Thanks to the complexity of building database driven solutions, small businesses often do not succeed in building their own solutions. LyteCube Technologies has tried to address this issue through an innovative approach.

The process of building a database driven solution comprises many parts, which require different skills and sometimes, different tools. The creation of schema would require a knowledge of data definition language/structured query language (DDL/SQL); creating reports and charts would require some amount of programming skills; the database set-up and operations would require administration knowledge; and data analysis would require a completely different set of tools. This kind of complexity makes it very difficult for small businesses to build their own solutions.

Well, LyteCube aims to change that. The company has created a component framework for the rapid development of database solutions without writing any code! The product, LyteRAD, is currently targeted at small businesses and individuals for the in-house development of solutions.

"What we offer is a framework of re-usable components that can be assembled into a solution in no time. The components are generic enough to address a wide range of needs. This core framework is what we offer as our flagship product LyteRAD, available both on Windows and Linux. LyteMobile is the mobile edition of the framework," says Girish Bellalcheru, CTO, LyteCube Technologies.

Going beyond the code

LyteRAD is a Java-based framework. The product contains an embedded maintenance free database, which requires no administration. Universal database connectivity is offered in the professional edition, for solutions that require more robust database back-ends. "Code generation techniques have existed for a long time, but we have gone beyond code and offered a component view to the world," claims Bellalcheru.

The benefits of this approach are evident. Traditionally, although RAD is seen as a code assistive technology to minimise programming efforts, users still have to handle large chunks of generated code. What LyteCube offers is an approach to building solutions, where code is completely eliminated from the user's solution development cycle. Instead, users are offered a collection of ready-to-use components that can be plugged together into a solution, in no time.

Data visualisation has been a feature of expensive data mining tools and database suites and users also need to be aware of SQL query constructs. LyteRAD, therefore, comes with visualiser tools for simple data analysis and creating visual queries, which completely eliminates the need to know SQL.

The framework has a base runtime, which provides the runtime environment for the components. The components address a variety of needs like creating tables, data forms, reports, charts, managing user credentials, licensing, and even analysing tools.

The integrated development environment (IDE) is designed to mimic the typical design flow of a database solution. The designer can create tables and relationships, which will later be utilised by charts and reports. Each component provides a specific functionality, like the ability to add records to a table or a visual graph of table data. Adding new features to a solution is as simple as adding a new component to the solution. The final solution is a collection of these components and widgets packaged as a standalone application.