News and New Product Briefs (6/2/98)

Lightspan and Cafesoft debut search engine service

Cafesoft and The Lightspan Partnership announced a new Internet curriculum search-engine service for The Lightspan Network, an educational Internet service for elementary school teachers and students. The involved engine is written in Java and uses servlets by Cafesoft.

The service powered by the curriculum engine application server delivers such learning tools as educational Web sites, Lightspan educational CD titles, and lesson plans. The engine acts as a middleware application, providing the business rules necessary for users to form SQL database query requests simply by filling out an HTML form. The results are then returned in HTML format because that format currently communicates easily with all browsers and other devices.

“Lightspan was already using the Java Web Server, making development with Java servlets a natural fit,” said Cafesoft CEO and president Gary Gwin. “Cafesoft’s experience with server-side Java technology and multitier architectures enabled us to quickly understand the business requirements.”

Lightspan’s senior strategy and development director Josh Groves noted that the “response from teachers using the new system has been very positive.” “Cafesoft did a great job in helping us to analyze our requirements and implement a solution to meet our needs,” he added.

Cafesoft: https://www.cafesoft.com/

Lightspan: https://www.lightspan.com/

News repository helps you track Microsoft antitrust lawsuits

Besides reading the news offered in JavaWorld, SunWorld, and NC World, for up-to-date information on the latest (and previous) news from the Microsoft/Justice Dept./state attorneys general antitrust lawsuits, just follow the links. (To cover every possible high-tech opinion, bias, and slant, we’ve included easily accessible round-ups from different high-tech, general, and legal publishers.)

• “Microsoft Under Fire,” an updated roundup of the coverage that InfoWorld is providing /cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?/features/980518msdoj.htm

• Yahoo’s full coverage of the Microsoft antitrust suits https://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/Tech/Microsoft/

• Continuing coverage from CMP’s TechWeb https://www.techweb.com/wire/news/1997/10/1097microsoft.html

• ZDNNews Special Report: U.S. v. Microsoft https://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/special/msvdoj.html

• Law Journal Extra, United States v. Microsoft https://www.ljx.com/LJXfiles/dojvms.html

Sun asks for Windows 98 injunction to force OS to ship “real” Java

As you know, on May 12, 1998, Sun Microsystems filed two new motions for preliminary injunctions in its lawsuit against Microsoft. The major filing asks the court to require Windows 98 (with Java content) to ship with a version of Java that is compatible with Sun’s JVM.

According to Java Software Division President Alan Baratz, “Our goal is simply to ask the court to define a level playing field that developers can rely on during the time it takes for the court to fully deliberate our contract dispute with Microsoft. We’d be gratified to settle this matter at any time, but until that happens, we believe it is important to look at Windows 98 as a delivery vehicle for Java technology and to make sure that, at a minimum, there are at least as many copies of a fully compatible Java implementation in the marketplace as there are copies of Microsoft’s incompatible technology.”

Baratz added, “We are not seeking an injunction to stop the shipment of Windows 98. We are simply seeking to assure that Windows 98 includes a fully compatible version of the Java platform.” In the second injunctive relief filing, Sun asked the court to stop Microsoft from shipping its Java programming software tools unless the software applications they generate are fully Java compatible.

Microsoft GM for Developer Relations Tod Nielsen called Sun’s motions “nothing more than a publicity stunt,” adding that he didn’t consider the stunt to be in the interest of consumers, application developers, or vendors. He also noted that these motions were an attempt to jump on a bandwagon: “They’re trying to add to the feeding frenzy [referring to Justice Dept. and state attorneys general lawsuits] over Windows 98.”

Baratz also accused Microsoft of using “exclusionary” licensing terms for the “Win32 Compatible” logo. “We have learned that Microsoft recently has signed agreements with some of their customers which require those customers to use nobody else’s Java machine other than Microsoft’s,” said Baratz, pointing to Win32 qualification guidelines on Microsoft’s Web site, which state that to use the logo, “a Java application, when running on a Windows PC, must use and redistribute the Microsoft Win32 virtual machine.”

Microsoft denied that the requirement was exclusionary.

A hearing on these motions is scheduled for July 1998, but Windows 98 won’t be held up for now.

