Brooktrout Software’s app-gen, Show N Tel 4.4, is designed to create telephony
applications solutions using a visual programming language. Show N Tel enables users to
create several types of applications, including those that can take caller input (like
user PIN and customer ID) and fax on demand. It also handles more complex functions,
including voice mail processing, e-mail and fax messages, performing SQL database queries,
and developing applications that integrate enterprise telecommunications with data
networks. With the current version of Show N Tel, Brooktrout has eliminated all scripts,
and the entire program is menu driven.
INSTALLATION
We seamlessly installed Show N Tel on a PC running NT Workstation 4.0, staying with the
default settings. We encountered only one problem: getting the key number necessary to
finish the installation. In order to register the software and get the key number, we had
to go to the Brooktrout Software Web site where we also downloaded an Install Key, a
necessary file. Before we were able to proceed with the installaton, we were required to
place the Install Key file in an Snt directory on the root level of the C drive, which
Show N Tel creates, and indicate the path to the directory.
Installing the Dialogic PCI board was a quick and simple process. There were no
surprises and the software was able to find the card immediately. However, we did have to
start services for the card afterwards in the services control panel. We used a Dialogic
D/41E PCI board, which was not included with the software. (A complete list of compatible
boards can be found on Brooktrout’s Web site, as well as in the documentation.) The
entire set-up process took less than fifteen minutes. With the exception of registering
the software and downloading the Install Key from the Internet, everything was
straightforward and most of the defaults were relevant to our situation.
There are several different additional products available from Brooktrout Software
— add-ons that handle speech recognition, text-to-speech, and host access. To create
more advanced applications, including those with text-to-voice, a Sound Blaster-compatible
card is required. For developing applications that involve mail merge, unified messaging,
and voice browser to Web site, an additional module called ActiveCall is needed.
Because of the complex nature of developing and running applications generated by a
package like Show N Tel, a robust system is required. Brooktrout suggests a 333MHz Pentium
II, 128MB RAM, 4GB hard drive running Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4. 14MB of hard
drive space is required for every hour of voice storage.
DOCUMENTATION
Show N Tel’s documentation is extensive. Each of the five major software components
has its own manual. Getting Started with Show N Tel is helpful for setting up and
configuring the software. It goes through installation, the entire setup process, and
configuring the server. It also helps with the software settings and system requirements,
including a list of compatible boards. The FaxVision and the Voice Sentence features both
have their own manual, as is the case with the System Administrator’s Guide. All of
these guides are well illustrated with screen shots and flow charts.
The Developer’s Guide, by far, is the largest book, and deals with programming
modules of the software and configuring different parts to the program. Most of the pages
in the Developer’s Guide have illustrations, many of which are screen shots. The
guide is well organized and it anticipates problems and obstacles before they occur. As in
the other manuals, the topics are listed in a logical order, with sub-topics broken down
when additional details are necessary.
In addition, all the manuals are also installed on the hard drive during installation
of Show N Tel. This is definite plus; we imagine this is helpful at times when the hard
copy manual is unavailable or lost, and gives easy access to the various topics. It’s
a nice touch, and something more companies should consider.
FEATURES
Installing Brooktrout’s Show N Tel software loaded several different programs onto
our computer. These are all necessary components for Show N Tel to have full
functionality. These most important include:
- Show N Tel Development Kit — Allows users to develop Show N Tel
applications using the graphical interface.
- Show N Tel Manager — Used to modify programs, phone lines, and the
parameters of a phone system.
- Show N Tel Server — Launches any programs enabled within the Show N Tel
Manager.
- Voice Sentences — Creates and programs the integrated voice response (IVR)
in sequence to create the impression of contiguous speech.
All programs created in Show N Tel are made using PowerBlocks. These have
many functions, including answering the phone, querying databases, transferring calls, and
sending faxes. They can be programmed and arranged in many different ways.
In addition, custom libraries of re-usable subroutines (called SuperBlocks) can be
created, based on groups of PowerBlocks. SuperBlocks are comprised of several connected
PowerBlocks, and can be stored and used in multiple applications. A 32-bit multithreaded
runtime environment is robust enough to handle the most complicated programs, and Show N
Tel supports networked telephony systems.
Show N Tel is a high-volume system, supporting up to 240 phone lines per chassis.
Multiple applications can run simultaneously, and individual programs can be launched and
shut down without interrupting other programs. Users can take advantage of the unified
messaging system, accessing voice, fax, and e-mail messages from a single inbox remotely.
A number of applications can be created, including customizing and delivering information
by e-mail, fax, pager, or phone.
