Frequently Asked Questions
Date and Time Simulation
Date and Time Simulation (DTS) Time-Travel software lets you certify your applications for correct date and time logic by allowing you to test them on apparent future dates and times. Date and time logic is heavily embedded in most business applications. For example, certain events must take place at start of week, end of month, policy anniversary, payment due date, and so on. There are dozens and hundreds and more such examples.
It is essential that application behaviour on these significant future dates and times is Time-Travel tested in order to ensure application quality and reliability. The Softdate DTS Time-Travel software helps you do this by letting you set “virtual system clocks” for the applications to be tested. To these applications it appears that the simulated date and time is the true system date and time. However the actual system date and time are not altered, and other work running on the same physical system is unaffected.
Strategic use of Time-Travel testing for your applications is critical to application quality and stability and delivers positive contributions to your bottom line whilst protecting your data, business, assets and your people.
An additional use of Tme-Travel is where user communities are in different time zones to the data centre. By shifting the system time appropriately, correct local time can be presented to all users of the data centre. This simple solution can often eliminate significant expense by helping remove the need for separate physical systems for the different, distributed user groups; Softdate GTZV (Global Time Zone Virtualization).
The Softdate Suite
The Softdate Data Protection Suite is the premier product set for enterprise DTS testing and global time zone virtualization. It is totally unique in supporting all major enterprise platforms and is the unequalled leader in features, advanced technology, performance, and ease of installation and maintenance.
Softdate/z was developed in the 21st Century by experts in complex IBM MVS Y2K environments, where tools such as IBM’s HourGlass, TicToc/Application Time Facility, Compuware’s Xpediter Xchange, ASG ValidDate and DTS Simulate 2000 were in use. The design brief for Softdate/z was to transform time travel testing for the emerging IBM z/OS and SOA world, where sophisticated levels of virtual time travel are a necessity.
The companion products Softdate/w and Softdate/x were developed based on customer demand, which was driven by the lack of satisfaction with existing heterogeneous DTS solutions. DDV has always made it a practice to add extra products and facilities to our portfolio based on customer requests.
Deployment of Softdate products and services is simple, and we have extensive customer references in areas such as federal government, provincial government, banking, chemicals, financial, health, insurances, manufacturing, resources, telecommunications, transport, utilities, plus outsourcers on behalf of clients.
SETS (Softdate Enterprise Time Synchronization)
The Softdate SETS option allows the automatic synchronization of virtual clock settings across Softdate systems running on multiple platforms - z/OS, Linux/Unix and/or Windows. Softdate is the only product to support all major enterprise platforms, and the exclusive SETS feature is a major DevOps-enabler for seamless DTS testing of your multi-platform apps. From single Windows-based workstations DTS testing is accomplished across enterprise-wide apps on z/OS, Linux, UNIX and Windows.
Distribution and support
The Softdate Suite is developed, marketed and distributed globally by DDV Technologies through the worldwide DDV Technologies network. Our support and consultancy capabilities are comprehensive, and DDV staff work on a regular basis with organizations both on site and from our own facilities. Softdate has distributors and agents in the following countries:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
Japan
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Singapore
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America
Contact us today to discover how your company can benefit from DDV's know-how, software and service, and to find your closest expert partner organization.