For additional information on Microsoft antitrust and technology-specific lawsuits, see “News repository on the Microsoft antitrust lawsuits” in JavaWorld‘s News & Views section.

For Sun’s take on its lawsuit: https://java.sun.com/aboutJava/info/index.html

Two products get 100 percent Java certification

Contigo Software’s Itinerary Web Presenter and Gentia Software’s WebSuite tool both recently received 100% Pure Java certification from Key Labs.

Itinerary Web Presenter 2.1 is an Internet-based data-conferencing product that lets presenters take control of “Net audience’s” browsers to lead them through a Corel Presentations 8 or Microsoft PowerPoint slide show, all in real time.

WebSuite 4.0 lets thousands of users interactively access business information through a Java-enabled browser. With WebSuite, users can drill into charts and graphs by dynamically generating HTML and Java Web pages.

Itinerary 2.1 costs 95 for one presenter and five audience members.

Contigo:

• Itinerary 2.1: https://www.contigo.com/products.html
• Itinerary 2.1 demo: https://demo.contigo.com/

Gentia:

• WebSuite 4.0: https://www.gentia.com/products/factsheet_websuite.htm
• WebSuite 4.0 demo: https://websuite.gentia.com/index.htm

Sedona GeoServices chooses Java for GIS products

Sedona GeoServices Inc., a subsidiary of Scangraphics, announced it has chosen Java as the development platform for its Internet-based GIS and spatial information management (SIM) applications.

Scangraphics CEO Larry Osterwise commented that the company is “delighted to be part of Sun’s vision for open computing.” He added that “bringing GIS capabilities to the desktop/laptop of every business person is similar to providing them with spreadsheet and word-processing capabilities, enabling them to perform time-critical functions without requiring the services of additional specially trained professionals. This is an exciting step in the democratization of information, a key result of the information-processing revolution.”

Sedona’s SpatialVision will support the latest versions of the JDK, JavaBeans, and Solaris 2.6, making it an ideal architecture for high-transaction data mining. SpatialVision incorporates GIS and SIM capabilities into integrated Internet enterprise applications designed to access multiple-database sales-, customer-, and banking-management systems.

SpatialVision delivers a simple GUI that allows easy construction and execution of complex data queries. It offers integrated mapping and imaging tools so users can customize geospatial data for display and analysis.

Expect SpatialVision to be commercially available in the third quarter of ’98.

About SpatialVision: https://www.sedonageo.com/home/whatisspatialvision.html

To become a beta tester or see PowerPoint presentation: https://www.sedonageo.com/home/downloadspatialvision.html

InnoVal ships J Street Mailer 2.0

InnoVal released J Street Mailer 2.0, an upgrade to its Java-based, full-function e-mail client that supports POP3 and IMAP4 mail servers.

Features and enhancements in version 2.0 include:

• LDAP, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

• a Preview Mail for examining mail on a POP3 or IMAP4 server, handling messages selectively, and deleting spams without downloading

• Multiple Personas of signatures and prefaces within a single account for business and personal use

• Virtual Folders

J Street Mailer 2.0, tested on Linux, OS/2, Windows 95/NT, MacOS, Solaris, and JavaOS, is currently available for 9. Discounts are available for Java Lobby members (4) and students and faculty of accredited higher education and secondary schools (9). Price includes upgrades and maintenance releases for one year.

https://www.innoval.com/jsmfaq.htm

HP licenses its Java to RTOS vendors

Hewlett-Packard has licensed its version of Java VM technology to four realtime operating system (RTOS) vendors — Integrated Systems, Lynx, Microware, and QNX.

According to HP embedded software technology marketing director Byron Ryono, the appeal of HP’s VM lies in the company’s favorable licensing terms. HP’s licensing policy allows licensees to negotiate VM reuse with their own partners.

Aberdeen Group analyst Tim Sloane echoed Ryono’s reasons for the companies choosing to incorporate HP’s VM in their RTOS: “I don’t think Sun’s licensing arrangements were as flexible. HP was willing to negotiate and cut deals.”

The licensing deals were not exclusive, however, and several of the licensees have agreements with Sun, so Ryono’s reasons may just be HP putting the best spin on it while the RTOS vendors cover all their bases.

And although HP announced that Intel and Wind River Systems have endorsed HP’s VM, neither company has become a licensee.

