Java Product News (December 21, 2000)
INDEXHEAD: Sun unveils Forte for Java, release 2.0
Sun Microsystems’s updated Forte for Java, its cross-platform development environment, relies on an open source framework that allows developers to create applications using a modular design. Release 2.0 also lets developers add capabilities as an organization’s needs increase. Forte for Java’s new features include:
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JDO-based transparent persistence, which enables developers to obtain information from relational databases via Java programming techniques
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Support for JavaServer Pages software development and debugging
- Forte TeamWare, a source code control system that facilitates the management of source code
Forte for Java 2.0 comes in two versions. The Community Edition provides developers with a Java IDE for creating applets, Java clients, JavaBeans, and standalone applications. The Internet Edition expands upon the Community Edition by supporting developers who are writing database-aware Web applications.
Forte for Java, release 2.0, will ship in January 2001. The Community Edition is free; the Internet Edition costs 95. Both offerings will be available for Linux, Windows, and Solaris platforms.
INDEXHEAD: BEA updates WebLogic Server
BEA WebLogic Server 6.0, BEA Systems’s updated Java application server, offers a distributed transaction engine that allows users to create and distribute transaction-intensive applications based on J2EE standards. The transaction engine is an extension of BEA’s Tuxedo transaction management software. Other features of the WebLogic Server 6.0 include:
- A Web-based management console that relies on the Java Management Extensions (JMX) framework and allows IT administrators to manage servers via the Internet
- Improved XML features that facilitate enterprise application integration, B2B integration, and content presentation services
- Integrated messaging system that relies on the Java Messaging Service (JMS)
- EJB 2.0 support
- J2EE compatibility
BEA WebLogic Server 6.0 should be available by mid-December 2000.
INDEXHEAD: Table Lens Server dishes up interactive data
Inxight Software has unveiled Table Lens Server 2.0, a Java version of its Table Lens technology. The Java API allows Web developers to incorporate the Table Lens technology into Websites; this lets visitors see and interact with large amounts of data and tables. That, in turn, helps users discover patterns, explanations, and correlations they may not have found by viewing the data in a standard format. The Table Lens Server deploys Table Lens applets to a site. Version 2.0 also:
- Supports Java 1.1 and 1.2 on a variety of platforms
- Facilitates the linking of table values to other documents via URLs
- Permits the publication of datasets to Websites, so users can visually view information
INDEXHEAD: Sun and JCP set specs for Java Management Extensions
Sun Microsystems and the Java Community Process’s (JCP) Expert Group for Java Management Extensions (JMX) have released the JMX Agent 1.0 and JMX Instrumentation 1.0 specifications. Both technology kits contain a reference implementation, a specification, and a technology compatibility kit (TCK). The JMX Instrumentation specification establishes a standard for identifying resource types — including data structures, devices, network components, applications, and services. Once those components have been identified, JMX-based applications manage them. The JMX Agent APIs help services and resources work together using the JMX architecture.
INDEXHEAD: PointBase incorporates SyncML into UniSync offering
PointBase will ship its UniSync technology with built-in SyncML capabilities to help developers and manufacturers develop SyncML-compatible services and offerings. UniSync synchronizes data between PointBase databases and enterprise data sources. SyncML is an industrywide data-synchronization standard that will be available in late December 2000. The SyncML effort was initiated in spring 2000 by IBM, Motorola, Ericsson, Lotus, Nokia, Starfish Software, Palm, and Psion. The standard relies on MIME, XML, the iCalendar, and the vCard to facilitate interoperability among devices and systems. The updated UniSync product will provide developers with remote and local data synchronization for SyncML-compatible offerings.
INDEXHEAD: Progress enhances e-business messaging with SonicMQ
Progress Software has introduced SonicMQ 3.0, an e-business messaging server that targets the messaging middleware market. The new version offers a Dynamic Routing Architecture (DRA) that provides the following features:
- Scalability to support thousands of connections
- Interbroker Clustering, which lets numerous SonicMQ servers act as a single unit
- Enhanced security that allows certificate-based mutual authentication and full access control for client-to-server and server-to-server transactions
- Concurrent transacted memory cache
- Support of Java Messaging Service, TCP/IP, SSL, and HTTP
SonicMQ 3.0 now ships in three versions. The Developer Edition is a free download that allows developers to create and evaluate simple messaging applications. The Professional Developer Edition costs ,200 per user and is suited for more complicated development and testing needs. The SonicMQ E-Business Edition is priced at ,000 per CPU and provides organizations with a full-featured version suitable for deployment.
