Java Internet Business Expo: IBM offers Solutions Studio for Java
As part of its Solution Developer Program, IBM has initiated Solution Studios for Java, which it previously called Validation Centers for Java. At no charge, developers can access tools to examine and fine-tune their Java apps to ensure quality and compatibility with a variety of platforms (including AIX, OS/2, OS/390, OS/400, HP-UX, MacOS, Solaris, and Windows NT). Existing Java apps can be integrated with IBM enterprise solutions — MQSeries, CICS, and DB2.
With Solution Studios for Java, software engineers are on hand at IBM to assist developers with problems and with the use of SunTest’s Java testing tools: JavaStar, JavaSpec, and JavaScope. In addition, developers can perform pre-certification testing of their apps in preparation for submitting them for 100% Pure Java certification.
And developers who have tested their Java apps at the Solution Studio for Java can be listed in IBM’s Global Software Solutions Guide. This guide will help Solution Developer Program members market their apps over the Internet. Further, IBM will be creating an electronic showcase of qualified 100% Pure Java ISV apps.
- Solution Developer Program: https://www.developer.ibm.com
- Solution Studio for Java: https://www.spc.ibm.com
Global Software Solutions Guide: https://www.software.ibm.com/solutions/isv
Java Internet Business Expo: IBM ships Enterprise edition of VisualAge for Java
At Java Internet Business Expo, IBM announced it is shipping a new enterprise version of its VisualAge for Java tool. The company also demonstrated at the show how Java is helping customers enhance their business opportunities.
First announced in April, IBM’s VisualAge for Java has met with success in the developer community, particularly the Professional Edition, which was released in July.
Enterprise Edition of the tool is a team-based Java development environment for the enterprise. Programmers can extend existing server-based apps to the Internet or intranet, without having to rewrite apps from scratch. This edition offers Enterprise Access Builders, which enable Java clients to connect visually to IBM and non-IBM databases, as well as transaction and application servers. Also, a Team Programming Server component is included. This will be automatically shipped to registered licensees of VisualAge for Java Enterprise before the end of ’97.
Immediately available, but Enterprise Edition is priced at ,995 and includes a coupon for a year’s subscription to VisualAge WebRunner Toolkit, a set of productivity aids that complement IBM and non-IBM Java tools. VisualAge WebRunner is normally offered for 49.
Java Internet Business Expo: CrystalGate releases real-time customer service Web-based app
CrystalGate Corp. announced immediate availability of LIVE Assistance, pure Java server software that enables real-time customer service through a company’s Web site. With LIVE Assistance, companies can strengthen their sales and service programs by deploying real-time assistance on their corporate Internet or intranets.
Through a Java applet, LIVE Assistance combines a customer company representative and Web data concurrently. Currently, most customer service software relies on static, non-interactive display of pages that provide information on a one-way basis. With CrystalGate’s tool, a customer will be able to connect with a company’s representative and engage in real-time collaborative conversation through the company’s Web site.
Furthermore, with LIVE Assistance, a skills-based routing feature is in place, which ensures that the most qualified assistant will be helping the customer.
LIVE Assistance is available now for 95, which includes a server license and five Assistant licenses. Additional Assistant licenses are available for 9 each. For more information, call (425) 450-0201 or send email to gatekeeper@crystalgate.com. You can also visit CrystalGate’s Web site.
Java Internet Business Expo: EarthWeb’s Developer.com acquires JARS
Developer.com, the online developer community that featured Gamelan, the Official Directory for Java, announced the acquisition of JARS, the Java Applet Rating Service. JARS provides reviews of Java applets and apps on the Web. The acquisition of JARS.com will double available ad inventory for Developer.com.
Java Internet Business Expo: IBM, Netscape, and Sun collaborate to improve Java platform
IBM, Netscape, and Sun announced the Java Porting and Tuning Center, which will focus on speeding up Java performance and ensuring timely, consistent distribution of Java implementations.
Housed at Sun’s JavaSoft division in Cupertino, CA, the new center initially will be staffed by engineers from the three companies. The first step will be to tune the JDK 1.1 class libraries for higher performance. These will be delivered concurrently during the fourth quarter of ’97 for all leading operating systems, browsers, and tools.
The Java Porting and Tuning Center will also begin working on the next release of the JDK, to create high-performance Java implementations. The three companies hope to deliver these implementations on all major platforms during the second quarter of ’98.
Java Internet Business Expo: Random Walk Computing makes agreement with 3 Java software vendors
Random Walk Computing, Wall Street’s Java development and integration boutique, provides advanced Java solutions for the financial service industry by building trading and portfolio management applications. The company arranges technology transfers that will lower the barriers to customers looking to leverage the power of Java and the Internet.
At this time, Open Horizon, ILOG, and DataChannel have entered into partnership arrangements with Random Walk to create an architecture incorporating real-time data, robust security, Web-based distribution, entitlements, and a user-friendly presentation interface that run through a browser. Each of the three companies provides a particular technology that is specialized to handle a function (Internet communications software from Open Horizon provides communication; enterprise Webcasting software from DataChannel provides client presentation; and advanced software components for optimization from ILOG provides business logic).
Using these technologies, Random Walk can offer architectural templates that can be rapidly deployed for businesses.
Java Internet Business Expo: TV Objects releases new version of its Visual Basic to Java tool
TV Objects Corp., which provides Internet-enabling development tools, has announced Applet Designer Enterprise Version 1.7. This new tool version allows developers to migrate Visual Basic programs to Java applets and apps, as well as offers new features and functionality to its original product.
Added features include “Instant Run,” which lets newly created Java apps run with a simple click of a button. Converted code now will instantly deploy as a running Java app, and problem areas of code are noted and commented for future attention.
Another new feature is the automatic generation of CORBA Objects from Visual Basic apps. Two-tiered VB projects can be converted easily to multitiered Java apps through Visigenic’s VisiBroker.
With the new version 1.7, less Java coding and more complete Java migration is possible through User Defined Types.
Applet Designer Enterprise Version 1.7 installs with JDK 1.1, Asymetrix’s JADO, and OpenLink’s client-side JDBC drivers and server-side middleware. Shipping now, the product is offered for a limited time at an introductory price of 99. It runs on Windows 95 and/or Windows NT 4.0 and above.