HP officials are calling for an independent body to control Sun’s Java specification.

As for the rumors that HP was discussing the possibility of licensing the EmbeddedJava specification from Sun, HP Embedded Systems Division GM Jim Bell said HP has always discussed Java implementations with Sun. The company has the “intention of licensing their EmbeddedJava specification. We built our embedded Java virtual machine before Sun posted the EmbeddedJava specification.” (Unlike the Java virtual machine, Sun’s EmbeddedJava specification is protected by a patent.)

JavaSafe 1.0 now available

Sun announced the commercial availability of JavaSafe 1.0 — its Java-based team-oriented coordination- and synchronization-management software.

With JavaSafe 1.0, development team members share data easily and securely, regardless of their individual locations. The software identifies and records all modifications made to files in a project, so developers can collaboratively make contributions or additions without worrying about version control.

The JavaSafe 1.0 software lets developers use JDK or third-party development tools. It can manage products being developed in different languages, such as C, C++, CGI, PERL, or HTML. With JavaSafe, contributors add their ideas into repositories that are managed by the software’s server component. The client component manages versioning and related information.

JavaSafe 1.0 supports Solaris and Windows 95/NT platforms. Prices start at 09 per seat.

https://java.sun.com/products/javasafe

Sun creates product group for Java

As a part of its recent reorganization, Sun has created the Java Product Group, a group responsible for managing and enhancing existing Java products, as well as developing new ones.

The Java Product Group includes several sub-groups, such as

• The Tools Group, responsible for managing Java tools like Java Workshop, Studio, new tools from Lighthouse Design, as well as Sun’s C++/Fortran compilers and tools

• The Enterprise Software Group, which includes server-side components, the Java WebTop, and the Java Web Server

• The Developer Group, which has been charged with the creation of the Sun Developer Connection

The Solaris Division will remain separate from the Java Software Division.

IBM issues new JavaBeans

IBM has posted new free JavaBean components, called alphaBeans, to its alphaWorks Web site. This first installment includes more than 50 different customizable beans.

The alphaBeans fall into the following categories:

• Clocks: 1 LEDclock bean to add to applications

• Mail: 1 Distributor bean that sends e-mail by using the SMTP protocol

• Masking: 4 beans designed to add masks to user-input fields to keep users from making mistakes; includes IMask, IDate, ITime, and INumeric beans

• Modeling: 9 beans designed to create visual models of logical circuits. Includes beans following a logic-circuit model: And, Or, Not, Repeater, SignalSource, SourceBit, SignalConsumer, ConsumerBit, SignalMonitor

• Network: 1 Distributor bean, see Mail bean.

• Telephony: 1 TeleBeans bean for basic voice-response functions

• Timers: 2 timer beans, LEDclock (a wake-up for the user) and Alarm (a wake-up for the application)

• UI Elements: 30 beans, including the 4 Masking beans plus the following interface design components: ActionFilterBean, Application, AwtActionFilterBean, BaseButton, BaseDialogBean, BaseFrameBean, BasePanel, ColorButton, ColorCanvas, ColorChooser, FindInfoChooser, FontButton, FontChooser, ImageCanvas, MessageBoxBean, PanelDialogBean, ProgressBar, ProgressFrameBean, StatusBar, StringChooser, ToggleToolButton, ToolBarSeparator, ToolBar, ToolButton, ToolTip, WiringSupport

• Utility: 8 beans include simple logic operators such as Iterator, If, ObjectsComparator, and NumbersComparator, as well as more advanced functions such as NumberSpeller, PilotBean (interface to USR Palm Pilot), Sort, and Randomizer

• Visual Helpers: 7 beans like the Utility version (without the PilotBean) that make visual programming easier

https://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/alphaBeans

Java Internationalization/Localization Toolkit 1.0 is here

Version 1.0 of the Java Internationalization/Localization Toolkit is available for download through Sun’s Java Developer Connection.

The all-Java toolkit offers multiplatform support and is designed to foster fast internationalized and localized Java application development.

https://java.sun.com/jdc/earlyAccess/I18N/java-toolkit10.html

Advis designs business extensions for Apple’s WebObjects

Advis Inc., an Apple Enterprise Alliance Program vendor, introduced three business extensions for Apple’s WebObjects application server — a SAP adaptor, a PeopleSoft adaptor, and a Java presentation framework.

