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by Kane Scarlett

News and New Product Briefs (11/1/97)

news
Nov 1, 199740 mins

B&W CORBA seminar series tours the U.S.

Black & White Software has started a CORBA seminar series, a two-month, multi-city tour of one-day seminars on CORBA and client migration.

When combined with Java and C++, CORBA, the Common Object Request Broker Architecture from OMG, makes an excellent platform to build and deploy client applications. The seminar provides a background in CORBA and then explains how to migrate or create Java and C++ clients and servers that are CORBA-enabled and ready for the Internet.

The series will focus on distributed objects and the benefits of object-oriented development; how the CORBA and IIOP standards relate to app development; how CORBA interacts with Java, C++, SQL, OLE, and HTML; and will present step-by-step methods for building a CORBA-enabled C++ server, C++/Java clients, relational database and OLE-based distributed applications using CORBA.

The seminars cost 5, run from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and will be at the following cities on the following dates:

  • November 3, 1997 in Los Angeles
  • November 4, 1997 in Seattle
  • November 10, 1997 in Raleigh Durham, NC
  • November 11, 1997 in Orlando
  • November 12, 1997 in Houston

Zanza Web Reports 1.0 Java DB reporting system

Zanza Software is introducing Zanza Web Reports 1.0, an all-Java database reporting system, which includes a report designer, report viewer, and report server.

The report designer sorts, subtotals, filters, and provides simple formatting and charting features. It is based on a tabbed dialog box scheme and allows developers to first define a base query, then format and structure a report, then whip up varied charts. Reports are rendered in HTML, but the report designer supports user-supplied parameters to construct customized reports and dynamic links to sub-reports. You can also tag fields as either image, HTML, or text data, so it’s easy to publish photos or HTML that’s stored in the database.

With the report viewer, you can dynamically filter data, hide data columns, apply conditional formatting, or re-order data using a client-side Java control.

The report server uses security user lists (grouped in functional categories like Sales or Administrators) that are imported from the source database. You use the list to assign access to each report or chart. The report server automatically caches last-queried data, so any changes to how you filter the data can occur quickly without having to query to database a second time. The server also supports third-party metadata.

The Zanza report server runs on Windows NT or Solaris — it requires a Netscape Web Server or Microsoft Internet Information Server. ODBC drivers are included for Oracle, Sybase SQL Server, and Microsoft SQL Server. Check with the company for pricing information.

NovaSoft delivers NovaWeb/Approve workflow management software

NovaSoft Systems is shipping NovaWeb/Approve, a Java-based, integrated document and workflow management system. NovaWeb/Approve enables organizations to cost-effectively and dynamically build, administer and support diverse globally distributed enterprises.

NovaWeb/Approve features include document and folder manipulation, participation in workflow, document check-in/check-out, annotation, and the ability to review status as a graph or table. You can use any browsers and HTML editor to create or modify Web pages.

The NovaWeb product line price varies based on configuration. NovaWeb/Approve costs 00 to 00 per user.

VisualTek’s Rendezvous PLUS makes Internet collaboration a snap

VisualTek Solutions is shipping Rendezvous PLUS, a new Java-based version of the existing Rendezvous whiteboard/collaboration software.

Rendezvous PLUS is specifically designed for client/server whiteboard conferencing over the Internet/intranets. The new features that come with PLUS are the presentation and save status channels, an improved GUI with additional menus, and IRC server export and compatibility capabilities. Also, PLUS performs three times faster than its predecessor, and the server is more stable.

Rendezvous PLUS Java clients run with Navigator, Internet Explorer, and Castanet and Netcaster. The native clients run on Windows 3.x/95/NT, Solaris, Irix, Linux, and most Unix platforms. The server runs on NT and all major Unix platforms, and is capable of servicing thousands of clients.

Evaluation and purchase software can be downloaded from the site. See the site for pricing.

Netscape Communicator JDK patch available

Netscape has released a patch to bring Communicator’s client software closer to full compatibility with the Java Development Kit 1.1. Although the patch will bring the client software closer in line with version 1.1, Communicator will not be fully JDK 1.1-compatible until the next major release — sometime in the first half of 1998.

SunSoft and Tivoli part company — again

SunSoft and Tivoli Systems joint JMAPI framework seems destined for the trashbin.

According to an unnamed Tivoli official, Tivoli and Sun planned to merge Tivoli’s management technology and Sun’s technology into a single Java Management API-based management framework. In talks that began last May, the two companies intended to construct a set of source code and jointly develop, market, and sell the management system.

Then, in July, Sun apparently halted the deal in order to not offend Tivoli rival Computer Associates, whose TNG Sun endorsed as its preferred enterprise-management platform.

Frank Moss, Tivoli CEO, said, “There’s a question on Sun’s part as to whether they want to go further. We’re working together, but we’ll see what else is required.” Tivoli intends to go ahead with its Java plans, though. In his NetWorld+Interop 97 address, Moss outlined the company’s plans for delivering a JMAPI version of the Tivoli Management Environment (TME) 10 by the end of 1998 (and a Java-based interface for all its TME 10 products before then).

Two multimedia software vendors add Java to their products

Macromedia and mBED Software are adding Java to their multimedia proprietary technologies.