Free trial: https://www.tvobjects.com
Java Internet Business Expo: PlaceWare Auditorium now in second release
PlaceWare Inc. has introduced PlaceWare Auditorium 1.1, which offers enhanced audience participation functionality. With this “live,” interactive, multimedia Web environment, attendees can listen to a speech, view a slide show, and spontaneously ask questions in real time.
With the addition of an Auditorium microphone, participants can “take the floor” during presentations. Questions from participants, and presenters’ answers, now can be heard by the entire audience. The presenter still maintains ultimate control of the microphone, to gauge the appropriateness of questions.
Other new features in version 1.1 of this product are the ability to record or replay an event and the ability to continually cycle through slides without the need for a presenter.
Universal API to the Web now available from webMethods
Version 2.1 of the Web Automation Toolkit, from webMethods Inc., provides a universal API to the Web. This makes it possible for any company to put its Web site into the application infrastructure of customers, suppliers, and partners. With an API to the Web, important data from companies’ Web sites becomes an integral part of the automated business processes of companies’ partners.
As an example, a major online distributor can use Web Automation technology to insert their catalog into the automated business apps of their customers, including automated purchasing, order processing, MRP, and CAD/CAM systems. Then the customer’s apps can automatically exchange information and transact business with the distributor’s Web site — with the distributor becoming their default choice for ordering the items they need.
C/C++ and JavaScript have been added to this tool, increasing its flexibility and support for corporate apps. Plus, the visual interface has been enhanced, and new code generators and wizards automatically generate the code required to fully and rapidly integrate a Web site with an application.
Web Automation products are available for all platforms that support Java, including Windows 95/NT, Solaris, AIX, Linux, HP-UX, Digital Unix, IBM OS/2, and Macintosh. Release 2.1 is shipping now and prices begin at 95 per developer seat.
https://www.webmethods.com
Java Internet Business Expo: TRADE’ex introduces codeless customization of Java interface
TRADE’ex Electronic Commerce Systems, which supplies enterprise electronic commerce software, has released the TRADE’ex J-Object Model (TXJOM), an easy-to-use tools that allows MIS managers and system integrators to create diverse and scalable applets that are specifically tailored to their client’s needs. Java-based graphical user interfaces of all TRADE’ex products can be modified for their specific e-commerce apps.
With TXJOM, the user interface is defined by the Program Resource File and the Layout Control File — two files that work together to specify which Java objects in the TRADE’ex library are combined to create the applets for the GUI and where they will be displayed on the screen. J-Object Model is an object-oriented open architecture that supports inter-applet communication events and can connect to any data source in addition to the TRADE’ex Commerce Server.
In order to support a more scalable architecture for large corporate enterprises, TRADE’ex has released the initial Unix version of their e-commerce software apps. This will include support for Sun Solaris operating system, with Oracle 8 as the back-end data server, and Netscape Enterprise as the Web server.
Java Internet Business Expo: Sun readies JavaEngine 1 reference platform
Sun Microsystems announced the JavaEngine 1 reference platform — a bundled hardware/software product that enables OEMs to broaden the use of thin client systems within the enterprise computing marketplace. With the JavaEngine 1, OEMs have all the elements necessary to immediately enter the market, with a cost-efficient motherboard or design kit coupled with the JavaOS operating system, technical training, application references, and network server technology.
Currently, the JavaEngine 1 platform is being used by PC vendors, Unix systems suppliers, and special-purpose platform manufacturers who want to enter the market rapidly.
The JavaEngine 1 platform is powered by the microSPARC-IIep processor, and offered in a 100MHz version. For Java apps requiring high-bandwidth, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet is provided. Other features include color graphics, 16-bit stereo audio, memory expansion from 8-64 megabytes, and the JavaOS desktop user environment in binary form.
JavaEngine 1 is expected to ship in volume in the fourth quarter of ’97. In quantities of 10,000, the product is 85.
OEMs that have already selected the JavaEngine 1 for use in new product lines include the following customers: Ann Arbor Technologies, Avex Electronics, Digicad, GTE, NEOS Communications, Polywell Computers, and Procomp Industria Electronica. ISVs include: Applix, GraphOn, Insignia Solutions, OpenConnect Systems, and PictureTalk.
Java Internet Business Expo: Sun completes acquisition of Diba
Sun Microsystems Inc. has completed acquisition of Diba Inc., a technology supplier for the information appliance industry. The sale was originally announced on July 31, and Sun will acquire all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Diba, as well as Diba technology, engineering, products, brands, and all of Diba’s 79 employees. As announced at the time of the sale, Diba will become a new Sun business unit, called the Consumer Technologies Group, within Sun’s Microelectronics division.
Java Internet Business Expo: Novell runs NDS app development contest and workshop tours
With the rallying cry, “Get off your apps, developers!,” Novell announced its NDS (Novell Directory Services) application development contest and Technology Builders Workshop Series, featuring Java and NDS/LDAP. The contest is designed to bring visibility to the value of building directory-enabled apps with NDS, Novell’s directory service for intranet/Internet app development.
The contest, which launched August 26 and ends March 2, 1998, consists of two simultaneous month-long Java and NDS training tours throughout the U.S. and Canada. The one-day workshops will provide developers with the tools and training needed to build NDS or Java apps.
Novell will provide developers with a toolkit and specific guidelines for developing NDS apps. Winners will be announced at Novell’s BrainShare ’98 developer conference. Prizes include one custom Harley Davidson motorcycle, three fully-loaded computer systems, five complete BrainShare ’98 packages — including airfare and hotel, and a six-month supply of pizza and Jolt cola for the first 60 developers who submit qualified NDS apps!
The Java and NDS workshops are scheduled from September 3 to October 2, and will reach 15 cities in North America. The Java and NDS workshops are free of charge to DeveloperNet members, and Novell Enterprise Consulting Partners may register for the reduced price of 49, up to one week prior to the date of each workshop. All others may register for 99 per workshop. For information on exact dates and locations of the workshops, call (800) 440-3976 or see the Web site listed below.
- Contest information: https://developer.novell.com/nds/yourapps
Java and NDS workshops: https://developer.novell.com/workshop
Java Internet Business Expo: Sybase delivers comprehensive set of enterprise Java products
Sybase Inc. announced a complete set of products supporting the emerging enterprise Java platform. The set includes Jaguar CTS, PowerJ Enterprise version 2.0, and jConnect for JDBC. WIth this set of Java-enabled products, as well as its innovative Adaptive Component Architecture, Sybase is making it possible for businesses to build and deploy universally accessible, mission-critical apps.
