Keeping you abreast of the ever-changing Java world
Index of news briefs
Active Software introduces
Astound brings Java-powered motion to the Web
Corel announces new agreement with JavaSoft
Creating Media announces Plug-In Playlets
FutureTense ships Texture
Geosystems’ MapQuest uses Java for global interactive mapping
Java Repository serves as resource collection for programmers and users
JavaSoft Forum discusses ActiveX, Java
JavaScript Cookbook CD-ROM available from Charles River Media
Microsoft to transition ActiveX to independent standards body
Natural Intelligence offers new Roaster release
Newly-arrived Finjan Software offers security products
ParcPlace announces general availability of Parts for Java
Patent awarded to Instant Sports
Silicon Graphcs announces Cosmo 3D graphics toolkit
SunExpress offers Java training tools
SunSoft unveils Solaris Internet tools
Active Software introduces ActiveWeb
Active Software Inc., a company focused on extending information systems to the Web, announced its first product, ActiveWeb. This software communications system allows dissimilar resources, such as applications, databases, and Java-enabled browsers, to exchange information across corporate intranets and the Internet.
ActiveWeb Release 1.0 includes four components. The ActiveWeb Information Broker exchanges information between networked resources, connecting dissimilar information resources. The ActiveWeb dbAdapter for SQL databases maps the information from corporate resources (such as a database or GUI) to the Information Broker, enabling users to “publish” information from the database to “subscribing” information broker-enabled client applications. “Database-aware” Java application development components map the adapter for a particular function or application; the development tools include Visual Java, a point-and-click Java development tool that has included classes for database objects. Finally, the Java-based deployment administration and management tools, written in Java, are designed to assist the network and database administrators in understanding and monitoring information flow and ActiveWeb business events across the network.
Active Web Release 1.0, currently in beta, will be available by early August. Licensed per developer, the ActiveWeb Developer Suite is priced at ,995 for the initial developer, with additional developer licenses priced at ,495.
Creating Media announces Plug-In Playlets
Creating Media’s Plug-In Playlets are ready-made Java applets that serve as powerful containers for multimedia content. They are geared at Web developers who want to add an interactive component to their Web sites. Because Playlets do not involve any Java programming, adding content to Web pages is a simple task, the company says.
All Plug-In-Playlets come with options for customization, including background color, background image, status bar annotation messages, and sound. Playlets include the HotButton Panel Playlet, Temporal ImageMap, Streaming Animation, OneButton, Ticker, Invisible Download, and Moving. A free trial offer is available through August 15.
SunSoft unveils Solaris Internet tools
SunSoft Inc. has introduced the Solaris Internet Access PlusPack, a suite of tools for Internet users of the Solaris operating environment on SPARC- and Intel-based computers. The Solaris Internet Access PlusPack provides Internet tools for navigation, viewing, and publishing, as well as Java capabilities for Solaris customers who need to access the Internet and intranet.
The PlusPack includes Sun’s Java Virtual Machine for running Java applets from within Solaris rather than a browser; Java-based desktop browser for viewing Java applets and HTML files and for browsing the Web; Netscape Navigator 2.01i for browsing the Web; an HTML authoring tool for constructing HTML pages with SoftQuad’s HoTMetaL Light 2.0; video and audio tools for playing audio and video files; and network wrappers that give CDE and OpenWindows users easy access to Solaris FTP and Telnet capabilities.
The Solaris Internet Access PlusPack runs on Solaris 2.4 or later on both SPARC and Intel platforms and is fully compatible with the Solaris common desktop environment (CDE) and OpenWindows GUIs. The product is priced at 9, and SunSoft is providing customer service and technical support for the Internet Access PlusPack on a customized Web site.
https://www.sun.com/solaris/products
Newly-arrived Finjan Software offers security products
Finjan Software Ltd., formerly CyberSOFT, develops and markets software designed to resolve security problems posed by Java. Finjan’s products help detect, monitor, and control programs written in Java that have been downloaded from the Web onto local PCs.
Available now, Finjan’s SurFinBoard provides an enhanced security system for detecting and combatting suspicious Java applets. While securing the run-time environment of the Java-enabled browser, Finjan provides user-friendly and transparent security policy management.
SurFinBoard informs you when an applet comes “on board,” displays the number of applets in the system, sets off alarms when security is breached or violated, identifies unsafe applets to signal security exception, automatically kills malicious applets, controls applet access to user input, monitors Java run-time environment (including memory, threads, and URLs), and exhibits graphs of resource usage.
SurFinGuard, to be released by the end of the year, works with Java-enabled browser file systems, network operating systems, and IPC subsystems, and has an easy-to-manage security policy manager.
SunExpress offers Java training tools
SunExpress Inc., the aftermarketing company of Sun Microsystems, is offering education and training tools for Java. Through SunExpress, Sun customers will have access to training and technical books and CD-ROMs about using Java technology. Developed by the Java experts at Sun, these educational tools can be reused for training groups throughout a customer’s company.