Macromedia recently detailed plans to release Java-based players for its Flash and Shockwave software. Java will act as playback technology for the vector-based animation software Flash. There will also be a Java player in the Web-based Director playback tool Shockwave.

Macromedia’s product marketing VP, Steve Guttman, said, “We’re off the proprietary bandwagon, if we ever were on it.” He added that Macromedia views Java as an important playback technology.

The Flash Player Java Edition, expected to ship by the end of 1997, will be free. The public beta is available now.

Macromedia’s Director multimedia authoring tool will also be getting a spot of Java. In December 1997, Macromedia will release a public beta of a Java Director add-on, Java Export Xtra, that will export your Director projects to Java as an applet. The applet will contain playback code and content.

mBED Software recently added dynamic HTML (DHTML) and Java to its multimedia authoring tools with the release of mBED Interactor 1.1, which allows designers to use DHTML in multimedia animations. The tool introduces Java support so its animations can play in browsers that don’t support DHTML. Another playback plug-in option allows browsers that don’t support DHTML or Java to replay the animations.

The software also “reads” the end-user to see whether to send a DHTML, Java, or regular browser animation down the pipe.

Interactor 1.1 costs 49, but upgrades from version 1.0 are free.

Sun’s microJava 701 chip will support C++

The microJava 701 Java processor is the first of Sun’s Microelectronics group’s Java processors, and besides being optimized to increase Java performance, it will also be able to efficiently read C and C++ code.

Sun technical marketing manager Harlan McGhan said the hybrid strategy “will give the advantages of Java-centric processing, and run C++ code almost as well as comparable RISC chips.” Sun hopes the combo will make it easier for businesses to justify the costs of making the transition from legacy applications to Java ones. And as for the future, he added, “Java is still very young. When the time comes, this will find a home in whichever area of the market is growing most strongly.”

The 701 is based on the picoJava 2.0 chip core, and is expected to ship by the second half of 1998. There is an integrated a memory controller and I/O bus controller on the chip, which will be manufactured in a 0.25-micron CMOS process with a target frequency of 200MHz.

A 32-bit Java card from Gemplus

At Cartes97 in Paris, Gemplus Corp. announced GemXpresso, its 32-bit Java card. GemXpresso is expected to ship in early 1998, but pricing has not yet been decided.

GemXpresso, with an onboard 32-bit RISC processor, adheres to the 2.0 Java Card specification. By virtue of its processor, GemXpresso should deliver enough processing power to run multiple applications.

And to go with the card, Gemplus is also debuting the GemXpresso Rapid Applet Development kit, a Java developer kit that includes a 32-bit virtual machine and class libraries, enabling developers to write cross-platform applications.

Upgrade: Progress Apptivity 2.0 adheres to JDK 1.1

Progress Software’s new Apptivity 2.0 Java IDE application development toolset will support the Java Development Kit 1.1 specification as one of its new features.

Apptivity 2.0 will also have new wizards, a better interface, CORBA integration, and a distributed debugger to let developers test and debug their distributed application either locally or remotely.

Apptivity 2.0 will be available in November 1997. Apptivity Developer is priced at ,995 and comes with a five-person Apptivity Application Server. The Apptivity Server starts at ,000 for a 20-user license.

  • Product information: https://www.progress.com/java/apptivity/apptivity.htm

  • Apptivity press release: https://www.progress.com/java/apptivity/press/102097_b.htm

IBM posts Java graphical debugger

IBM has posted the Jikes Debugger, a multi-paneled Java graphical debugger that allows developers to inspect the current state of a remotely executing Java program.

Jikes Debugger also lets developers view program threads, call stacks, local variables, classes, and source files during execution. The debugger is written in Java and uses the java.awt package to generate the graphics and the sun.tools.debug package to run the remote virtual machine.

Each of Jikes Debugger information panels contains a snapshot of a program at a particular time. The panels are organized in a tree containing clickable nodes that expand and collapse views for classes, threads, callers, locals, inspector, console, and source.

Sun/Microsoft war: Independent verification

In an effort to determine the Java compatibility of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 4.0 browser, Sun has decided (according to JavaSoft marketing director John Loiacono) to release its Java Compatibility Kit (JCK) and its test results of IE 4.0 to an independent organization, as part of the current Sun-sponsored lawsuit.

As of yet, though, Sun hasn’t decided which independent standards organization should administer the tests.

Sun and Microsoft report conflicting results in each other’s IE 4.0 test. To wear the Java brand, licensees have to pass about 8,000 compatibility tests.

IBM completes its puzzle by adding last piece of Java

IBM’s new direction, that of merging its information technology with the Web, is almost complete. IBM has shipped its Java Developer Toolkit (JDT) 1.1.1 for its S/390 platform, the last piece of its Java strategy to provide corporate development tools.

With JDT 1.1.1 for the S/390, IBM has covered the development tool range for its corporate customers, who now can create business-critical distributed applications for hardware ranging from mainframes to handhelds, and which can run with Unix, Windows, and legacy operating systems.

Scott Hebner, IBM marketing manager of application development, said, “With about 70 percent of the world’s business data on IBM servers, it is going to be important for us to get across that [the concept of] merging IT infrastructures with the Web is critical for customers interested in launching killer apps for e-business.”