The first two extensions are designed to help developers create applications to integrate with SAP R/3 and PeopleSoft systems. The Java Presentation Framework (JPF) aids developers in crafting Java enterprise applications for the WebObjects environment.

The SAP R/3 Adaptor for WebObjects provides transparent access to SAP business objects through the Business Application Program Interface (BAPI) and Remote Function Call interface published and supported by SAP. The PeopleSoft Adaptor for WebObjects provides seamless connectivity through PeopleSoft’s Message Agent API to its back-end business processes and data store.

The Advis Java Presentation Framework is designed for building interactive Java applets without writing Java code. JPF delivers interactive Java components to WebObjects client desktops, so multiple separate Java applets can act just like a single, unified application.

Advis SAP R/3 Adaptor for WebObjects: https://www.advis.com/wosap.htm

Advis PeopleSoft Adaptor for WebObjects: https://www.advis.com/wops.htm

Advis Java Presentation Framework: https://www.advis.com/jpf.htm

JDKs from Digital ready in beta release

Digital has posted two new beta releases of the JDK 1.1.6 — one for Digital Unix 4.0 and one for Alpha/Windows NT.

The JDK 1.1.6 for Digital Unix 4.0 is a second beta release. It fixes several problems from the first beta, including the problem encountered (resulting in an empty window) when attempting to display remotely through eXcursion (Digital’s PC X server software). This release also has the garbage collection fixes present in the first beta.

Also, the first beta of the JDK 1.1.6 for Alpha/Windows NT systems has been posted.

For Digital Unix: https://www.digital.com/java/download/jdk_du/1.1.6-beta/index.html

For Alpha/Windows NT: https://www.digital.com/java/download/jdk_nt/jdkntbeta_license.html

WebManage offers SiteMARC Java site/traffic manager

WebManage Technologies announced SiteMARC, its Java-based enterprise site- and traffic-management software that lets administrators and integrators build and manage multi-server, multi-location Web sites.

SiteMARC consists of IntelliDirector, IntelliAgents, and IntelliAdministrator. IntelliDirector is a knowledge-based broker that enforces policies and supplies load balancing, re-direction, access control, and class of service. It works together with IntelliAgents, which are Java processes that manage and monitor Web server resources.

The IntelliAdministrator provides a ubiquitous administrator interface to the application, letting administrators define the committed level of service, privileges, and overall predictability behavior of sites.

SiteMARC should be shipping in July 1998. SiteMARC for two servers starts at 4,995. It runs on Windows NT and Unix servers.

https://www.SiteMARC.com/sitemarc.html

Snowbound’s RasterNote gets Java annotation support

Snowbound Software announced RasterNote/Java Annotation Toolkit for Java, a new Java class library that provides developers with the ability to add annotation and redlining capabilities to their apps.

With the toolkit, document sharers can mouse-draw circles, lines, or any shape around the sections of the document they wish to highlight. Then, a “Post-It”-like notation can be added on top of the document.

The library components include the ability to:

• Add, resize, or delete objects
• Add lines of various widths and styles
• Select different text fonts
• Edit text within objects

Pre-defined annotation objects include:

• Rectangles, highlighted rectangles, filled rectangles (useful for blocking or editing a section)
• Lines
• Ellipses, filled ellipses
• Freehand drawings
• Bitmaps (such as logos or special symbols)
• “Sticky notes” (like Post-Its)
• Text
• Polygons, filled polygons

The toolkit works in almost any environment, including C and Visual Basic. It costs 95.

https://www.snowbnd.com/Products/rnote_eval.htm

IBM readies ViaVoice for Java

Through its ViaVoice Telephony Tools, IBM Research is preparing IBM Speech for Java, its implementation of the Java Speech API.

IBM Speech for Java delivers access to the voice-command recognition, dictation, and text-to-speech capabilities of IBM’s ViaVoice technology, so developers can integrate speech capabilities into Java applications.

IBM Speech for Java is available now as Java class libraries, but IBM has more plans for it. Upcoming is a JavaBeans version with higher-level beans to make integrating speech functions into applications easier. The new beans will work seamlessly with the company’s VisualAge for Java development environment. It runs on Windows 95/NT.

