Who should attend ?

• Simple – Anyone with an interest in CA Gen !

Why should you attend ?

• Connect with other CA Gen users from the UK
• Access to subject matter experts within the CA Gen community
• Demonstration and hands-on of the new CA Gen r8
• See what’s in store for CA Gen in the future
• Views of partner products
• Opportunities to meet the senior CA Development staff from the Development Labs in Dallas
• …and more !

Oh – yes – and it’s free – as is the evening meal the night before !

Don’t forget to check out the other posts about the day here and here.

Check them out here (a sample slideshow is embedded below so you can see the quality of the presentations).

Thanks for sharing Paul!

From the article, it seems that not many other tools offer the full lifecycle from logical model through to code with the tight control that we have within CA Gen. Interestingly the article referred to CA Gen was one on comparison of data modelling tools. This article highlights the fact that CA Gen IS a DM tool, but is much more than that. Perhaps the data modelling facilities of the tooling are overshadowed by it use as a code-generation tool ?? They shouldnt be overlooked – perhaps they are not the most intuitive tools in the world, but they do form part of the overall process – after all – get your data model wrong and the rest is wrong too !

The site has now taken on board the new corporate look and feel of the rest of the CA web presence.

The Gen microsite is still a work in progress with content being migrated from the old site to the new one. The key documents/downloads are there (link here for a whitepaper on the forward path of CA Gen) with more being added as time permits.

The most important addition (for me) is the provision of “MyCA”. This is the new community and connection facility for CA customers generally, CA Gen included.

There are a number of relevant communities that you can join – EDGE, for example has a presence on the community portion of the microsite, as do a number of regional and local CA Gen user groups.

You have to register with the site,but most people will already have an existing SupportConnect ID which you can use with no changes.

Certainly worth a visit….

This free event will feature presentations from CA Gen users with direct hands-on experience of the product, as well as the latest information on r8 and other current issues.  Feedback from attendees at previous PLC events is being reflected in the programme and event structure which is still being finalised.

Also arranged is a pre-event dinner on the evening of Wednesday 6^th October for those attendees staying overnight.  To be held at one of Birmingham’s foremost restaurants – Bank - in the lively Brindley Place area, this is also free to attendees of the PLC.

Both the User Group and dinner will provide excellent opportunities for you to meet and make contact with other CA Gen users in the UK, to form useful contacts, which will help both you and the product grow and develop into the future.

If you would like to present a session at this User Group or have any questions, please send an email to info@gentalk.biz for discussion.

If you wish to attend the User Group and pre-event dinner please register as quickly as possible by visiting http://www.jumar-solutions.com/register/ukgenplc

Please also forward the invite (which you can download here)  to other CA Gen users that you may know in order that we can grow our community!

The main news is that CA are certifying some newer products with CA Gen 7.6 – COBOL 4.2 and IMS 11 have been certified, and they are looking to certify them with CA Gen r8 too.

This is good news for those organisations on those platforms since it makes upgrading less of a chore and therefore less of a risk to carry out. This is clearly in line with CA’s policy of  making life easier for its customers.

Now whilst I agree that there isn’t the wealth of information available on the internet and in bookshops that there is, for example, on C and C++, or Java or Ruby, its simply not true that no one is training new developers!

There are a large amount of training companies out there providing these services: Jumar Solutions, EducaGen to name but two. In addition, other CA Partners provide consultancy and will provide training if required.

What the blog entry does say is that there is no “CA Gen for Dummies” out there – no books that can be bought on the subject. That I do agree with – although the subject of CA Gen design/programming/implementation is vast, some books may help with people getting into the product and exploring it for the first time.

Its like the Shares market – you dont worry that a particular share is going to lose money in a year, you know that it will outperform traditional savings vehicles over (say) a 5 to 10 year period.

Startup costs are going to be higher with CA Gen than other development platforms, but in the longer term, because you know that your developers are more productive, you will save money.

So – what would you do, given the chance to invest for a larger gain in the long term, or make a quick killing and know that you could have made more ?

The way GuardIEn has developed over the last decade (and more) is largely down to the way that the IET guys have listened to how its used by their customers and come up with ways to solve common problems and requirements. The result of this is a product that ACTUALLY does what you want it to do – rather than one that is advertised as such, and then disappoints – not so with GuardIEn – it does what you’d expect and a whole lot more !

In the new release, for example, are new ways to assess the impact of changes, more granular ways to manage your releases and more !

IET recently issued SpotlIEt’s July 2010 Edition – check it out here….

The venue is yet to be decided, but if the last 2 years’ events are anything to go by they will be well worth attending, not just for the camaraderie and meetups with old friends, but for the information and experiences that are gained during the event.
This years’ programme will consist of a social event, followed by a full day of exciting and innovative experiences.

As ever, the USERS of CA Gen are by far the most important focus, so if you have a story to tell, some experiences to share or want to suggest a session, please drop me a line at info@gentalk.biz

Remember – its a USER day, so reserve the dates- 6th/7th October 2010!