Outside analysts seem to think IBM can do that, but only if it follows two important rules: It must act fast and make its position loud and clear. Both of these actions need to happen to keep from being overtaken and outshouted by competitors. Melinda Ballou, a senior analyst at the Meta Group, put it best: “I think IBM is well-positioned to accomplish this, but they need to evolve the technology quickly. They hold all the technical cards, but it is a matter of marketing and communicating their message.”

Access Co. develops a smaller Java alternative

Access Company has developed JV-Lite, a streamlined Java-like operating environment. JV-Lite, which is based on the Java VM and a new class library, is designed to counter the complaints of some Japanese consumer-system OEMs that Java is not small enough for their devices.

Access is not a Java licensee, and JV-Lite is not compatible with PersonalJava. In fact, Tomihisa Kamada, executive R&D VP, said that JV-Lite will not be positioned against PersonalJava. He added, “Our intent is to collaborate with Sun. We want to make sure the voice of Japanese consumer-electronics manufacturers is well-reflected [in upcoming versions of PersonalJava and Embedded Java].”

Some Japanese consumer-device manufacturers aren’t sure whether Sun understands their market. Toru Shimizu, microprocessor architecture manager for Mitsubishi’s LSI Development, said, “There are still some huge differences between the information appliances envisioned and defined by computer companies as consumer products and those designed by consumer-electronics companies.” And Hiroaki Kaneko, senior manager of advanced systems at NEC’s Semiconductor Solution Engineering (a licensee of Sun’s picoJava core), said, “For many consumer-electronics manufacturers, it’s unclear how the world of Java will eventually shape up.”

A common complaint about PersonalJava from consumer-device manufacturers is that its class library is not flexible enough to support such non-computing interfaces as push buttons and remote controls. Also, the current PersonalJava class library lacks support for interfaces with such buses as the USB, IEEE1394, and the Infrared Data Association’s (IrDA) wireless protocol. PersonalJava can enable TCP/IP, but it doesn’t have extensions for Java applet-based command and control when appliances are linked through USB or IEEE1394.

The current release of JV-Lite requires 1.5MB of RAM (2MB for PersonalJava), and it can directly execute applications stored in ROM. Access plans to make JV-Lite available for licensing to PDA vendors before the end of 1997.

Sun launches Java Premium Support program

Sun has launched its Java Premium Support program for companies that develop Java applications and applets using Sun’s tools. Java Premium Support is available on two levels for binary product licensees — Business Support and Enterprise Support.

With Java Business Support, developers get a dedicated toll-free number (as well as an e-mail address and URL) to get help with any of the products available on the java.sun.com site. It includes early access to some products and to a Web bulletin board filled with technical bulletins and support news.

Sun has tailored Java Enterprise Support for larger organizations. With it, developers get everything from the Java Business Support package, plus an account team (not revolving — you get to deal with the same people each time) that will come to your business for a first-time assessment, then return once a year to follow changes and help determine your business’s needs. You also get discounts on Java training and free submission of two product applications to the 100% Pure Java certification process.

“With Java Premium Support, companies can purchase our Java products and technologies with even greater confidence in the assurance that they will have a dedicated support team to assist them with their Java development and deployment,” said Alan Patty, sales VP for Sun’s JavaSoft business unit.

The Sun Web site offers pricing and additional information on the program.

U.S. Design’s Java optical storage software goes out for beta tests

U.S. Design has shipped beta versions of its Java-enabled Universal SuperSTOR optical storage software to four companies that provide optical storage solutions for testing. The four companies specialize in providing storage software/hardware for companies with very different needs. President and CEO Harry Garonzik said, “By shipping to different types of beta sites we will be able to make sure that Universal SuperSTOR meets the demanding needs of the total optical storage marketplace.” The company declined to name the beta testers.

Universal SuperSTOR includes the following features:

  • Platform-independent software — Allows the same storage-management software to run on different host computers and operating systems.
  • Media interchangeability — Allows optical-media interchange software to work on different operating systems.
  • Web-maintenance support — Reporting software that shows administrators what’s happening with performance while the storage system is operating.
  • Module-based scalability — Allows you to add capabilities to your system. Modules included in the basic package are the File System module, the Network Interface module for NFS version 2, the Media Manager module, and the Remote Maintenance module.
  • No embedded drivers — Allows upgrades (or change) to your OS, without changing or upgrading SuperSTOR.

Usually, optical-storage managed software is priced based on capacity and configuration, but not so with Universal SuperSTOR. The software is priced the same, regardless of the size, type, or configuration of your storage jukebox or operating platform.

Pricing is set at ,000 (subject to change by the time the shipping version is ready); U.S. Design expects to ship the final product by first quarter 1998.

InstallShield Java Edition available for x-platform installations

InstallShield Software’s InstallShield Java Edition 1.0 (ISJed 1.0), an installation development system for creating cross-platform Java application installations, is now available.

ISJed 1.0:

  • Builds a single Java package file (with only an additional 40K overhead) for installation over networks or the Internet
  • Allows developers to display dialogs with:
    • company and application information
    • readme files
    • license agreements
  • Supports uninstallation, silent mode, and the ability to create launch scripts
  • Includes Windows-specific functionality for creating shortcuts, modifying the registry, and specifying self-registering files

A development wizard walks you through the steps to produce a Java installation. The wizard creates a single package, which can be read by all operating systems with any Java virtual machine (VM), version 1.02 or higher.

