Frequently Asked Questions

Basics

Deployment

Security

Application design

Trial and support

Basics

What is Aware IM?

Aware IM is a highly automated web application builder. With minimal input from the designer Aware IM creates complete, fully functional business applications with data storage and web browser access. Aware IM automatically manages the database and generates data forms, which can be further customized as desired.

Aware IM is a complete package that includes its own web server. It does not need any third party software to run. Aware IM can be installed on an Internet/intranet server or a standalone computer.

Does Aware IM generate code?

No. Aware IM does not generate any code that needs to be deployed with other software. Aware IM does everything that is required to run your application over the Internet - it manages database tables, forms, and handles user requests over the web.

What programming languages to I need to know to use Aware IM?

You do not really need to know any programming language. Aware IM applications are controlled by intuitive and easy to use business rules.

How much database and SQL experience do I need to use Aware IM?

You do not need any SQL knowledge. Aware IM automatically constructs and executes all the necessary SQL queries. Nor do you have to know about things like database keys, indexes or record IDs.

All you need is to have a clear idea of the data elements in your application and their relationships. For example, you may want to manage clients and contact lists where each contact list may have many clients and the same client may be in several contact lists. You can then enter this information into Aware IM and it will automatically take care of the related database tables and data forms with ability to link and navigate between clients and contact lists.

How are business rules different from scripts?

Unlike scripting languages, business rules in Aware IM are expressed in business terms and do not have technical elements like variables or loops. Each business rule simply states what should happen and when and is independent from other rules. When Aware IM detects data changes it automatically executes the affected rules. All this makes business rules highly intuitive and easy to understand and manage. Read more.

How many concurrent users can Aware IM handle?

The number of concurrent users in Aware IM is unlimited.

What is the database size limit in Aware IM?

Aware IM has no limits on the amount of data other than those of the database engine selected for use with Aware IM.

How many tables, forms and rules can be in Aware IM application?

The number of tables is limited only by the database engine selected for use with Aware IM. The number of forms and rules in an Aware IM application is unlimited.

Can I import my existing data into Aware IM?

Yes. Not only can you import data for individual tables, you can also import relationships between existing data. Aware IM will reconstruct the relationships between objects in Aware IM applications.

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Deployment

On which operating systems can Aware IM run?

Aware IM is currently supported on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It is a 100% Java-based software.

Where can I run Aware IM applications?

Aware IM is very flexible. You can install it on a computer within your organization for people to use applications over the company intranet. You can install it on a server of an Internet hosting provider for people to have access to applications over the Internet. You can also install Aware IM on a standalone desktop or laptop computer to design and test your applications before deploying them on the main server.

How can I make my Aware IM application accessible over the Internet?

You need to make sure the computer where Aware IM is installed is accessible from the Internet. If you want to use one of your own computers, you need to make sure the computer has a permanent connection to the Internet, a static IP address, and have a port open for access from the Internet. Alternatively, you can install Aware IM on a server hosted by an Internet hosting provider and deploy your application there. See web deployment page for more details.

You do not need any other software to enable web access - just run Aware IM on a computer that has Internet access and you can log into Aware IM applications from anywhere in the world!

Do I need web server software like Microsoft IIS or Apache to run Aware IM?

No. Aware IM includes its own web server (Tomcat) and does not need any third party software to run or be used over the Internet.

Can I design my applications on Windows or Mac and deploy on Linux, or vice versa?

Yes. Aware IM applications are fully portable between operating systems. You can design your applications on any supported operating system and then deploy them with Aware IM running on any other operating system.

Can I use Aware IM on a laptop? Does it always need an Internet connection?

You can run Aware IM on a standalone computer without an Internet connection. This may be useful for designing and testing applications while away from the office, or when using database applications on remote locations like customer sites.

Can I deploy the same application on different database engines?

Yes. Aware IM applications are fully portable between the supported databases. Aware IM will automatically create and manage database tables for a specific database engine based on the object definitions within Aware IM applications.

Which web browsers can people use with Aware IM?

Aware IM supports all popular web browsers including Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, Firefox, Opera and Safari.

Does Aware IM work on Intel-powered Macintosh?

Yes. Aware IM is 100% Java-based and will run happily on both Intel-based and PowerPC-based Mac computers.

How can I integrate an Aware IM application into an existing website?

You can simply add a hyperlink to the existing website to guide the users to the login page of an Aware IM application. Once the users enter login name and password they get access to pages of the web application.

Can Aware IM run as a Windows service?

Yes. If you run Aware IM as a Windows service, it will start automatically whenever the computer where it is installed is re-booted.

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Security

How is data protected in Aware IM?

Before users can access application data they have to login into the application by specifying their login name and password. You can assign different access rights to different users. For added security you can run Aware IM with SSL.

Can I use Aware IM with SSL?

Yes. You need to obtain an SSL certificate from a digital certification authority and install it into Tomcat, the web server supplied with Aware IM.

How can I control what different users can see or change in my application?

For each category of users you can specify, on a very detailed level, the accessible data and available operations. In addition, you can specify conditional data access depending on data. For example, you can disallow changes to orders that are in submitted state.

What if I want to let people see data without registration?

You can allow users a guest access to the application where they do not need to go through the login step. You can specify how much, or how little, you allow guests to see and do.

Can I keep track of data changes for audit trail?

Yes. Aware IM sends notifications when users log in and out of the application and when data is changed. You can add rules to your application to record the change events that are important to you including data before and after the change.

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Application design

What do I need to do to design a basic application?

You need to install Aware IM, start the Configuration Tool and enter definitions of your business objects and their attributes. Aware IM will automatically create all necessary database tables and user interface with data forms, search tables, menus, etc. You can now start using your application in an Internet browser.

Of course, you can further extend and enhance you application in many ways, but that would be a transition from a basic to the complete application! For more details please see document Getting Started.

Are there any sample applications I can look at?

Yes. There are few that you can run by clicking a button straight after you install Aware IM. You can find more sample applications in the SAMPLES folder. They demonstrate various features and capabilities of Aware IM. You can use these sample applications to see how things can be done in Aware IM, or use them as a base for your own applications.

Can I give my application design to other people?

Yes. The design of an Aware IM application can be exported into a file and given to other people. They can import it into their copy of Aware IM to see or change the design or run the application.

How can I distribute my applications to customers?

If you develop applications for customers, you can take advantage of the Runtime Builder feature. It will generate a ready-to-install package containing your application design and the Aware IM Runtime engine. Your customers only need to run the installation program to start using your application.

Do I have to re-build existing databases when changing my application?

No. When applying new version of an application Aware IM automatically updates database tables for added, changed and deleted fields. Data for unchanged fields is preserved.

Can I test my application before making it operational?

Yes. Aware IM maintains a separate operation environment where you can test your application with a test set of operational data. Once you are happy with the application you can move it into the main operation environment.

Can different people work on design of the same application?

Yes. Aware IM has a built-in version control system that requires application design to be checked out before it can be changed. This prevents different people from making changes to the same design and overwriting changes made by other developers.

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Trial and support

Is a trial version available?

Yes. A free fully functional 30-day evaluation version of Aware IM is available for download.

How do I get support?

There are several ways you can get help using Aware IM. Please visit the support page for details.

What if I need help with application design?

If you need assistance with designing your application please visit the application development page.

How many licenses do I need for my users?

This is explained on the licensing page.

Where can I find information on Aware IM prices?

You can find this information here.

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