Also available in the new grouping will be the IBM ViaVoice SDK for Windows, a set of ActiveX components that delivers the ability to work in a cross-language environment in Windows with a single set of tools, and the ViaVoice Topic Factory, a tool that provides application developers with the ability to generate full add-on vocabulary topics such as words, pronunciations, and language-model information.

The IBM ViaVoice Telephony Tools will be available in the third quarter of ’98.

Speech for Java: https://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/formula/speech

ViaVoice: https://www.ibm.com/viavoice

Fractal Images debuts WebReader 2.0 Java newsreader

The Fractal Images Company announced the beta version of WebReader 2.0, its Java-based HTML-enhanced Internet newsreader.

WebReader 2.0 lets users post articles in HTML in such a way that only WebReader users see rendered HTML. Other newsreaders see a garden-variety ASCII posting, with no HTML (version 3.2) tags in sight. The software includes a pointer URL to the HTML in the article header; the HTML isn’t sent to the news server.

WebReader also provides:

• The ability to search and display groups whose names or descriptions match a given expression

• A unique “locate author” function that identifies the author of an article with business and home addresses and telephone numbers

• A filter for user-geographical location information

WebReader runs on any Java-enabled system, and it is freely distributable to users of multiple platforms. The beta is free.

WebReader info: https://www.fractals.com/webreader

Download: https://www.fractals.com/webreader/download.html

Quadbase releases PulsePoint Web-based report/charting tool

Quadbase Systems announced PulsePoint 1.1, a query tool and report writing software that lets users perform querying tasks and create reports using a Java-enabled browser.

With PulsePoint, users can run and view queries, reports, and charts based on included pre-constructed parameters. Users also can perform ad hoc queries and they can design custom reports and charts. PulsePoint contains a feature that allows users to schedule when a query is run and a report is made.

PulsePoint components include:

• A graphical query builder
• A report designer
• A query/report engine
• An interactive graphic chart designer/viewer
• A menu designer
• An administration module

Supported report types include columnar summary reports with control breaks and cross-tab reports. A comprehensive set of 2D and 3D chart types is also available. Access rights to reports and query levels are controlled at group and user levels.

PulsePoint runs on a Windows NT server and any Java client. It supports such database servers as Oracle, DB2, Informix, Sybase, and Microsoft SQL Server. Price starts at ,000 for a five-user license.

https://www.quadbase.com/pulsepoint/index.html

Quiz Studio ships Java questionnaire development tool

Quiz Studio Inc., a subsidiary of ISV Elti SA, announced Quiz Studio 1.0, a Java-based software suite for designing and administering interactive questionnaires over the Internet.

The Quiz Studio suite’s applications include online tests, skills assessment, exams, marketing surveys, and polls. Quiz Studio supports SQL databases including Oracle, Access, and SQL server.

Pricing is based on the number of respondents stored in the purchaser’s database, but a version for 50 respondents is available for download for 90. There’s also a limited-version demo.

https://www.quizstudio.com/

Sun divides Java maintenance and Java Software Division

Sun Microsystems has decided that a house divided is the best way to ensure Java developers and application vendors that the Java standard will be fairly maintained.

The company has created the “Java Platform Group,” a division independent of the Java Software Division, to maintain the standards and the reference implementation of the standard and JDKs, PersonalJava, and EmbeddedJava. According to Java Software Product Marketing Director Jonathan Schwartz, the Platform Group will manage the Java specifications, finding and contracting partnerships to enhance Java, while the Java Software Division competes on spec implementations, just like everyone else.

Java Software Division VP Jon Kannegaard is the early favorite to head the Java Platform Group. One of the first announcements to come out of the Java Platform Group is its plans to create a JDK for the enterprise, a server-side JDK that will also include testing products.

ParaSoft debuts CodeWizard for Java 1.1 upgrade

ParaSoft announced the release of CodeWizard for Java 1.1, an upgrade to its Java development tool that offers enforcement of almost double the number of Java rules as the previous version.

Other new programming features include:

• Enforce statements — name format of exceptions, name format of class variables, and name format of class methods

• Avoid statements — declaring variables inside a for loop, declaring variables inside a while loop, declaring variables inside a do-while loop, dangling else statements, and for-statements with empty bodies

• Unused statements — unused throws statement, unused private class variable, and unused private class methods

For Unix (minimum three users) per-machine licensing, CodeWizard for Java 1.1 costs ,995, and runs on Sun, HP, IBM, DEC, SGI, and so on. For Windows 95/NT, the price is 49 per copy.