Another wizard walks end users through a consistent installation process, regardless of platform. The runtime and design-time of ISJed 1.0 are Java apps.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail is 95 (and it’s available directly from the company).

Java in action: FEMA for kids

Clara Vista Corp. and Bell Atlantic Federal Systems have joined together to launch the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) “FEMA for Kids” Web site, loaded with RDB and Java technology.

The site’s goal is to translate the seriousness of disaster preparation to children, and with the help of Clara Vista and Bell Atlantic (and Java technology), they’ve created a site that’s entertaining enough to keep children’s interested.

The site includes:

  • The Disaster Connection — Here kids can submit poetry, artwork, and essays, and see others’ work. They can also complete quizzes and activities to become a Disaster Action Kid.
  • Interactive games — Built on Java, the games include a crossword puzzle, coloring book, maze, and Hurricane House (where children select items that can be dangerous in a hurricane, and it disappears).
  • The Disaster Map of the United States — Kids click on a state and the disasters most common in the state pop up. The map also shows current Federally declared disasters.
  • A teacher’s resource section.

Students can also fill out a form to receive a dynamically generated certificate.

“We wanted the content of the site be to accessible to all kids, parents and teachers, regardless of their Web browsers,” said Mike Bass, project manager for Clara Vista. “A key feature of the games is that they don’t require any extraneous software, or plug-ins. Kids can play the games directly online.” (You do need a Java-enabled Web browser, though.)

Open Horizon tests Ambrosia, Java messaging software

Open Horizon has published the test results of its upcoming Java-based Ambrosia messaging software product.

The tests were undertaken to demonstrate that the Ambrosia Java middleware is scalable (to meet the requirements of mission-critical applications), as well secure and reliable — all three are necessary in an e-commerce environment.

Open Horizon tested the 100% pure-certified Ambrosia on a Sun Ultra 2 machine at Sun’s test center. In the test, Ambrosia supported 10,000 concurrent users and achieved message publish rates of 3,500 messages per second (each message was 128 bytes).

The Ambrosia Message Broker is the part of an Ambrosia system that routes messages and handles centralized administration tasks such as the enforcement of security policies. With Ambrosia, developers can create robust Java-based solutions without the added burden of building robust messaging into applications.

“Robust messaging will be a key requirement for deploying business solutions over the Internet and intranet, and Java-based solutions such as Ambrosia will play an integral role in the evolution of electronic commerce,” said Katherine Webster, Sun group manager of electronic commerce market development.

Open Horizon president and CEO Bruce Coleman added, “The testing of Ambrosia affirms that Java middleware will support prime-time applications. Scalable middleware is critical to our customers who can transform their Java projects from prototypes into successful enterprise-wide deployments.”

Rumors of a new protocol

The World Wide Web Consortium is thinking about adopting an HTTP enhancement, the Distribution and Replication Protocol (DRP), for Java applet/application distribution.

DRP allows you to revise only the pieces of a file or Java app that need revisions, which results in low bandwidth for updates over your corporate intranet or over the Internet, since you don’t have to re-transmit the entire app.

Caravelle’s IPnetWATCHER 1.0 Java Edition for Web-based network management

Caravelle’s new watcher product, IPnetWATCHER 1.0 Java Edition (IPnW 1.0), is a Java-based suite that gives IP network managers the ability to manage their networks in real time using Java, Web, and push technologies.

IPnW 1.0 can find and test local and remote IP and SNMP devices, services, and applications concurrently — without additional software. The software identifies real-time failures, then immediately notifies the designated network watcher with e-mail, desktop alerts, or even pagers. The watcher can then log into the status reports from any Java-capable browser (client data is 56-bit encrypted). With IPnW 1.0, a single watcher console can be used to monitor remote consoles for redundancy and centralized alert collection.

“We aren’t paying lip service to Web-based network management, we’re embracing it,” said Lynda Partner, Caravelle president and CEO. “In addition to monitoring SNMP and non-SNMP IP devices, IPnetWATCHER also tests the availability of applications and services, including http Web servers, which are now starting to appear in network devices.”

IPnW 1.0 runs on Windows NT 3.5.1 or 4.0. Communicator 4.0 and IE 3.0 are the minimum-recommended browsers. IPnW 1.0 is currently in beta.

Interleaf purchases Jamba 2.0 from Asymetrix

In September 1997, Asymetrix Learning Systems acquired Jamba when it purchased Jamba’s developer, Aimtech Corp. But, according to Asymetrix CEO Jim Billmaier, although Asymetrix’s “focus and commitment remains on providing a complete online learning solution, we prefer to retain rights to Jamba’s technology for our own use while allowing Interleaf to promote and market Jamba to the world.”

Jamba’s non-programming environment allows developers to use a point-and-click interface to create Java applets that do not require the browser to first download and install plug-ins before the applet can be viewed. Interleaf focuses on publishing-centric document-management software, so the addition of Jamba will help move Interleaf’s technology into the Java Web world, extending the company’s reach down from the high-end solutions toward lower-end desktop systems.

Jaime Ellertson, Interleaf president and CEO, commented, “Our Enterprise Publishing and Distribution product family is especially designed to provide high-end enterprise document-publishing solutions, integrating advanced document management and publishing technology. Jamba is a natural fit into this product family, and will enable us to further our offerings to the Enterprise Active Publishing market.”