The CD-ROMs and books are geared toward Sun developers and Web administrators who want to learn about Java programming. Topics range from an introduction to Java for non-programmers to tips and tricks for Java experts developing their own applets.
https://www.sun.com/sunexpress
FutureTense ships Texture
FutureTense announced that it is now shipping Texture Version 1.0, a Web publishing system that provides intuitive page design and layout tools for designers and publishers of interactive Web publications. Texture is available at an introductory price of 95. FutureTense also announced that Microsoft will distribute the Texture Viewer with its Internet Explorer 3.0 Web browser and that Informix will resell the Texture system integrated with the Informix Web DataBlade module for Web application development and management.
Patent awarded to Instant Sports
Instant Sports Inc., creators of the Instant Baseball site on the Web, announced that its founder and chairman, David R. Barstow, was awarded a U.S. patent for presenting live events on the Web. Instant Sports is using this proprietary technology for its Instant Baseball Web site and plans to use the technology in other applications for the Internet, wireless services, and interactive television.
U.S. Patent # 5,526,479 also covers the award-winning, Java-animated Instant Ballpark feature, which provides simulated, on-field action of the players and the ball. This technology is designed to recreate the experience of a live sporting event at a remote location using much less bandwidth than conventional video and audio broadcasts. With a Java-enabled Web browser, users can monitor multiple live events with animated simulations from their home PC.
Geosystems’ MapQuest uses Java for global interactive mapping
MapQuest Publishing Group, part of GeoSystems Global Corp., announced the expansion of its interactive mapping service, MapQuest, from U.S. to worldwide coverage. Users now can explore the whole world while customizing, saving, and printing dynamic, scalable maps of more than 3 million locations. MapQuest uses Java “mapplets” and an ActiveX atlas, providing users with advanced mapping functionality and broad geographic coverage.
ParcPlace announces general availability of Parts for Java
ParcPlace-Digitalk Inc. announced the general availability of its new Parts for Java visual development tool and said that it has already shipped more than .2 million in product. Parts for Java facilitates the creation of applets and applications and provides developers with a visual Java development environment, the ability to explore, construct, and understand Java code, and an easily extensible system for adding new Java components to their development palette.
Parts for Java includes tools for developing client/server Web solutions, featuring a browser for viewing and editing source code and class hierarchies; an open toolset for selecting compilers and other tools; and a workbench for visually constructing applets and applications from components. The product includes the following features: Visual Programming, ClassMaster browser, Component Wizard, and a number of new components. Parts for Java is available for 9; it can be purchased over the Internet at ParcPlace’s Web site.
Natural Intelligence offers new Roaster release
Natural Intelligence, Inc. released a new version of Roaster, a development environment for creating applets in Java on the Macintosh platform. Roaster Developer Release 2.1, provides Roaster subscribers with new functionality, fixes, and speed improvements. The primary component of this release is the Roaster Debugger, which offers both source- and bytecode-level debugging. Debugger features include the ability to switch between source- and bytecode-level debugging on the fly, a variety of “stepping” options, and dedicated windows that enable developers to see elements of the inner workings of objects.
Natural Intelligence also recently lowered prices for Roaster. Roaster customers can buy one non-developer release of Roaster from Natural Intelligence for 29. A subscription to the Roaster development environment is now 99, or 9 for university faculty and students.
The Java Repository serves as resource collection for programmers and users
The Java Repository, an online Java resource collection, now includes extensive search and list facilities, enabling users to search the whole Repository by word, create resource lists by category, keyword, or author, and sort the resource lists by name, date, number of hits, or rating. Extensive statistics for each resource, category, and keyword are given, including number of hits for each resource, number of resources in each category, and statistics on keywords that have been used.
Users can register their Java resources, which are made available in the Java Repository immediately upon being entered; users retain full control over their entries and can edit them at any time. Users can also leave a comment for each resource, so others can benefit from user experiences with resources found in the Repository. Also, each resource can be rated by the user by selecting a mark between one (minimum) and 10 (maximum). The Message Board gives users the opportunity to leave any message, including questions and job opportunities. A contest for the best Java resources is now being held on the site.
https://java.wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de
Astound brings Java-powered motion to the Web
Astound Inc., a developer of multimedia software products for the business and consumer markets, announced a free public beta version of Astound WebMotion. WebMotion allows Web publishers to easily create spectacular Java-powered animations — complete with sound and interactivity — that are efficient, fast, and designed for broad-based Web delivery. The product is available now for free download from the Astound Inc. Web site.