Java Internet Business Expo: Products receive 100% Pure Java certification
At Java Internet Business Expo, announcements were made of the following products receiving 100% Pure Java certification through Sun’s certification program. The products and their companies are:
Sanga Enterprise Solutions (Sanga International Inc.) a suite of customized, component-based Java applications
Novell Collexion Spell Checker for Java (Novell, Inc.) a spell-checking solution
Crosstie Release 2.0 (Maximum Computer Technologies) a terminal emulation software program for Web browsers that instantly transforms existing Unix character-based programs into intranet apps
Persona (Persoft, Inc.) a Web-to-host intranet tool that uses a Windows NT server and Java thin-client solution to provide users secure access to information on host systems through any Java-capable Web browser
ReportMart (SQRIBE) an enterprise app that provides enterprise employees easy and dynamic executable access to critical business information, regardless of location or format
DataVista Software Developers Kit (Visualize, Inc.) a tool that updates charts and graphs from any data source in real time, allowing users to manipulate data, label charts, perform “what if” analysis, and analyze data with a variety of tools.
JWAVE (Visual Numerics, Inc.) a data visualization tool that allows developers of Java apps to access data analysis and visualization techniques from a server running PV-WAVE, thereby easily Web-enabling their current apps.
VolanoChat (Volano LLC) a client and server chat tool that supports more than 125 dynamically configurable settings.
Product Trading Floor (bidnask.com) Java applets that provide online, instantaneous feedback that users are accustomed to with traditional transaction systems
WebZinger (ImaginOn Inc.) a Web utility that uses keyword/subject search criteria to visit and intelligently analyze Web sites and record a summary in the form of images and text; the recording is downloaded to the computer’s local storage or home directory and played back through a Java-enabled browser as an interactive visual presentation
Fresco Designer 2.0 (Infoscape, Inc.) an enterprise development tool that lets developers quickly create and deploy high-performance enterprise apps that span many users, locations, and computing platforms
SpaceSQL and SpaceOLAP (Infospace, Inc.) SpaceSQL is an enterprise tool for Web-based decision support and data publishing that lets companies design and publish ad hoc queries to users through a Web browser, giving them instant access to dynamic ports, pivot tables, and interactive 2D and 3D Java charts; SpaceOLAP is an app for Web-based, online analytical processing that lets companies design and publish multidimensional data to users through a Web browser driven by a central, multithreaded Java server
EZ Text (ION Systems, Inc.) a Java applet that eliminates the need to scroll text, and with its mouse-click font sizing, lets users enlarge and modify text on their computers screens
Report request applet (IQ Software) enterprise reporting decision support tools
ObjectStore PSE Pro for Java (Object Design, Inc.) a database management system with a footprint of less than 300 kilobytes, this tool can be easily embedded in an applet, app, or servlet and will run on any Java-enabled browser or Web server
Seagate Crystal Reports v. 6.0 (Seagate Software) a new release of the desktop query and report writer with which developers and users can quickly create presentation-quality reports from more than 30 different data sources and distribute them via popular communication infrastructures, including the Internet and email
JNL (Visual Numerics, Inc.) this numerical library for Java extends core Java numerics to allow developers to seamlessly integrate linear algebra, vector, complex number, and basic statistical calculations into their Java apps
IE bug also affects Navigator
We mentioned in an earlier news brief (08-15-97) that Colorado programmer Ben Mesander discovered a flaw in the execution of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 3.x and 4.0 within the Java VM. The flaw, which happens under a specific set of circumstances, allows a Java applet to open a network connection to a server other than the one it came from. This type of connection is not allowed under the current Java security model. The flaw, says Mesander, also affects Netscape Navigator.
Netscape claimed the demo of the flaw on Mesander’s Web site is itself flawed and did not represent the Navigator browser. Netscape has now retracted that claim. Netscape officials noted that the flaw only permits access to sound and image files.
Mesander said, “They [Netscape] didn’t like my applet, but they acknowledged that it worked and that it demonstrated the bug.”
To activate the bug, a specific set of circumstances must be in place. You must use the URL of the targeted file to create an applet and corresponding code on the applet’s host server. Then the unsuspecting browser user must go to your Web site and download the applet. In addition, the user’s browser must be connected to a proxy server within a company firewall.
IBM readies next version of Java-based eNetwork
IBM is eNetwork Host on Demand 2.0 ready to go. Host on Demand 2.0 is Java-based software that allows users to connect to a mainframe via a Web browser. Version 2.0 can communicate with any standard telnet server over an IP connection. The software launches in its own window, so users can perform multiple tasks online or link to multiple hosts simultaneously.
The software will support IBM’s eNetwork Communications Servers, IntranetWare for SAA, and Web servers. It is expected to ship late in 1997, but pricing has not yet been set. Developers can get a beta version of the software at IBM’s site.
https://www.networking.ibm.com/ene/enethome.html
Apple says: No automatic endorsement of Microsoft Java
One of the questions for Java users about the recent Microsoft investment in Apple is: “What does this mean for Java on the Mac platform?” Apple officials have been making an effort to clear up Apple’s position.
Apple officials made it clear that Apple’s VM already supports Pure Java and will also support Microsoft Java in the future.
Will Iverson, Apple’s Java product manager, said, “Microsoft has been shooting themselves in the foot with their Java strategy. All of the Java developers for the Macintosh have been switching to the Macintosh Runtime for Java. There are no technical limitations to running Microsoft Java on the Mac, but [Microsoft Java] has no third-party applications and tools, because customers don’t want to be tied into Windows.”
Iverson added, “This does not mean we’re dropping anything from our Pure Java initiative.” He contends that with Apple’s current strategy (of fully supporting both versions), Mac users won’t have the same worries that Windows users have had. (Microsoft doesn’t intend to run Sun’s Java Foundation Classes in its Java VM.)