So now, you can upgrade Jamba through Interleaf telesales channels, as well as other existing outlets. Jamba 2.0 retails for 49.

EnterpriseSoft delivers a spreadsheet component for Java

EnterpriseSoft is releasing EnterpriseSoft Spreadsheet/LiveGRID (ESS) for Java, a software component that combines the functionality of a grid/table GUI component with the core functionality of a spreadsheet app.

With the Java 1.1-built ESS, developers can embed spreadsheet functionality within their applications. Some of ESS’s features include:

  • Pure Java 1.1-portability across all platforms
  • An expression evaluator
  • A range of graphs and charts
  • A size of 200K
  • JDBC and JavaBeans compliance
  • The ability to act as a lightweight database
  • A large set of pre-built components
  • Extensive customization and formatting capabilities
  • Extendability with extensive APIs

ESS costs 99 for each developer seat and comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. Full source code, which can be shared within the organization, comes with the license.

Sun posts Java licensing agreement with Microsoft; amends complaint

Sun has posted its development license with Microsoft, causing a flurry of opinion as to who has the better standing in the Sun/Microsoft lawsuit.

Forrester Research analyst Eric Brown thinks that some gray areas in the contract (such as the provision that Microsoft must support new Java technologies within six months of release, but at the same time is not required to distribute any Supplemental Java classes with its products) may give Microsoft some legal “wiggle room.”

Others, such as Tony Downs, a partner at the law firm of Goodwin, Procter and Hoar, thinks that the Sun complaint is “consistent with the provision made in the contract.” He added, “It seems to say that Microsoft has an obligation to update its products to support the new Java technologies and pass the tests as they are described by Sun.”

Regardless of who has the best legal standing, Sun amended its original complaint to charge Microsoft with willfully releasing the source code of the Java Development Kit (which Sun claims is a contract violation). With the amendment, Sun is seeking 5 million in damages from Microsoft.

Decide for yourself, if you dare, by reading the petition.

Join Cosmo Software’s beta program for Cosmo Code

Angela Noffke, Beta program manager at Cosmo, wants developers to join the Beta Program for Cosmo’s Java IDE for Windows 95 and NT, Cosmo Code 2.5. The program, which started on October 20, 1997, will run only about four weeks. Although the program has started, there’s always the possibility that it could be extended and new testers added, so stop by the Cosmo Web site and submit a Beta Request Form.

Cosmo Code is an integrated set of visual tools for creating Java applications, applets, and classes. Cosmo Code 2.5 will allow you to take full advantage of the latest version of the Java Development Kit, JDK 1.1, with support for JavaBeans and the new AWT event model.

Cosmo wants feedback about Cosmo Code 2.5 in the areas of:

  • Product installation
  • General usability
  • Product quality
  • Feature set

To participate, developers should know something about Java programming and working in the Windows 95 or NT environment. You must also be able to provide feedback on a weekly basis.

Cosmo also has a beta program in Cosmo Worlds VRML 2.0, a program that makes VRML abilities, such as modeling, animation, and behavior scripting, available to artists.

Metrowerks unveils its embedded software strategy

Metrowerks’s new strategy for embedded software includes expanded embedded software support for the company’s CodeWarrior IDE. Metrowerks divides the embedded systems market into three core markets: the proprietary operating system market; the RTOS/Windows CE market; and the embedded Java technology market.

“Our CodeWarrior all-in-one solution, a concept pioneered by Metrowerks, will be the foundation upon which we build our embedded tools business,” said Jean Belanger, Metrowerks chairman and CEO. CodeWarrior’s solution for embedded programs comes in two parts — the CodeWarrior IDE and highly optimized compilers.

The IDE contains a complete set of programming tools, such as class browsers, editors, a project manager (which does away with “make” files), dual-machine debuggers (supporting both source-level and assembly-level debugging), and debug formats (including DWARF, Motorola S-Records, BDM, and JTAG).

CodeWarrior’s highly optimizing C, C++, Java, and assembler compilers feature support for many microprocessors, such as 68K, PowerPC, x86, and MIPS. The compilers and linkers support a variety of proprietary operating system object formats and industry-standard formats. New microprocessors supported include:

  • Advanced RISC Machines
  • Hitachi SuperH
  • MIPS16
  • MIPS
  • NEC
  • PowerPC

And as for supporting embedded operating systems, CodeWarrior will support:

  • Sony PlayStation 3 and Net Yaroze
  • Accelerated Technology’s Nucleus RTOS
  • Embedded Systems Products’s RTXC and RTEK real-time kernels
  • JMI Software’s C EXECUTIVE real-time kernel
  • Microware’s OS-9 RTOS
  • Precise Software’s Precise/MQX RTOS
  • Microsoft’s Windows CE 2.0

Also, Metrowerks will license MetroTRK to Tacit Software and ITRON. The company will also bring CodeWarrior Java tools to Solaris-based workstations and will develop a Java JIT compiler for ARM processors.

Although pricing varies, the company claims that the cost of CodeWarrior averages to about ,000 per developer seat.

O’Reilly’s WebSite Professional integrates Live Software’s JRun Java applets

O’Reilly & Associates and Live Software have partnered to incorporate Live’s JRun technology into O’Reilly’s WebSite Professional 2.1, which allows developers running the WebSite server to implement WebSite’s servlets and JavaSoft’s Java servlets at the same time, within the same virtual machine.