For information: https://www.parasoft.com/wizard/home.htm

For an evaluation copy: https://www.parasoft.com/wizard/evaljava.htm

Select Business Solutions offers Enterprise for Java component modeler

Select Business Solutions announced Select Enterprise for Java — Java component modeling software that is designed to complement the Select Component Manager, a tool in the Select Component Factory.

The code generator technology in Select Enterprise will be used to build a code generator for Java as a part of IBM’s San Francisco project.

Enterprise for Java includes the Select Enterprise component modeling tool and a Java code generator. The suite

• Supports UML (Unified Modeling Language) modeling notation
• Possesses an online model-processes guide
• Has C++ and SQL generation abilities
• Supports add-on compatibility (for Select project-estimation and requirement-finder tools)
• Possesses an automatic OLE link to Word

Enterprise for Java, with its Windows 95 interface, is available for ,995.

https://www.selectbs.com

Haht’s App Server gets Java upgrades

Haht Software released the Hahtsite Application Server 3.1, an upgrade that adds dynamic load balancing, JAR file support, database connection sharing, and a new licensing model.

As part of the Java enhancements, the new version of the Application Server includes a server-side JVM and access to JDBC, JavaBeans, CORBA, and third-party class libraries. The server also supports client applets and servlets, as well as IDE features like Java editing, universal compiler support, and “one-click” integrated compilation. Here are a few of the other features in version 3.1:

• Application wizards for IP and the IDE, including automatic generation of JavaScript field data validation code for HTML forms

• Native database connectivity, in addition to ODBC support, for the application’s drag-and-drop database widgets and programmable data objects

• A new “pay for what you use” concurrent user-based scalable pricing scheme

Version 3.1 IDEs and IPs may be used with a version 3.0 Application Server, and a version 3.1 Server may be used with version 3.0 IDE/IPs.

The one-processor NT price starts at ,995; for Unix, ,995.

https://www.HAHT.com/

Nuance introduces 9 speech objects

Nuance Communications Inc. announced SpeechObjects, a set of nine reusable software components that will be included free in the company’s Nuance 6.2 voice recognition software.

With SpeechObjects, programmers can add voice recognition to Java or ActiveX applications. The components allow applications to recognize words for dates, time, money, single numbers, strings of numbers, spelling, yes, no, name, address, and date of birth. In addition, there is a recovery module that tells callers to repeat a command that may have been missed or misunderstood.

SpeechObjects will consist of three working elements:

• Dialogues — describe the flow of interaction between users and application

• Grammars — lists of valid responses a user may make to a specific portion of a dialogue

• Prompts — messages played to users to elicit a response

SpeechObjects contain a design and an implementation specification. Some components can be combined to form more complex speech-recognition objects.

Some SpeechObjects components will be available in beta in the third quarter of this year. The specifications will be available later in 1998.

https://www.nuance.com/news/speechobjects.htm

Will Java Lobby leader sue Microsoft?

Rick Ross plays two roles. In one, he’s the head of the 17,000-member Java Lobby. In another, he’s the head of Activated Intelligence, a small Java development company. In his second role, he may file an antitrust complaint against Microsoft.

Ross (as head of Activated Intelligence, not the Java Lobby, he insists) doesn’t think the Sun lawsuit will deliver much for the small developer, regardless of the outcome. He said, “I believe that we [small developers] have our own needs that are completely different from Sun’s and will not be addressed by Sun’s lawsuit.”

Ross added that he’s not asking for a new level of regulation for Microsoft. He said, “I don’t necessarily think that we should wait or hope that the government will take the actions that are needed here, because I think that at a lot of levels this is appropriate to be dealt with at a business-to-business level.”

PeakSoft releases PeakJet 2000

PeakSoft Corp. announced a new version of its Web-browser acceleration software, PeakJet 2000, a Java-based upgrade that increases browser speed with a Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

PeakJet 2000 (originally acquired as Net.Jet 1.0) is a Java-based upgrade to the company’s PeakJet 1.5. The new JRE (with Symantec’s JIT compiler) increases browser performance.

