GRiD to Distribute PenRight! Pro Software Development Toolkit Through The Programmer’s Shop
FREMONT, Calif. — June 15, 1992 — GRiD Systems Corp., the market leader in developing and shipping pen computer systems and software development tools, Monday announced that its PenRight! software development toolkit (SDK) for ''C'' programmers will be distributed by The Programmer's Shop, one of the industry's leading direct response software distribution houses.
The C-based PenRight! Pro is a toolkit for building applications based on GRiD's PenRight!, a highly customizable MS-DOS-based graphical application platform that includes a compact handwriting recognition engine. Applications developed under PenRight! Pro can be operated on GRiD's full line of pen computers — including the 386SL-based GRiDPADsl pen computer — and MS-DOS-based systems from other vendors.
PenRight! Pro is designed specifically for the development of custom ''mission critical'' pen-centric applications.
Kirk Cruikshank, GRiD's vice president of marketing, said: ''We are very excited that an established company such as The Programmer's Shop is joining the pen computing revolution by selecting PenRight! Pro as its first pen computer SDK offering.
''By partnering with The Programmer's Shop, which puts its catalogs in the hands of more than 500,000 professional programmers, we are opening up a distribution channel with tremendous potential. Combining The Programmer's Shop with our seasoned direct sales force, our expanded channel programs and our own 800-line order service, we have a well-rounded distribution strategy for PenRight! Pro.''
Erik Sherman, The Programmer's Shop's director of technical services, said: ''High-level developers have told us that they consider pen-based systems critical to their future. We are extremely pleased to be able to offer GRiD's leading edge tools to our customers and to help open a way into this potentially huge marketplace.''
PenRight! Pro includes a number of primary development tools including PenResource, which streamlines the management of elements that make up a developer's project; GRiDForm, for creating and editing forms used in a project; and CodeStart, which structures the flow of control between forms in the application by generating the C source code ''skeleton'' for an application, simplifying the time-consuming task of creating code.
Using these tools for prototyping, developers can quickly and easily see if an application is effective and meets a customer's needs without investing a great deal of time in development.
''The features found in the PenRight! Pro SDK eliminate cryptic commands that hinder the fast development of useful pen computer applications,'' said Kristi Rinehart, GRiD's product marketing manager for pen software.
''We are confident that the scores of professional developers who depend on The Programmer's Shop for the latest in development tools or applications will see PenRight! Pro for what it is: A very robust and streamlined pen computer SDK that will allow them to get pen-centric applications to their customers in a very short time by leveraging the years they've invested in learning to program under DOS.''
The Programmer's Shop, a division of The Software Developer's Co., is the leading reseller of PC software development products for the DOS, Windows, OS/2 and UNIX environments. With offices in the United States, Italy and Germany, The Programmer's Shop distributes its Buyers Guide to over half a million PC developers, corporate purchasers, MIS and government agencies worldwide.
GRiD designs, manufacturers, markets and services laptop, pen, desktop and multimedia computers, pen-based software development tools, electronic mail and networking systems.
GRiD, located at 47211 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, CA 94537, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, a leading manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics and computers.
note to editors: GRiDPAD is a registered trademark of GRiD Systems Corp. PenRight! and PenRight! Pro are trademarks of GRiD Systems Corp. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
CONTACT:
GRiD Systems Corp., Fremont
Mike McGuire, 510/656-4700 The Programmer's Shop
Kimberley Bailey, 800/447-8041, ext. 318