WebSite Professional 2.1 (a Windows server that integrates server-side Java support) originally offered CGI support alone. Since September, however, it has also included the WebSite.Servlet package, which reduces the time it takes to execute server-side Java applications. With the addition of the JRun software (which consists of a class library and specialized code to bridge Java servlets to applications), servlets are written to the servlet API, which enables them to be used as components for database retrieval, document formatting, and servlet creation.

Kimberly Simoni, WebSite product manager, said, “Thanks to the integrated JRun technology, they’ll [our customers will] be able to develop with WebSite Professional 2.1 and deploy on any server that supports JavaSoft’s Java servlet.”

Live Software president and CEO Paul Colton added that integrating “JRun into WebSite so tightly means that right now, out of all native Web servers available for Windows 95 and NT, WebSite offers the most servlet features.”

WebSite Professional 2.1 will ship December 1997.

Banco do Brasil to employ IBM’s e-commerce Java solutions

Banco do Brasil will team up with IBM to produce network computing systems that employ Java, the OS/2 Warp Server, and IBM’s Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). The new systems will be used to offer services to Banco do Brasil’s global customers.

The bank is investing .8 billion in this technology between now and 2000. Part of the investment goes toward working with IBM to migrate the bank’s existing home banking applications to Java, and to have IBM train its programming staff and employees. The bank will also integrate SET technology to guarantee secure Web transactions. Banco do Brasil has three existing home banking applications — a client/server app written in Visual Basic, a browser-based application, and a 3270 application.

Branch automation (moving the 8-bit teller, ATM, and office apps to 32-bit applications) will primarily be done using IBM’s VisualAge for C++, so the final versions can run on the OS/2 Warp Server. The branch servers will be running OS/2 Warp Server with MQSeries, Communication Server, and Personal Communications. Transactions will be processed on an MVS mainframe, which is also running IBM’s CICS and DB2. Ten agents for AIX (the IBM Unix OS) will be used to manage the branch clients and servers.

Banco do Brasil hopes that this investment will save money by lowering its cost per transaction and expanding its market reach, decreasing time to market for new banking services and lowering overall cost of ownership.

Ruy Barroso Junio, CIO at Banco do Brasil, said, “We believe the future of commercial banking will be driven by the Internet, and we want a partner that will propel us into the future and allow us to do business on a global basis. IBM was the only company that could provide us with a total end-to-end solution.”

Download a developer draft of Sun’s JavaMail API

The JavaMail API, currently available as a developer draft, is designed to provide a platform-independent and protocol-independent framework to build Java-based mail and messaging applications.

The 0.4 beta of the JavaMail API is on Sun’s Java Developer Connection for public comment and review. The developer draft API provides developers with a set of abstract classes for modeling a mail system to use in standalone applications or as part of existing software like word processors and spreadsheets.

Sun is asking for feedback through November 17, 1997. You have to register (it’s free) to view or download the files.

November 3: Kona Java suite finally arrives

On November 3 in NYC, Lotus plans to display 25 to 30 terminals running Kona WorkPlace, the new name for Lotus’s Java-based suite of applets previously code-named Kona.

The terminals running the Kona WorkPlace interface will be running several different operating systems (and the hardware configurations will be different, too) to demonstrate that its Java-based applications suite can “run anywhere.” Lotus is also bent on proving that the WorkPlace suite is less massive and troublesome than Microsoft’s huge Office 97 suite.

The Kona WorkPlace applets will use a Lotus technology called InfoBus, which allows users to exchange and integrate features from one applet into another.

The applets (which include a client e-mail program, a calendar and address book, a word processor, a spreadsheet, presentation graphics, a project scheduler, a file manager, a Web browser, and a terminal emulator) will each be about 500K. The rollout will occur in three stages. The NC version should be available before the end of 1998, a developer pack should be out by first quarter 1998, and a user version, called Thin Suite, should be ready by second quarter 1998.

IBM’s Java Jive “reads” info off your screen

IBM unveiled a Java-based prototype of software, code-named Java Jive, that “reads” screen information using a synthesized voice.

One of the uses for this software is in the area of special-needs computing, such as for seeing-impaired customers. “Because Java is becoming so popular, we need to take action now to make it accessible,” said Dennis O’Brien, product manager of IBM’s Special Needs Systems. “If we don’t, computer users with special needs will once again be left behind.”

O’Brien expects that these early efforts to make Java and network computing accessible to disabled customers will result in Java-based adaptive products reaching the marketplace as early as next year.

Will Microsoft abandon Java?

With the recent lawsuit by Sun against Microsoft over the use of Java, Java developers may worry about Microsoft’s commitment to Java. According to Microsoft tools product manager Jon Roskill, they shouldn’t.

Roskill asserts that many developers use Visual J++, Microsoft’s Java devtool (following a Market Decisions May 1997 survey that intimated that half the Java developers used the tool.) He assures developers: “The lawsuit in no way impacts Visual J++, the product, or our commitment to Java tools. We are hard at work on the next version of J++, which you can expect to be a strong, feature-rich release.” That next version is Visual J++ 98, and developers should expect to see a beta of it by the end of 1997.