Earlier in the year, Microsoft product manager Tom Johnston discussed the possible problems of running Microsoft Java on Macintoshes (and also on Windows 3.1). “On the Windows 3.1 and Mac platforms, the lack of underlying functionality limits the amount that [the Microsoft Java VM] can do,” he said. “We’re always working to improve performance, but there are some limitations based on the underlying Mac platform — no threads, non-reentrant operating system calls, low memory and resources [so it can’t just-in-time compile], and slower CPU’s for 68-kilobyte machines.”
Access to Windows apps extremely important to NC users
Gartner Group analyst Neil MacDonald expects to see the field of Windows emulators — such as those from Citrix Systems, Insignia Corp., and now Microsoft — widen, but not quickly. He does, however, expect to see NC hardware vendors start adopting support for Windows applications to increase the allure of the network computer.
“There just aren’t many choices in terms of delivering Windows applications,” MacDonald said. Since Microsoft’s purchase of some Citrix technology to create a multi-user version of Windows NT, the market seems to be divided among Microsoft, Citrix, and Insignia.
“Having more options to connect to an NT server opens up the possibility of deploying network computers more broadly,” said David Bowser, a distributed information architect at Cummins Engine. He said Cummins is heavily focused on deploying Java-based applications and internally developed applications for NCs, but added that the company also would like to run Windows applications.
Compuserve and OpenConnect give users remote mainframe access
Compuserve Network Services and OpenConnect Systems are introducing a Java-enabled software/service package that allows easy access to SNA mainframe applications through the Internet. SNA stands for Systems Network Architecture — the networking protocol standard for IBM and IBM-compatible mainframes.
The package, OC://WebConnect Pro for Compuserve (WCP-CS), bundles two existing tools — Compuserve’s NT-Link remote-access tool and OpenConnect’s OC://WebConnect Pro SNA-Web integration software. With this package, users running Windows 95 or NT can dial into a central NT server and download the OpenConnect Java applet, which sets up a graphical or text session with the SNA host. WCP-CS delivers a secure, Java-enabled link to corporate mainframes for application and data file access. No change to the SNA architecture is required. And by using Java, no SNA-emulation package has to be set up on all the PCs that need access to the mainframe.
WCP-CS will be offered with Compuserve’s managed Internet offering in 50- and 100-user packages. Pricing was unavailable.
Kodak establishes direct customer Web sales with ATG’s Dynamo
Eastman Kodak is using Art Technology Group’s (ATG) Java-based Dynamo technology to launch its first consumer-focused e-commerce site, designed for online sales and marketing.
“ATG’s Dynamo technology provides a scalable platform Kodak can grow with as we seek to add future online commerce and one-to-one marketing capabilities,” said Judy Goonan, Kodak’s Internet commerce manager. Using ATG’s Dynamo Developer’s Kit application platform and Dynamo Retail Station storefront, Kodak has developed an open and scalable system that can be seamlessly integrated into its existing Web site.
Cummins ready for NCs
Cummins Engine Co. plans to replace about 8,000 terminals on its plant floors with thin client hardware. The company has broken its NC deployment plan into three steps, or “initiatives,” as Cummins technology integration manager Russell Beardall calls them.
According to Beardall, the first initiative is to replace terminals on the shop floor with NCs to provide Web access to Oracle manufacturing apps. The second initiative is to replace company PCs that are running only one or two applications. The final initiative will be to replace PCs on which hard drives can’t be justified.
Beardall insists that before he lets Cummins deploy NCs, “we need the technology to shake out a little more.” Also, he said he won’t consider buying an NC without flash ROM to help reduce bandwidth constrictions. The company currently is testing IBM’s NetworkStation and Sun’s JavaStation. So far, IBM is winning, but it’s not due to the hardware — it’s the two-year, two-upgrade NC lease IBM offers. “You don’t want to be on the last version of a machine,” said Beardall, “because there are going to be many iterations of NCs as they position themselves and take over a bigger share of PCs.”
NCs high on WalMart’s agenda
WalMart Retail Stores Inc. may replace up to 15,000 existing terminals with Web-ready thin clients for intranet connections. But before committing to network computers, the company is taking an interim step. The retailer has licensed MultiView Mascot 5.0 from JSB Corp. MultiView Mascot gives Unix-based terminals the ability to browse the Web.
Ray Johnston, WalMart IS strategy manager, said the company is not committed to NCs at this moment because it sees NC technology as being about a year away from market maturity. Other WalMart sources say WalMart’s NC hardware probably will come from Wyse Technologies — systems that will run either Sun’s JavaOS or Oracle’s NCIOS.
Java gets a serious nod from large corporate IS
A recent study by Zona Research indicates IS in large corporations has started taking Java (and the Internet and intranets) more seriously for business-critical applications, and that the decisions are coming from higher up in the organizations. The study also shows that many corporate and third-party developers believe Java offers programming productivity advantages over other languages; however, most developers said their Java development efforts tend to be isolated at the departmental level, not in business-critical applications.
John Chapman, of the architectures and planning group at Amoco, said his company is just beginning to see the effects Java can have on business applications. “Superficially, it looks attractive,” he said, “but we are not ready to make any formal commitment to it. There is a lot of money to be saved by deploying well-designed Java apps. It could resolve some of the PC issues.” But even with the healthy skepticism, the research shows that many large corporations are looking at Java closer than they ever have.
From this study, Zona researchers believe Java will continue to move into corporate applications. Zona chief analyst Clay Ryder said, “We can see that Java application deployment is positioned to grow dramatically over the next two years.”
Microsoft Visual J++ development kit shipping
Microsoft has released the Visual J++ Professional Edition development kit. The kit will allow Java developers to develop Java apps and also integrate their apps with ActiveX controls. In addition, the kit gives developers an environment to test their apps and make sure they conform to Sun’s Java logo program. In fact, according to product manager Hyer Bercaw, “There are 250 tests to ensure that applets comply. We’ve added 977 more to the Visual J++ kit.”
The Visual J++ kit comes bundled with:
- 320 pages of documentation
- Java class libraries from Object Space
- A 2D animation tool from Dimension X
- The Jamba animation tools from AimTech
- JDesigner Pro, an HTML-to-database linking technology, from BulletProof
The beta version has been available since July ’97, and more than 100,000 copies have been downloaded.
The kit will cost 9 through the end of 1997.
SAP, Intel join in e-commerce venture
SAP America and Intel announced they plan to form an equally funded company that will focus on developing low-cost, Internet-based, electronic-commerce systems. The company, drawing from SAP’s business-process software expertise and Intel’s logistics skills, will be called Pandesic LLC. USWeb will provide systems integration for the company.