INDEXHEAD: QLogic incorporates Jiro into Fibre Channel SANbox switches
QLogic will release Jiro-enabled SANbox switches in the first quarter of 2001. Jiro technology relies on the Java 2 platform and provides developers with an open set of APIs for creating storage management solutions for mixed environments. QLogic plans to incorporate their Jiro technology management facade into their Fibre Channel switch offerings so they are readily compatible with Jiro-enabled environments. This strategy also lets Jiro-enabled management offerings manage and review QLogic SANbox switches in realtime.
INDEXHEAD: TowerJ Java VM deploys Java apps on Itanium processors
Tower Technology has introduced a TowerJ Java Virtual Machine (Java VM) specifically designed for Intel’s Itanium processors. The TowerJ Java VM was designed as an ideal platform for deploying Java-based applications, and the Itanium architecture is expected to optimize those applications’ performance. The TowerJ Java VM post-compiles Java byte code into native executables that can then be continually updated by TowerJ.
The TowerJ Java VM for Intel Itanium servers will be available in the first quarter of 2001.
INDEXHEAD: Software AG accelerates application communication with SOAP
Software AG has incorporated Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) support into its Tamino X-Bridge and EntireX offerings. SOAP relies on XML technology to help determine messaging formats and assist communication between different methodologies. The SOAP support is expected to help Software AG’s XML-oriented products offer faster communications with distributed applications. Specifically, it will improve interactions between different application elements and object architectures, such as online credit card purchases.
Software AG’s EntireX middleware application acts as an XML wrapper that transforms SOAP-based calls into standard Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs), allowing communication with existing applications. Tamino X-Bridge, Software AG’s Tamino XML Platform middleware, relies on user-established rules to send incoming XML documents to the proper applications.
INDEXHEAD: Oracle helps developers add media features to Internet applications
Oracle debuted its Oracle Media Developer’s Kit (MDK) for Java at the Oracle9i Application Development Showcase. The application provides techniques, tools, and examples for helping developers incorporate image, audio, and video files into Java applications for the Oracle9i platform. The Oracle MDK for Java was originally part of Oracle8i’s interMedia feature, which allowed the database to coordinate and combine images, text, documents, audio, and video with standard business data.
You can download the Oracle MDK for Java at no charge.
INDEXHEAD: BEA launches Weblogic Process Integrator 1.2
BEA Systems’s WebLogic Process Integrator 1.2, a J2EE-based process engine, develops and automates business processes that cover a variety of platforms, applications, and technologies. The application helps organizations integrate BEA’s WebLogic Server with back-end systems. The BEA WebLogic Process Integrator provides a graphical modeling environment that allows business users to create and revise e-business processes and rehearse real-world interactions. A flowchart model helps users establish business processes. Release 1.2 preserves each process instance, which enables users to monitor execution status and modify processes to improve efficiency and operational abilities. The BEA WebLogic Process Integrator also works in conjunction with the BEA WebLogic Java Adapter for Mainframe, which allows organizations to incorporate legacy systems into the e-business architecture.
BEA WebLogic Process Integrator 1.2 will be available in mid-December 2000.
INDEXHEAD: Clue in to HTML pages on any platform with Clue Web Browser
NetClue has released version 3.1 of its Clue Web Browser Components (WBC). Developers can embed the Java-based Clue WBC into Java applications to allow users to display and review HTML documents on a variety of platforms. This design bypasses compatibility issues associated with Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Clue WBC can function within applets or as an independent application. It supports JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, DOM, and HTTP 1.1.
The Clue WBC 3.1 is available in three versions. The Standard Edition costs 95, the Professional Edition costs 95, and the Premium Edition costs 95.