George Gilder comments on Microsoft

In a Network Computing interview, futurist George Gilder commented on the recent Microsoft/DOJ clash. And no one was spared his gaze.

On IE integration: “Efforts to absorb communication systems into the OS are a mistake. You create a system that does everything poorly.” Also, he thinks that this model “imposes too much responsibility on the owner of the system to resolve a series of very complex communication protocol issues in order just to achieve minimal services, such as e-mail.”

On Microsoft’s co-optation of Java: He thinks Microsoft is driving away its biggest asset — third-party developers — by trying to fold everything into its OS. It takes profits away from other developers. He comments that the market itself may resolve this problem because “much of the energy and creativity is flowing massively to Java-based solutions. These will allow people to escape the Windows cage.”

On Microsoft business practices: Gilder thinks that Microsoft intentions (for IE and Java) won’t be altered by Justice Department intervention. He said the “contest will be settled by the success of Sun and IBM in perfecting Java, rather than by the success of Janet Reno in collecting fines from Microsoft.”

On Java vs. a Microsoft browser: He predicts that Java browsers will outperform Windows-locked browsers on the network. But don’t count Gates out. Gilder thinks that he knows this and will work out a way to fix the problem.

On the Sun lawsuit: Gilder thinks Sun has a good chance of winning its lawsuit against Microsoft.

On the Justice Department and U.S. anti-trust law: Gilder believes the DOJ’s intercession into Microsoft’s practices (in this case) are too late and probably won’t have any effects on Microsoft’s position in the market. And he called the U.S. anti-trust law a “septic tank,” a tank that doesn’t contain the resources to deal with speed of the dynamic software industry. He also thinks that the government is wasting its efforts — the overly complex Microsoft model (and OS) should soon be collapsing under its own inefficiency. Besides, Gilder adds, having the government decide what should or shouldn’t be in an operating system is putting the extremely-slow-moving Federal system “into an area in which it is incompetent.” (Keep in mind that Gilder is considered a fiscal conservative.)

On where Microsoft should go: Gilder says Microsoft should create a “platform-independent Java component system working across the network and breaking away from the bloatwear it is currently selling.” Will it? Although Gilder sees Microsoft at an “unfortunate point in its history when it will have to change more drastically than those at the helm want,” he also thinks that it will see its growth rate fall “dramatically over the next several years, and what seemed unstoppable will be more mortal than most people imagine.” He thinks that Gates will change to follow the market. And eventually add value to Java.

SimbaExpress 2.0 server gets JDBC support

Simba Technologies SimbaExpress 2.0 receives Java Database Connectivity support, providing Simba users SQL database access over the Web. The product already supports ODBC to deliver SQL database-access to local clients.

Also, company officials say the SimbaExpress 2.0 server offers up to five times better performance using ODBC- and JDBC-based applications over Internet connections than the native database drivers. The new 100% Pure Java client (the Java SimbaClient) downloads automatically when a user accesses a data source.

The SimbaClient for ODBC supports Windows 95, NT, and 3.1/3.11. SimbaClient for JDBC supports all client operating systems. A single server cannot only handle both of these clients, but OLE database-compatible clients too.

For better Web performance, Simba has modified compression, caching, and data pre-fetching to overcome low bandwidth and high-network latency. And SimbaExpress 2.0 offers the Crypto API for security and full firewall tunneling.

Although server pricing is not set, it should be available by the time you read this.

Use your X-Ray Vision on those downloadable apps

X-Ray Vision, from Intracept Inc., lets you intercept, scan, and analyze Java apps, ActiveX controls, cookies, plug-ins, Visual Basic Scripts, push technologies, and JavaScript — before you let them into your system.

Richard Wagner, president of Intracept, said, “We want to let you see who’s watching you while surfing on the Net. We’ll disable them [downloadables], and if the user wants to reload with them turned on, it’s only a few mouse-clicks away.”

X-Ray Vision can be set up to block any or all downloadable technologies and can be configured to alert the user to which downloadables are present, blocked, and allowed. And while many other products download the apps into a safe area then ask questions about them, X-Ray can stop Web pages from launching the downloadables.

Wagner added that 80 percent of the 100 most-visited sites use downloadable programs.

For Windows 95 platforms and Navigator 2.2, 3.x, and IE 3.x only. Get an evaluation copy of X-Ray Vision on site until November 30, 1997. After that, you can buy it for 9 from Intracept.

  • https://www.intracept.com/product/index.html

  • Original article: https://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/7975.html

Actra integrates Visigenic’s VisiBroker ORBs into CommerceXpert

Actra has licensed Visigenic’s VisiBroker for Java and VisiBroker for C++ ORBs for integration into its CommerceXpert suite, products that let organizations create business-to-business trading communities across networks, applications, and desktops.

The VisiBroker ORBs add support for CORBA and IIOP, so CommerceXpert users can support and create interoperable, standards-based Internet-trading applications. The ORBs will be bundled with the SellerXpert, BuyerXpert, and ECXpert products of the CommerceXpert suite.

Actra CEO Jim Sha said, “CommerceXpert support for CORBA has resulted in a scalable, multithreaded solution that can support of tens of thousands of users simultaneously. This is of fundamental importance in providing mission-critical applications to Fortune 1000 companies.”