Net-It Now eases the deployment of networked Java apps
Net-It Software just announced version 1.6 of Net-It Now, a software package that simplifies the deployment of Java applets across a network. Net-It Now uses the jDoc generation engine to convert existing document formats into the jDoc file format. These then can be delivered to and viewed on any Java-enabled browser by a jDoc player that is embedded in the jDoc document.
Net-It Now lets you share over a network interactive documents that look just the way you created them — especially if you use Windows office software (and what office doesn’t?). Net-It Software claims that with the new version of jDoc included in Net-It Now, this is the first Java-based product to support printing from the Java engines that are embedded in both current and earlier versions of the Netscape and Microsoft Web browsers.
With a few mouse clicks, users can add hyperlinks, buttons, and pop-up menus to documents. Net-It Now supports one-button upload to Web servers, and it includes support for Marimba’s Castanet and automatic updates of hyperlinks, so it’s easy to put your documents up and keep them up-to-date.
Net-It Now supports such Windows 95 and NT apps as Microsoft Office 97, Lotus SmartSuite, Corel WordPerfect, Visio, and Crystal Reports. The application includes more than 20 different style templates for smart link navigational buttons and supports BMP, GIF, and JPEG files with automatic compression. You can even preview the results locally in your Java browser.
For getting the document online, Net-It Now uses built-in FTP, or you can build directly to a mounted Web server. And you don’t have to know how to set up complex parameter files before uploading the file to a Castanet Transmitter.
“We chose Java for the delivery side of our technology because it goes anywhere,” said Net-It president Dennis Ryan. “This allows us to send interactive content.”
Net-It Now 1.6 is a free upgrade to all registered customers of Net-It Now. For first-time users on Windows 95 and NT systems, the single user pack costs 95 and comes with a user’s guide and CD pack. For workgroups, you can get a 3-user (99), 5-user (49), and 10-user (199) pack.
Sun applies for one of the first Java patents
Sun has applied for one of the first Java-specific patents, for “a dual-instruction-set processor [that] can decode and execute both code received from a network and other code supplied from a local memory. A computer system with [the] dual-instruction-set processor, local memory, and communication to a network can be optimized to execute Java code from the network and to execute non-Java code stored locally or on the network.”
Sun’s application is under review by the U.S. Patent Office.
Second volley lobbed in the Sun/Microsoft Java war
First, Apple chooses to include Microsoft Internet Explorer as the default browser on its new machines. Then, Microsoft officials said they would not be including Sun’s Java Foundation Classes (JFCs) on the Windows platform. Sun’s original response was a polite explanation that developers want “write once, run anywhere” Java, and that Microsoft and Apple know this. Well, the battle has continues on.
Microsoft officials claim Sun is using its licenser position to push Java to developers/licensees by including the JFCs in the JDK. Microsoft program manager Charles Fitzgerald put it this way: “We are not going to sit on the other side of the wall and ship whatever random stuff Sun throws over the wall. We have full discretion to ship what set of Java class libraries [Microsoft chooses], and we are going to exercise that discretion with the JFCs.”
Meanwhile, Sun maintains that Microsoft is contractually obligated to ship the JFCs when they appear in the next version of the JDK, scheduled for release later this year. JavaSoft’s corporate marketing director George Paolini said, “If they don’t [ship the JFCs], they will be in violation of the contract … and then they will be required to withdraw the many millions of [Java] virtual machines [that] are embedded in browsers on the market.” He went on to add that if Microsoft refused such a recall, Sun would consider legal action.
Microsoft’s Fitzgerald said his company most likely did not sign the standard Java licensing agreement.
Cool gets hot with Java app
Computron announced a Java-based Internet hotlink applet for its Cool report-archival application, which will allow users to access Cool-generated report archives with just their Web browsers. But it doesn’t stop there. With the applet, users can also drill down into the data and jump to related sites.
Cool with Java delivers a server that supports report recording, indexing, and accessing via a cabinet-to-folder-to-document graphical interface. And because users can access Cool files and information from their desktops, they can use the software with other desktop apps, such as e-mail, spreadsheets, and word processors. Cool with Java supports All Points Addressable (APA) formats, including IBM Advanced Function Printing and Xerox Metacode. The software gives users extensive indexing for rapid report analysis and a report viewer for presenting and manipulating line data or APA reports.
Cool supports Unix and LAN environments (but requires an NT server), as well as Windows, Motif, Macintosh, IBM Presentation Manager, character cell terminal, and block mode terminal desktops.
Cool with Java starts at 5,000 for a 10-user Windows NT license.
NCs and Java come to FedEx
Next year, Federal Express plans to replace thousands of 3270 terminals and PCs with network computers. And the company is creating a strategy to write internal applications in Java. The company started accepting bids the week of August 11, 1997, for procurement of 50,000 to 75,000 NCs.
FedEx plans to spend 5 million on its NC replacement project, but it hopes to recoup the costs by saving a projected 50 million a year (from not having to purchase, administer, and maintain PCs). The NCs are expected to run the “big four” applications — legacy mainframe, Java, Internet, and PC/office — at the company headquarters and branch offices.
FedEx CIO Dennis Jones said, “We can demonstrate the enormous business payoffs of the NC model. Java is our primary targeted application platform for internal apps. No internal application work is occurring for the client aside from Java development.” He added that moving toward the NC/Java model is “a natural extension of the way we’ve run our business. We’re a network-based company.”
NEC, Neoware (formerly HDS), NCD, Sun, and Wyse Technology are the companies being considered to deliver the NC devices.
SCO embraces the any-client-in-a-storm NC architecture
At the recent SCO Forum conference, SCO positioned its operating system extension, Tarantella, as an application server in an attempt to be more Windows-friendly and trumpet its use of Java. Tarantella will run on top of SCO’s UnixWare and Sun’s Solaris for Intel at first, to give Java clients access to Unix, mainframe, and NT applications.
“Microsoft believes in the Internet way of computing only to the degree that you have to have a Windows box,” said Mike Foster, SCO’s Unix systems marketing director. “They are very bound by their client strategy — Unix is not.”
SCO intends to release Tarantella sometime this year.
