PowerHouse: История и развитие 4GL-среды разработки

Fourth generation programming language

PowerHouse is a byte compiled fourth generation programming language (or 4GL) originally produced by Quasar Corporation (later renamed Cognos Incorporated) for the Hewlett Packard HP3000 mini computer, as well as Data General and DEC VAX/VMS systems. It was initially composed of five components:
QDD, or Quasar Data Dictionary: for building a central data dictionary used by all other components
QDesign: a character based screen generator
Quick: an interactive, character based screen processor (running screens generated by QDesign)
Quiz: a report writer
QTP: a batch transaction processor.

Cognos initially attempted to move to the Intel platform in 1988 with the DOS based PowerHouse PC. While the product was used by numerous partners to build bespoke applications for small to medium sized customers it was not entirely unsuccessful at that time. However, Cognos eventually produced Axiant (c.1995), which ported PowerHouse like syntax to an Intel based Microsoft Windows visual development environment and linked it to SQL aware DBMS running on these machines. The radical changes wrought by the PC revolution, which began just at the time PowerHouse was introduced, eventually brought down the cost of host computers to such an extent that high priced software development tools such as PowerHouse became unattractive to customers.

Around 1999 PowerHouse Web was released in order to support the development of web aware applications. Products like Business Intelligence and Financial Performance Management that run on commodity architectures and high end UNIX servers now form the core of the Cognos product line. Cognos was acquired by IBM on January 30, 2008. The PowerHouse Application Development Tools including PowerHouse server, Axiant 4GL and PowerHouse Web were acquired from IBM by UNICOM Systems, a division of UNICOM Global on December 31, 2013, and UNICOM continues to support the worldwide customer base for the products.