Consultingwerk has built support for the RCD framework into the backend of the SmartComponent Library. Business logic stays in SmartComponent Library Business Entities. RCD puts a web front end on top, built by the same OpenEdge developers.
RCD web front endSmartComponent Library backendPASOE · ABL
Two partners
Two OpenEdge specialists, each with a clear part
Both companies build for Progress OpenEdge and PASOE. Consultingwerk provides the backend architecture. RCD provides the web interface.
RCD
Rapid Cloud Development
The web front end
A web development framework made for OpenEdge developers. Screens are defined declaratively and run in the browser, while the logic stays in ABL on PASOE.
Working web screens in minutes, not days
Uses existing 4GL and PASOE skills, with no JavaScript framework to learn
Grids, forms, ribbons, parent-child screens and an AI assistant
Runs on your own servers, under your control
Wilrijk, BelgiumIn production at Softpak ERP and BEA ERP
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CW
Consultingwerk
The backend framework
Specialists in modernizing OpenEdge applications. Their SmartComponent Library is a full-stack framework that structures the backend in Business Entities and Business Tasks.
Business Entities hold data access, validation and CRUD logic
RESTful services documented with OpenAPI
OpenEdge 12 and PASOE migration, CI/CD for OpenEdge
AI modernization and MCP server support
Progress Service Delivery & Technology Alliance Partner
How it fits together
Follow one request from the browser to the database
Pick a step to see which layer does the work and who provides it.
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Who does what
Clear ownership on each side
Each framework keeps doing what it is good at. The integration lets them work together without either one having to change.
RCD handles
Screens
Grids, detail forms, tab folders and parent-child layouts, defined per screen.
User interaction
Ribbon actions, filtering, sorting, paging, lookups and field-level UI rules.
The browser
Responsive web client, device independent, no plugin or desktop install.
SmartComponent Library handles
Business logic
Business Entities and Business Tasks, with their validation and rules.
Data access
Reads and writes against the OpenEdge database through the data access layer.
Services
The same entities keep serving REST, .NET and other clients alongside RCD.
Common groundProgress OpenEdgePASOEABLAI-ready
What you get
Benefits for everyone in the stack
SmartComponent Library users
A web front end for the backend you already have
Put web screens on existing Business Entities
Your ABL team builds the UI without a separate JavaScript team
Validation stays in one place, the backend
RCD users
A proven backend architecture under your screens
Structure business logic in Business Entities and Tasks
Access to Consultingwerk’s tooling: REST, OAuth2, telemetry
Expert help with OpenEdge 12, PASOE and DevOps
Software vendors and end customers
Modernize without starting over
Keep the database and the business logic you trust
Move users to the browser step by step, screen by screen
Both partners build on Progress and invest in AI
Building one web screen
Putting a web screen on a Business Entity
Task
Without the integration
With RCD × Consultingwerk
Front end
Build and maintain a separate JavaScript application
Define the screen in RCD
Connect to data
Write service adapters and map every field by hand
The built-in RCD support connects the screen to the Business Entity
Validation
Often duplicated in the front end and the backend
Stays in the Business Entity and is shown on the RCD form
Skills needed
ABL plus a web framework, often two teams
ABL and PASOE, one team
Where it runs
Extra web servers and build pipelines
PASOE on your own servers
Ready to see it on your own application?
Contact RCD about the web front end, or Consultingwerk about the SmartComponent Library. Both teams know how the integration works.
