Alpha Software Offers Tool To Ease MySQL Programming

Alpha Software Wednesday unveiled a new product aimed at easing Web development with the popular MySQL database.

Alpha's Data-2-the-Web promises to let MySQL VARs and developers create Web-savvy databases without having to get into the nitty-gritty of PHP, ASP, Perl or JavaScript coding, according to Alpha Software, Burlington, Mass.

The program claims to let non-programmers tie Web sites to databases and create Web-based order entry, contact management, lead tracking and other applications.

The software, available as of Tuesday, could help VARs quickly design and deploy Web-based applications for their customers.

The new package contains the Web features of Alpha Five Version 7 but has a direct link to MySQL vs. relying on ODBC links. That direct tie improves performance and eases set up, said Richard Rabins, co-chairman of Alpha.

The MySQL database runs on Linux, Windows and Unix variants and comes in both open-source and commercial licenses. In the past few months, the company has worked to forge partnerships with other software companies and channel players like Ingram Micro.