In addition to ECXpert, SellerXpert, and BuyerXpert, CommerceXpert includes MerchantXpert and PublishingXpert.

ECXpert is the starter product. It allows users to construct and deploy an Internet-centric electronic commerce program.

SellerXpert includes comprehensive order management, seller- and buyer-maintained membership, flexible payment options, next-generation electronic product catalog, full data transformation, and EDI capability.

BuyerXpert is an Internet procurement system that operates in a multi-supplier, inter-enterprise environment.

MerchantXpert takes the advanced order-management capabilities and object infrastructure of SellerXpert and applies this technology to retailing business.

PublishingXpert is a start-to-finish system that allows companies to share and sell their knowledge capital.

Actra is a joint venture (founded 1996) of Netscape and GE Information Services.

IBM Telephony Toolkit for Java components

IBM’s is releasing Telephony Toolkit for Java, a toolset for business integrators to write highly portable telephony applications quickly and easily.

The toolkit also includes telephony JavaBeans components that answer, transfer, conference, and associate customer data with calls; the choose-and-integrate capabilities allows those with experience in the business process to create telephony applications without in-depth programming skills.

With the Telephony Toolkit for Java, developers can create an intelligent call-routing environment; as a call comes in, the information on the customer reaches the agent’s desktop along with the call. The toolkit will also include a Java-based software phone known as CallPath Phone for Java. It allows call center agents to log onto automated call distribution (ACD) systems, receive, and transfer calls and customer data from a Java-enabled computer.

The Java enhancements will be available in December 1997.

  • http://www.networking.ibm.com/ callpath

Phaos delivers JSAFE-integrated SSL toolkit

Phaos Technology Corp. and RSA Data Security announced that they will integrate RSA’s JSAFE toolkit into Phaos’s SSLava toolkit, offering Java developers secure communication (with the Secure Sockets Protocol) across the Internet using Java.

Phaos CEO Matthew Ervin said, “Now for the first time, developers can build with SSL security along with the industry standard JSAFE crypto toolkit from RSA.”

RSA president and CEO Jim Bidzos, added, “With all of the vital information being transmitted on the Internet, Web developers need to address the security issue. Now they can, with the standard and trusted encryption solution from RSA and Phaos.”

Contest: Agave seeks most creative SQml-Web application

Agave Software Design announces Access THIS!, a contest for Web application developers to create applications with SQml-Web 1.0, the company’s devtool that specializes in creating on-the-fly HTML documents from SQL databases.

The grand prize is a free copy of SQml-Web’s Enterprise version, an Agave T-shirt, and a 00 coupon toward the purchase of an Agave database connectivity tool. The Access THIS! contest runs from November 2 through December 31, 1997. If you want to play, download a free, 60-day evaluation copy of SQml-Web.

Entries can be submitted two ways:

Agave is looking for creativity and use of as many product features as possible.

ISO voting status on Sun’s application

On October 28, 1997, the ISO’s U.S. Technical Advisory Group (U.S. TAG) voted against Sun Microsystems’s application to become a Publicly Available Specification Submitter, or PAS, (to submit Java platform technologies to become international standards).

Of the 27 national regulatory ISO bodies, Australia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have approved Sun’s application. The remainder (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, and Switzerland) have until November 14, 1997 to cast their votes.

If a consensus of the organizations approves the application this time, Sun will become a PAS and will be allowed to submit Java specifications for review as an international standard.

Java/Microsoft war: Microsoft countersues

Microsoft officials said that the company has filed a countersuit against Sun in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, CA. The suit alleges a breach of contract, breach of the “covenant of good faith and fair dealing,” and unfair competition.

In the suit, Microsoft said Sun broke the contract by failing to deliver Java technology that could pass the test suites. It also claims as a breach that Sun failed to provide a public set of test suites and that Sun has not treated it as it has all other licensees. The suit also cites intentional interference from Sun by Sun’s repeated false statements about Microsoft’s rights under the license agreement and false statements about the compatibility of Microsoft products.

Microsoft also denied Sun’s claim that Microsoft broke its 1996 Java license agreement.

Additional information:

  • PC Week article https://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/news/1027/27mmicr.html
  • IDG News Service article: http://www.javaworld.com/jw-11-1997/jw-11-idgns.countersuit.html
  • IDG News Service article: http://www.javaworld.com/jw-11-1997/jw-11-idgns.suitupdate.html

Divya’s BackOnline provides backup and offline Java storage

Divya is offering BackOnline, a portable briefcase, backup, and off-site storage client/server software product that can work in a Web browser, as a standalone GUI application or standalone command-line application.

BackOnline supplies both a Java-based client and server, ensuring fairly wide platform portability. The server-side application is easy to administer and comes complete with 56-bit DES (secured) transmission and storage, up to 550 percent compression for transmission and storage, and a custom Java app object repository. The server component doesn’t require any special storage devices, such as tape or zip drives. And the client component installs itself, by connecting to a URL.

The client and multithreaded server run on Mac, Unix, Windows, OS/2 — just about any Java-compatible operating systems. The server stores files in the filesystem by default, but it can also be configured to store data in RDBMS, ODBMS, and any other database that supports streams. The server software also comes with JDBC API extensions, so you could possibly connect to Sybase, Oracle, Informix, and SQL Server relational databases.

Check with the company for pricing.

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