applications have access to enterprise business rules stored centrally in the LANSA Repository and IBM i server functions.

Features• Opens up the IBM i data and applications to .NET developers ina productive and safe context while enforcing data management
discipline.
• LANSA Repository Explorer and Data Model Editor – access to theLANSA Repository from within Visual Studio.
• Data management discipline is enforced by centrally storedbusiness rules and functions, including data validations, errormessages, referential integrity, database triggers and derived (orvirtual) fields.
• Productivity is enhanced by removing the need for the inclusion ofbusiness rules and data validation in the .NET applications.
• Call programs on the IBM i including LANSA functions andprograms written in RPG, COBOL or Java.
• Invoke IBM i server functions from C# or Visual Basic programs.
• Maintain (create, update, delete) databases on the IBM i from .NET
programs with business rules enforced at the database.

• Supports access to multilingual and DBCS services provided by theIBM i.
• Faster and more secure than ODBC. Unlike basic table I/Oapplications, all client applications are automatically subjected
to rigorous IBM i security checks, data validation and referential
integrity checks.
• Secure encryption between the Windows and IBM i platforms using
industry standard DES or Twofish.
• Full .NET CLR verifiable class library – LANSA Open for .NET is not aclass library front end to a non-CLR compliant WIN32 application.
• No knowledge of LANSA required by .NET developers. They only
need to become familiar with the services provided by the classlibrary and the LANSA .NET provider.
• Small footprint – deploys as a single DLL within your .NETapplications.
• Standardized error handling, tracing and diagnostic capabilities.

Visit www.lansa.com for more information

THE AMERICAS
Headquarters – Chicago, USA
Tel:+1 630 874 7000
Email: info@lansa.com
A4-10.02.17

EUROPE
Headquarters – London, UK
Tel:+44 1727 790300
Email: info@lansa.co.uk© 2017 LANSA. All rights reserved. All marks are the property of their respective owners.

ASIA PACIFIC
Headquarters – Sydney, Australia
Tel:+61 2 8907 0200
Email: info@lansa.com.au