Lobbying for Java
The Java Developer’s Lobby is a group of people (277 members and counting) who “share a common interest in Java software development and the advancement of Java standards and software.” The goal of the Lobby is to represent the desires and concerns of Java developers to the companies and organizations with all the influence over Java’s direction.
The Lobby’s current plan of action is to:
- Establish an online forum for interested parties to express and discuss concerns
- Organize an online petition effort to expand support
- Conduct public relations campaigns to voice developer perspectives on Java
- Make vendors aware, directly, of developer concerns
- Foster an open dialog in newsgroups, mailing lists, and chat channels
- Provide online news and resources about Java-relevant issues
SGI chooses Visigenic’s IIOP/CORBA technology
Visigenic Software has licensed VisiBroker for Java and VisiBroker for C++ object-request broker (ORB) software to Silicon Graphics to be integrated into SGI’s future versions of the IRIX OS. This integration will give IRIX developers instant support for the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) and the native Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP).
Under the agreement, SGI will license and distribute fully functional runtime versions of VisiBroker with the Origin200 and Origin2000 servers and the O2, OCTANE, and Onyx2 workstations. VisiBroker will run on top of IRIX, so SGI clients can work in IRIX and in other Unix platforms on the enterprise level.
According to Bob Macdonald, Visigenic marketing VP, “The addition of IIOP capability to IRIX means Silicon Graphics users can now utilize both great Web technology and leading distributed object technology.”
Sybase’s Jaguar transaction server almost ready to ship
Sybase plans to ship its Jaguar CTS beta transaction server, Java development tool, and the next version of its database in the next two months. At the recent Windows NT Intranet Solutions show, CEO Mitchell Kertzman commented, “We have a phenomenally strong product cycle coming up. Almost everything is being refreshed.” He added that Sybase’s commitment to Java was still strong, but he didn’t feel that the technology was mature yet.
Kertzman said the company will also support Microsoft’s ActiveX and CORBA.
The new features in the beta refresh include:
- Support for native Java components in the server
- A wizard to import component definitions from Java classes, interfaces, and beans
- Java connection management for DBMS connectivity
- An API for delivering result sets from a Java component to the client
- Integration of Jaguar with the rest of the Sybase software
- Implementation of the $JAGUAR (rather than $SYBASE) environment variable
- A utility for migrating existing component definitions to the new release
- An enhanced Jaguar CTS Manager GUI and enhanced code generation
https://www.powersoft.com/products/jaguar/whatsnew.html
Scala takes Europe by storm with Citrix’s WinFrame
Scala ECE has joined Citrix Systems’ Solutions Network as a systems integrator. Scala will integrate Citrix’s WinFrame thin client/server system software into its own systems. WinFrame’s ICA allows applications to be centrally deployed across heterogeneous computing environments, regardless of user location, available bandwidth, client hardware, or operating platform.
Scala will offer customization, training, implementation, and support for WinFrame software in Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, Central Asia, the Balkans, and the Confederation of Independent States. Scala managing director Chris Houle said, “As a member of the Citrix Solutions Network, we can now offer our clients a cost-effective, reliable way to link back office systems with remote sites.”
Scala product director Laszlo Perenyi added that WinFrame will help many Scala customers because “in some emerging markets, many companies do not use very sophisticated hardware and do not have the resources needed to implement complex systems, such as financial management applications. With Citrix WinFrame thin-client/server software, smaller offices can now link their existing IT environment to Scala systems at their branch offices [in] three-quarter real time, online. Larger offices can integrate their remote business activities into one network, providing excellent response times and a high-performance level to their remote users.”
Paralogic’s Java-based chat software hits the 50,000-site mark
Paralogic’s Java-based ParaChat ad-supported chat network has licensed 50,000 chat sites. The company claims that its free chat software, ParaChat, is now in use on more Web sites than all of its competitors combined.
Paralogic president Vijay Vaidyanathan said, “This is more than just critical mass — we have far surpassed our wildest expectations for first-year usage of our product. Clearly, the fact that we are free and offer the easiest and most reliable installation of any chat software is striking a chord with users and Webmasters alike.”
The ParaChat client, which runs on any Java-enabled browser, doesn’t require a download or plug-ins, and it works across most firewalls. Paralogic hosts all 50,000 chat rooms on its own servers for free, and each licensee member site on the ParaChat Network allows Paralogic advertisers to place banners on each chat page for one minute per impression. Large customers can license the ParaChat server to run on their own servers. If you want an advertising-free chat room, the price starts at 0 a month.
Symantec’s new Visual Cafe supports JDK 1.1
Symantec’s new release of Visual Cafe for Java has been divided into three distinct lines and includes full support for JDK 1.1 (which adds a just-in-time compiler). The new release also supports JavaBeans libraries that provide plug-and-play capabilities among JavaBeans components, the ability to fix bugs in Netscape’s browser, and Sun’s Java Foundation Class libraries.
Visual Cafe for Java is composed of three tools — the Web Development Edition, the Professional Development Edition, and the Database Development Edition. The last two have the ability to compile Java source code using native executables and incremental debugging.
The Web Development Edition consists of the JDK 1.1, the Visual Page HTML Authoring Tool, and Netscape Communicator 4.0 client software. With the Professional Edition, developers can work with visual objects and compilers that accommodate both bytecode and native executables. And the Database Development Edition features the company’s dbAnywhere Workgroup Server, the ability to generate Java database connectivity code, and the ability to automatically make JFC-based components aware of databases.
The three versions of Visual Cafe for Java (Windows versions) will ship by the end of September ’97 with a Macintosh version coming about three weeks later. Prices are tentative, but are expected to be 9 (Web Development Edition), 99 (Professional Development Edition), and 99 (Database Development Edition).
Java reigns at Oracle now that Sedona is dead
Oracle has officially told its employees that Sedona is dead — to be replaced by Java and object technology. Sedona is (was) an object-oriented development platform for building, managing, and deploying components and NCA cartridges per industry standards. It consisted of a repository model that Oracle intended to become the replacement data model for Designer/2000.
“The good news is we don’t have to start from scratch. We have certain pieces, such as object modeling, and other pieces, such as Borland JBuilder, we have Java, and we have CORBA tools,” said Dennis Moore, product marketing VP for the tools division at Oracle. “The concepts we built for Sedona, the intellectual, capital and the patents will be applied across the entire toolset.”