JavaScript Cookbook CD-ROM available from Charles River Media
Charles River Media Inc. has released a CD-ROM tutorial “cookbook” for Netscape’s JavaScript programming language. The JavaScript Cookbook CD provides a step-by-step tutorial on JavaScript in a concise example-driven format. The table of contents includes: Introducing JavaScript, Communicating with Readers, JavaScript Games, The Status Bar, JavaScript Clocks, JavaScript Strings, JavaScript Math, JavaScript Colors, JavaScript Forms, Data Structures, JavaScript Cookies, and JavaScript Windows.
A demonstration of the CD-ROM is available from the demo download area of Computer Currents’ Web site. The JavaScript CD Cookbook (ISBN: 1-886801-35-5) is available now through computer software stores and bookstores, as well as directly from Charles River Media. List price for the product is 9.95.
https://www.algorithm.com/crm/
Corel announces new agreement with JavaSoft
Corel Corp. announced that it has entered into a new licensing and development agreement with JavaSoft. Corel has licensed Java source code from JavaSoft and will soon include the Java Virtual Machine in Corel Ventura, CorelDraw 7, and future versions of Corel WordPerfect. This will allow users to run Java applets in any of these future products.
In addition, Corel will develop a Java-applet viewer that will allow users to view Java applets in any application. Corel will provide JavaSoft with this technology for its own use and for redistribution to other third-party licensees in order that they may incorporate it into their applications.
Microsoft to transition ActiveX to independent standards body
Microsoft Corp. announced plans to give ActiveX specifications and technology to an industry-standards body. A working group of customers, ISVs, and platform vendors will convene shortly to determine the process for transitioning ActiveX technology to an independent organization. The group will be a customer-driven organization in which Microsoft is one of many members involved in decision making. The Burton Group has agreed to facilitate this first meeting.
Key technologies in the ActiveX reference implementations include the Component Object Model (COM) and the recently introduced Distributed COM (DCOM), which binds objects together over networks such as the Internet. Microsoft will also grant appropriate rights to ActiveX trademarks.
“Microsoft’s decision to turn ownership of the ActiveX framework over to an independent third party is good for the network industry in general, and customers in particular,” said Jamie Lewis, president of The Burton Group, an industry analyst firm specializing in network computing. “COM and DCOM – the foundation for ActiveX – constitute the most widely used object framework, but as technologies owned and controlled exclusively by Microsoft, they were not vendor-independent solutions. In the hands of a neutral standards body, ActiveX can become a vendor-independent solution, enabling interoperability while allowing both developers and customers to take full advantage of their existing investments in OLE and DCOM technologies.”
Microsoft also said it will deliver binary and source reference implementations of the scripting engines for Visual Basic, Scripting Edition, and JScript, the Microsoft open implementation of the JavaScript language. Both technologies will be licensed at no cost to interested parties, and can be ported to any operating system or hardware platform. Microsoft supports Visual Basic Script and the JavaScript language in its Internet Explorer version 3.0 browser; now other browser and application vendors can provide similar functionality.
“By including JScript in its scripting language options, Microsoft underscores its commitment to openness on the Internet,” said Evan Quinn of International Data Corp. “This gives developers the option of using a variety of important development technologies, taking full advantage of their current investments while supporting Internet innovations.”
Beta versions of JScript and Visual Basic Script are available immediately from Microsoft’s Web site for free downloading and distribution. Microsoft will also make the source code for the Visual Basic Script and JScript engines available in the near future. Furthermore, Microsoft will provide source reference implementations to both the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for consideration as open Internet standards.
https://microsoft.com/jscript/
https://microsoft.com/vbscript/
JavaSoft Forum discusses ActiveX, Java
Sun’s JavaSoft Web site now includes a forum comparing Java and ActiveX. Aside from JavaSoft’s obligatory perspective, the forum includes discussion among a panel of industry journalists that includes Steve Wildstrom and John Verity of BusinessWeek, Nick Wingfield of CNET, and Jerry Michalski of Release 1.0. Gartner Group’s David Smith moderated the dicussion.
https://www.javasoft.com/forum/
Silicon Graphcs announces Cosmo 3D graphics toolkit
Silicon Graphics announced Cosmo 3D, a platform-independent graphics toolkit that brings real-time, 3-D applications to the Internet and desktop. Implemented in C++, this toolkit supports over 30 graphics file formats, including VRML 2.0, and is accessible to Java applications through efficient Java bindings. Cosmo 3D lets Internet developers incorporate dynamic 3-D worlds, collaborative design environments, and virtual characters with audio into their Web applications.
Designed to be independent of its underlying rendering architecture, Cosmo 3D is portable across all hardware platforms. Cosmo 3D provides a native implementation for Java3D, the 3-D graphics component of the Java Virtual Machine, the API specification currently being jointly defined by Silicon Graphics, Sun, Intel, and Apple Computer.
Cosmo 3D can be licensed from Silicon Graphics for all platforms and will be available in beta for developers early this fall.
