Sybase announced on April 17 the availability of Sybase PowerBuilder 10.5, the latest version of its rapid application development tool.

Sybase officials in Dublin, Calif., said PowerBuilder 10.5 delivers several functionality enhancements and improvements to its DataWindow data access, presentation and manipulation technology.

The enhanced DataWindow capabilities include the ability to more easily build complex forms and reports using the Autosize Height functionality for all bands in a report, as well as TreeView, a new presentation style that enables hierarchical data to be easily displayed.

Other new DataWindow features include properties to make complex data access, manipulation and presentation easier, officials said.

PowerBuilder 10.5 also offers a new rich-text control, support for new data types, enhanced support for Web services and user interface enhancements, officials said.

Des White, product development manager at Synergy Logistics, in Loughborough, England, said the PowerBuilder enhancements will allow his company to alter applications with the "least risk and maximum benefit."

"We are calling PowerBuilder 10.5 the 'back to basics' release because the focus is truly back to its roots, which is what our loyal developers have asked for," said Karen Frederiksen, director of application development technology at Sybase. "Core enhancements, including improvements to the DataWindow and advanced support for Web services, have been made to help developers build better applications, faster."

This article was originally published on eWEEK.com.