As mentioned earlier, there are several additional add-ons that enhance Show N
Tel’s functionality. These include FaxVision, a module that allows the administrator
to design and modify fax applications to work within Show N Tel, and ActiveCall, which is
an application development platform for enhancing IVR, computer-telephony integration
(CTI), and call management solutions.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
After installing the software and the Dialogic board, we launched Show N Tel. Brooktrout
has provided several working demo programs to test the system and to use as examples or
templates for developing applications. Some of these demos are not compiled, which adds an
additional step before running them.
As a visual programming language, Show N Tel uses drag and drop to manipulate the
graphical elements. Double-clicking on the PowerBlocks allows the user to program and
define properties of that particular PowerBlock. After practicing moving and connecting
the blocks, compiling, and testing a few demos, we were ready to create our own app from
scratch.
Creating an application which is programmed visually (or even using code) requires
planning, since programs can get complex very quickly. Keeping this in mind, we designed
our programs to be simple, but varied enough to test the different functions within Show N
Tel. Our first application was a simple program, which gave the caller options (press
“1” to transfer, press “#” to terminate the call, etc.), based on the
sample provided in the manuall. We dragged and dropped the PowerBlocks listed in the book,
connected them and created our first application! We compiled and tested it, and it
worked. It was low-tech and extremely simple, but it gave us an idea how to build an
application.
Show N Tel is about equal in level of difficulty to any other visual programming
language, which is not to say that programming applications are easy to use. Learning the
nuances of the proprietary parts of Show N Tel (or any other programming language) takes
time. Programming the individual PowerBlocks and configuring them will take a lot of
effort for a novice programmer, so our advice for the beginner is to start with a few
simple apps (such as the demos), and gradually build more sophisticated and involved
programs.
We created a few more programs, compiled them, and ran them. The Show N Tel Manager
tended to be non-intuitive, but we were able to assign and add the programs, enable the
lines, and run them. Since the manager is only able to run compiled programs, we were
assured at this point that the programs had no obvious programming errors. To check out
the error reporting function, we purposely threw a few mistakes into one of our programs.
When we attempted to compile the programs we created, we were warned that there were
incomplete PowerBlocks. This made a warning window pop up, which read “The program
contains incomplete PowerBlocks. Would you like to build anyway?” We were give
choices of yes (the default) or no. When we chose yes, a build options window popped up,
which gave us the option to log errors to the screen, the log file, or both. After the
compiling finished, an error window appeared indicating an invalid function parameter,
telling us where we had the error.
Premeditated errors aside, the programs we created ran flawlessly. We created the apps,
compiled them, and set them up to run in the Show N Tel Manager. Every prompt was
correctly transferred or routed. The system didn’t crash, and the software
didn’t give us any illegal operations error messages during our entire testing phase.
Every call we placed was correctly handled, and accomplished what it was created to do. In
a real-world situation, it would be a good experience for the caller, as all transfers and
connections were handled seamlessly.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Most of the features in Show N Tel are solid, with little room for improvement. Its
difficulty level is about equal to other visually-oriented programming languages, most
likely intimidating to a novice because programs of this type do not tend to be
user-friendly. Experienced programmers would have no trouble coping with any difficulties
encountered with Show N Tel.
One feature that needs improvement is the placement of the text for tool tips. Despite
the fact that the tools are at the top of the screen, the text for tool tips is displayed
at the bottom of the screen. In Windows (and other applications) the text for tool tips is
displayed next to the mouse pointer. Unfortunately, this is not the case with Show N Tel.
This is very distracting for those using large monitors, which are often used with
computers running programming software.
As mentioned in the Installation section, downloading the Install Key from the
Brooktrout Web site can pose a potential problem, especially if the user does not have
immediate Internet access. Having to stop installing and configuring the PC for Internet
access could take more time than setting up the Show N Tel program. However, the file is
small enough to fit on a 3.5” diskette.
The error reporting and log during compilation was useful, but we would still like to
see a window displaying each error message in detail. If that was the case, the developer
could click on one error message at a time, which would highlight the offending
(error-prone) PowerBlock. This would help debug the CTI application. Finally, having a
simulator utilizing the sound card and a microphone would assist in quickly testing the
call flow of Show N Tel without having to actually dial in to the telephony board.
Finally, the GUIs displaying the PowerBlock icons in the Development Kit are slightly
awkward. They are confined to a frame on the left side of the window, divided by a
vertical pane. Without being able to horizontally adjust the frame, the only way to see a
larger selection is to widen the window, which takes room away from the programming
palette. Not being able to adjust the size of the windows often leaves many PowerBlocks
hidden, especially when moving between the category icons. Even with a large monitor, this
is an annoyance, but not a major shortcoming.
CONCLUSION
As an open platform, Brooktrout’s Show N Tel is an excellent telephony application
development package, with tremendous capabilities. Slightly less complex than other
similar products, Show N Tel offers an impressive package to create applications for
telephony systems. Based on the relative ease of use and powerful features along with the
prestigious Brooktrout name, Show N Tel is a solid player in the telephony application
development field |
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