Sedona was put on hold in June. The reason for the delay was that it didn’t have the support of people within Oracle, including the applications group. In addition, Sedona would have competed with Oracle’s main application development tool, Developer/2000.
ShowCase heralds Java OLAP Analyzer for the Web
ShowCase announced Analyzer for the Web — a Java-based, thin client, online analytic-processing (OLAP) business package that will provide users with a tool to easily extend and deploy data warehousing to globally distributed workers using intranets and extranets.
Analyzer is a Web-enabled version of the company’s native AS/400 Analyzer graphical data-analysis tool. By rebuilding the AS/400 version in Java, ShowCase said it was able to keep the functionality and familiar interface, while extending the number of platforms the Analyzer could reach.
Analyzer for the Web is a self-configuring, Web-delivered application built in Java 1.1 that allows easy access to up-to-date corporate information from any PC, workstation, terminal, or network computer connected to a corporate intranet. Every time users connect to a data warehouse via a browser, they receive transparent updates to the software and data. Analyzer permits dynamic, unlimited querying of the data warehouse, which leverages the warehouse host as an information server.
Some of Analyzer for the Web’s standard OLAP data-analysis features include:
- pivoting
- traffic-lighting
- sorting
- ranking
- filtering
- calculation of the information in the viewer
The software lets users create ad hoc reports on the fly, bouncing between spreadsheet and chart views, with no hard-coded HTML or CGI scripts. Analyzer users also may update data remotely, if the administrator permits.
Expect Analyzer for the Web early in the fourth quarter ’97 at a price of 95 per concurrent user.
SurfinShield Xtra goes on Macmillan’s Communicator CD
Macmillan Digital Publishing USA (MDP USA) will offer Finjan’s Java and ActiveX security tool — SurfinShield Xtra — in its Internet Utilities for Netscape Communicator CD-ROMs, which it began shipping the week of August 18.
SurfinShield Xtra offers additional security to Communicator by monitoring, displaying, and logging Java applets or ActiveX controls that try to run on the desktop in real time. Desktop users can decide what types of activities Java and ActiveX elements are allowed to carry out. They can kill any applet they feel breaches their security. Xtra comes with a database of known hostile applets.
“By adding Finjan’s SurfinShield Xtra to MDP’s Internet Utilities for Netscape Communicator, we allow our customers to avail themselves of the latest cutting-edge Java and ActiveX security technology,” said Douglas S. Bennett, president of MDP USA.
- https://www.finjan.com/Products/
Luckman Interactive and BSDI develop ISP management software system
Luckman Interactive has announced a Java-based ISP management suite for Berkeley Software Design’s BSDI PC-system software platform. The two companies will co-market Luckman’s ISP Connect 2.0 and its new ISP Connect Billing and Customer Service software as turnkey products for ISPs.
ISP Connect 2.0 consists of several software modules, including Web Register (for electronic registration), Connect Billing, Customer Service, and Net Commander. Web Register allows ISPs to register customers online automatically. The program integrates with minimal set-up time and without additional telecom equipment. Web Register also offers tracking abilities.
The ISP Connect Billing and Customer Service modules include:
- Automatic calculation of customer charges
- Automatic collection via checking account withdrawal and credit card
- Support for one-time charges, periodic fixed charges, and periodic usage-based charges
- Automatic generation of billing statements via e-mail or post
- Customer problem tracking
- Tracking of time online, disk space used, and Web traffic
ISP Connect Billing and Customer Service package is Windows-based and designed to integrate with both NT and Unix servers. It maintains a relational database containing the ISP’s system usage, accounts receivable, and customer service information, and can interface with common database packages, such as Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or Sybase. It also can link to Microsoft Excel and accounting packages such as Intuit’s Quicken and Peachtree Accounting. And new components are planned, such as a fax service, mail service, chat service, and full authentication/verification services.
Net Commander is a suite of access programs for the Internet. The Net Commander software suite includes Web Register’s wizard-driven client component, and is fully customizable to provide a specific ISP brand.
Pricing is dependent upon configuration.
Diba’s ISP program could affect more than 10 million subscribers
Sun’s newest acquisition, Diba, has announced that more than 25 ISPs have joined the Diba ISP Certification Program, which started on June 9, 1997. The program tests Internet services and verifies them as compatible with Diba’s Information Appliance software platform. The program is open to all ISPs that want to deliver Internet services to Information Appliances, such as Internet TVs, set-top boxes, cable and satellite boxes, and smart phones.
Members of the program include:
- Ameritech
- BC TEL Interactive’s Sympatico
- Epoch Internet
- MCI
- MindSpring Enterprises
- Prodigy Internet
- Sprint Internet Passport
- UUNET Technologies
- Demon Internet Ltd. (UK)
- I-Way (UK)
- Superonline (Turkey)
- Telenordia Internet (Sweden)
- Net-TV (Sweden)
- Telia Internet (Sweden)
- Telecom Finland (Finland)
- Tele Danmark
Combined, these companies provide direct Internet access to more than 10 million subscribers.
“Our relationship with Diba will help Sprint Internet Passport deliver easy, reliable Internet access through a variety of exciting new devices,” said Douglas Hartung, Sprint business development manager. “This is the type of technology that will enable more people than ever before to take advantage of the Internet — even without a traditional computer connection.”
Mark Schnarr, VP and general manager of BC TEL Interactive of British Columbia, said, “The Information Appliance market is a significant business opportunity for all ISPs. In BC, consumers of these new devices want highly accessible and affordable Internet access that supports a variety of different appliances, and we fully intend to provide them with the flexibility and consolidated service they want.”
Kinetoscope builds a Java intelligent agent toolkit
At the Java Internet Business Expo in NYC, Kinetoscope announced a toolkit for building Java software robots and messengers, called the Versatile Intelligent Agent (VIA). The kit contains prebuilt Java and HTML agents that run and are managed in the VIA Agent Manager on a Java-enabled Web server. The agents can execute assigned search-and-retrieval tasks across the Internet and intranets, enter databases, and dispatch e-mail, paging alerts, and faxes.
VIA complies with JDK 1.1 and has an intelligent rollover feature that allows the software to follow people to different locations. Several companies are (re)designing their products around the VIA system.