PeakJet 2000 also comes with look-ahead and auto-freshening features, intelligent cache-management redesign, and increased modem utilization. It also offers new user-configuration options, offline browsing, on-the-fly browser switching, and the Tracer — a feature that creates an editable chronology of pages visited, with time/date stamps and color coding.

PeakJet 2000 runs on Windows 95/NT. It is set to ship in June for 0.

https://www.peak.com/peakjetdocs.html

New runtime Java readied for Macintosh

Despite the fact that Apple is working with Netscape to make sure Navigator will be able to automatically select Apple’s non-standard JVM from the browser, the company announced it is developing its next version of the MacOS Runtime for Java (MRJ) to be compatible with Sun’s JDK 1.1.6.

MRJ 2.1, due in September 1998, also will support Java Foundation Classes and Swing. It will run on PowerPC and 68040 processors.

According to Apple Director of Java Technologies and Core Tools Steve Nardoff, “We’re really excited about MRJ 2.1. We think it’s going to be the first time where you can run a wide variety of Java applications without getting disappointed that it crashes or doesn’t perform as well as it should.” He predicts that by the time MRJ 2.1 ships, Mac Java performance will equal Windows Java performance.

An early-access version is available. A second early-access version is expected in July 1998, incorporating the Symantec-licensed just-in-time compiler.

Version 3.0 is due in 1999 and will support Sun’s JDK 1.2, running only on PowerPC chips.

https://devworld.apple.com/java

Wooden Chair offers RePackager+ management software

Wooden Chair Software announced RePackager+, a Java application that helps developers manage Java source code package structures and import statements.

With its simple interface (designed and built with the Java Foundation Classes), RePackager+ lets developers globally change the package structure for source code. First, developers redesign the software, then they create a new package structure off of any root directory in the filesystem. RePackager+ next reviews every source file automatically, and updates the appropriate import statements and package declarations. The Preview Panel allows developers to look at the new package structure.

RePackager+ supports various methods to quickly load source code. Developers can scan directories to search for existing source code. As for import options, the software imports Microsoft Visual J++ project and workspace files, text-based file listings, and single Java source code file.

For now, RePackager+ comes with Import+, a Java import checker and optimizer that checks and corrects for unnecessary or conflicting imports.

The prices that follow are good through August 1, 1998 (post-August 1 pricing is shown in parentheses): Single copy Windows 95/NT or Unix, 9 (49); three-pack, 00 (65); six-pack, 20 (80).

https://www.woodenchair.com/products/repackager/Repackager%20description.htm

New Java components for Symantec’s Visual Café

Symantec announced two new technology additions to Visual Café for Java 2.5 — Pluggable virtual machines (VMs) and Query By Example. The Pluggable VM delivers an important feature for developers — the ability to keep up with the evolving JDKs. With it, developers can easily plug in their own virtual machines to the development environment, giving applications a chance to compile and test on any VM.

With the new Query By Example capabilities, VCfJ users (Java Database Development Edition) can enable data forms with easy querying abilities without having to write SQL code. Users enter data on the form to query the database. It supports such operators as and, or, less than, greater than, equals to, not equal to, percentage, etc. Developers can preview (plus download and use for 90 days) these add-ons.

https://cafe.symantec.com/techpreview/

Data Representations ships Simplicity for Java

Data Representations announced shipment of Simplicity for Java, the company’s all-Java rapid application design tool for Java 1.1. Simplicity lets developers build Java applications and applets interactively, point-and-clicking Java layouts, AWT components, prepackaged extended components, and third-party JavaBeans into applications.

The software lets developers execute Java source code on the fly, so they can view what changes to class declaration code, constructor code, method code, and event code will cause as an application is being designed. It integrates all project components — multiple applications/applets, images, sounds, Java source/class files, HTML files, and JavaBeans — without the developer having to follow pathnames, whether the objects reside locally or on a Web server.

Simplicity features Code Sourcerer, an interactive form that interviews the user about events, then writes the appropriate Java source code. Simplicity for Java runs on any Java-enabled platform, including OS/2 Warp, Solaris, Win95/NT, HP-UX, and Linux. A single-user license costs 9. A trial version is available on site.

https://www.datarepresentations.com/