Sybase to launch beta of Pocket PowerBuilder

Sybase on Friday will launch the beta version of an upcoming product called Pocket PowerBuilder, a version of its development environment for creating applications for handheld computers running Windows CE, company officials said.

Sybase on Friday will launch the beta version of an upcoming product called Pocket PowerBuilder, a version of its development environment for creating applications for handheld computers running Windows CE, company officials said.

The product shares similarities with Sybase’s PowerBuilder toolset, which means developers familiar with that product should be able make use of existing skills to create mobile applications. Developers will also be able to extend existing PowerBuilder applications to handheld devices, allowing them to reuse some of their code, said Martyn Mallick, a product manager with Sybase’s iAnywhere Solutions subsidiary.

The product is due for release in the third quarter and will compete with offerings from Microsoft, IBM, Metrowerks and others.

“It opens the door for the PowerBuilder community to build advanced Windows CE applications. Before, they had to learn a new language and new tools, and do more programming with C or Java. Now they can use their existing skill set,” Mallick said.

The mobile market is still quite new and several tools vendors are vying to stake out a claim, noted Warren Wilson, a practice director with Boston-based Summit Strategies.

“A lot of developers are just beginning to get their feet wet, so it’s still unclaimed terrtory,” he said. “From Sybase’s point of view, it can leverage a pretty large and loyal base of PowerBuilder developers who’ve been using that product for years. They’ve built a lot of applications, some of which could potentially be extended into the wireless realm.”

Developers can register at Sybase’s Web site for a limited beta test that starts Friday, with a wider public beta planned for May. Sybase wasn’t ready yet to say if Pocket PowerBuilder will be sold separately or packaged as part of its main PowerBuilder product.

Sybase also makes SQL Anywhere Studio, a lightweight database used on desktops, laptops and handheld computers. It said Pocket PowerBuilder will be closely linked to that product. Developers also will be able to take objects created with PowerBuilder’s DataWindow technology and port them to mobile applications, the company said.

Sybase began with Windows CE rather than other handheld operating systems because of the “sophistication and capability of the devices. Also, PowerBuilder is largely a Windows developer tool,” Mallick said.

It may offer a version for developing Palm OS applications in the future, but for now it sees more interest in Microsoft’s Pocket PC platform, which is based on Windows CE.

“Compared to two years ago, there are a lot more people going with Pocket PC than in the past. When people want very rich, adaptable applications they tend to lean towards Pocket PC,” according to Mallick.

Developers can register for the beta program here.