Real-Time Knowledge Systems is developing the next generation of its Crush strategic planning software around VIA. Crush allows executives to calculate marketshare and trends. The new version is called Crush for Workgroups, and it will work like a dynamic spreadsheet fed by VIA agents. Real-Time president and CTO Randy Hain says that VIA Java agents are not like regular Web searchers because the VIA agents not only bring back data, but they can be programmed to filter it, display it, or update a database with it.
Schlumberger has started a project in which Kinetoscope is developing a server-based distributed knowledge database to let authorized employees use e-mail to submit and extract information. Queries would go to a mail-to-Web gateway in which search agents inside the servers could locate the relevant information.
Beamscope Canada distributes HW the Java way
For two months now, Beamscope Canada has been allowing retail stores onto their virtual property (corporate intranet) to place online orders for video games and computer hardware. All these buyers need is a Java-capable browser. About 500 stores have been slipping through Beamscope’s firewall (with permission) to browse the company’s catalog, place orders, and track their orders, 24 hours a day.
The key to this process is an unnamed server-based Java application from Ironside Technologies. The app runs on an AS/400 server and acts as a front end to the company’s Censys program — Beamscope’s supply chain management system software from Cantoc Business Systems. The Censys system automatically confirms the order, runs a credit check, and locks out orders from slow-paying or balance-overdue clients.
The online buyer uses an encrypted password and ID to log in, then the Java applet downloads to the browser. The applet is the interface to the company’s management system. Beamscope hopes this will reduce transaction-related costs that come from telephone orders, which normally involve the service rep or sales associate checking inventory, entering the order, and finding out where the order is in the process when the customer requests it. Using the Ironside app, customers can perform most of these actions themselves.
Jim Jameson, Beamscope executive VP and COO, said that since Beamscope has put the new system in place, customers appear to be placing bigger orders through the Java applet than they did through telephone reps. “It may be they feel they are getting more product information, such as info on special promotions,” he said. And even though Jameson said that Java-based Internet technology makes it easier to sell directly to the consumer, he emphasized that “Right now, it’s not our intent to compete with our resellers.”
The Ironside Java app works with Censys, SAP, AG, and other enterprise business systems. The current version is based on the JDK 1.02 specification, with expectations of a JDK 1.1 version in February 1998.
Persoft’s Persona Web-to-host product line now Java-certified
Persoft has announced that its Persona line of Web-to-host intranet products has been certified as 100% Pure Java. Persona uses a Windows NT server and a Java thin client to provide users secure access to information on mainframes, AS/400, Unix/Digital, and other host systems through any Java-capable Web browser.
“We are delighted that our Persona Web-to-host solutions have received the 100% Pure Java certification,” said Mike Stevens, Persoft director of product management. “This designation ensures desktop platform independence, which eliminates the risk for our customers who are looking for a solution that supports their current environment, as well as the new technologies they are evaluating, such as Network Computers and Network PCs. Persona’s unique hyperlink implementation provides the same intuitive, point-and-click access to business information that has made the Web browser so successful.”
Because Persona products are 100% pure, they contain no native methods, use the core Java API specs, and do not alter the core Java API. Persona’s line, which consists of Persona Entry and Persona Insight, uses a Java thin client and intuitive browser to reduce business costs in the areas of desktop administration, training, and hardware. The thin client aspect means that Persona clients require near-zero administration when it comes to installation, configuration, and version control. The intuitive browser allows users to get up to speed on the system quickly. And the platform-independence of Persona products allows machine-purchase costs to be held to a minimum without losing capabilities.
Pricing is dependent on configuration.
Virtual tour of KeyLabs
KeyLabs is the testing company chosen to administer and certify vendor products for the 100% Pure Java Certification program. Its job is to help developers qualify their products to get the 100% Pure Java logo, which means that the software will be truly “write once, run anywhere.” Not only does KeyLabs certify products, it also provides consultant services to help developers reach the level necessary for certification.
The test bed available at Key Labs is quite extensive.
Hardware:
- IBM ThinkPad 760ED
- IBM PC 350 running OS/2 Warp 4.0, OS/2 Warp Server 4.0
- IBM PC 750 running OS/2 Warp 4.0, OS/2 Warp Server 4.0
- IBM PC Server 320 running OS/2 Warp 4.0, OS/2 Warp Server 4.0
- IBM Series 300GCX Network Station
- IBM RS/6000 running AIX version 4.2
- Apple Power Macintosh 8500/150 running Mac OS 7.6
- Sun SPARC station 20 running Solaris 2.5.1
- Sun JavaStation running JavaOS 1.0
- Novell Dell PowerEdge Server 2100/200 running Novell NetWare 4.11
Software (JDK version):
- Apple Mac OS 7.6 (1.0.2)
- IBM OS/2 Warp 4.0 (1.0.2)
- IBM OS/2 Warp Server 4.0 (1.0.2)
- IBM AIX (1.0.2, 1.1.1)
- Microsoft Windows 95 (1.0.2, 1.1.1)
- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 (1.0.2, 1.1.1)
- Novell NetWare 4.11 (1.0.2)
- Sun Solaris 2.5.1 (1.0.2, 1.1.1)
- Sun JavaOS 1.0 (1.0.2, 1.1.1)
KeyLabs also offers documentation to get developers started. Developers can pick up a copy of the 100% Pure Java Certification Guide Rev 1.0, with instructions on how to get Java software certified. The guide includes:
- An introduction and overview of the process
- A detailed step-by-step walk through the process
- Assurance process instructions
- Problem resolution procedures
- Five appendices, including:
- Reference Java Platforms
- Exit Criteria Checklist
- Certification Package Contents
- Verification Package Contents
- Explanations for Purity Problems
Developers also can grab the companion, 100% Pure Java Cookbook: Rules and Hints for Maximizing the Portability of Java Programs.
The cookbook helps developers achieve maximum potential with their Java programs by explaining the important difference between merely writing in Java and writing effective and extremely portable Java programs. The guide defines 100% Pure Java and provides the rules for compliance with the program. It also provides practical hints and workarounds for the most common portability pitfalls.
- 100% Pure Java Certification Guide: https://www.suntest.com/100percent/cpd/doc/pjcg/pjcg-1.html
100% Pure Java Cookbook: https://www.suntest.com/100percent/cpd/doc/cbook/cookbook.html
