News and New Product Briefs (May 18, 2000)

INDEXHEAD: Microware improves PersonalJava for OS-9

Microware has enhanced its PersonalJava Solutions for OS-9 by adding multiwindow support and a Java Profiler Interface, and giving it a smaller footprint. The software consists of an application framework used by the Java Abstract Windowing Toolkit, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and the OS-9 Java Code Compact for diskless devices. It targets Java developers creating embedded applications for smart handheld and cellular devices, digital TV, and Internet appliances.

With OS-9, developers can download Java classes from a central location to compatible devices and then develop plug-ins in C++, C, or assembly languages. The plug-ins can then be downloaded to a device via wireless or wired networks. Using OS-9’s Java Profiler Interface, tools can interact with Java and review the performance of Java applications. PersonalJava for OS-9 also offers power management capabilities and support for most plug-ins.

INDEXHEAD: Oracle kicks off iDevelop2000 world tour

Oracle was scheduled to launch a 23-city Oracle iDevelop2000 conference series on May 16 at the company’s Redwood Shores, Calif., campus. The second annual conference features sessions on creating e-business applications using Oracle software. The conference is organized into four tracks: Oracle8i, e-business portals, the e-business fast track, and e-business applications in XML and Java. The conference also offers a variety of hands-on sessions.

The Oracle iDevelop2000 conference series tours throughout the world until the end of November 2000. For more information on registration, locations, and dates, check out:

INDEXHEAD: Jacada Innovator transforms mainframe apps into thin-client solutions

Jacada is now shipping Jacada Innovator, which helps RPG and COBOL developers build wireless and Internet applications. Jacada Innovator supplies a thin-client architecture in which applications in RPG, COBOL, and other languages blend with thin clients in HTML, Java, or wireless interface code. Jacada Innovator can also be used to transform AS/400 and mainframe applications into thin-client offerings. Organizations can thus redeploy legacy applications as thin-client solutions without green screens.

To transform existing applications from text-based 3270 and 5250 green-screen applications, developers first use the Automated Conversion Environment to create HTML, Java, or wireless graphical screen designs from text-based display maps. They then use the Jacada Innovator Translator to automate the review and revision of existing RPG and COBOL code. This step exchanges host-specific display instructions with links to the Jacada Innovator API.

Pricing for the Jacada Innovator SDK starts at 0,000. The pricing for runtime environments depends on the number of users.

INDEXHEAD: Proj-Net 2.1 manages projects via the Web

Rational Concepts has released Proj-Net 2.1, a Web-based project-management application that integrates with Microsoft Office 2000 and allows users to create personalized Websites. The customized Website feature supports graphics, sound, and personal links, and it can be placed in a project or document file. Version 2.1 also helps developers obtain a comprehensive view of a project by organizing the information of all file types and formats in a single view.

Proj-Net 2.1 can coordinate individual and enterprise projects. Websites can be established by individuals or teams to encompass the entirety of a project, including voice messages, links, and progress. Users can also create database tables — which they can use to coordinate and collaborate on a project’s deliveries, requirements, and commitments — and link them to a project schedule.

INDEXHEAD: Sun updates J2SE

Sun Microsystems has released its first upgrade to the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE technology.) Version 1.3 is expected to speed Java’s client-side performance by moving the HotSpot virtual machine to the desktop.

J2SE version 1.3 offers the following new features:

• Java HotSpot Client VM and libraries that improve client-side J2SE 1.3 performance
• Applet caching and Java Optional Package installation via a Java plug-in technology that speeds Web deployment
• Java sound
• Enhanced security measures that support dynamic trust management, RSA electronic signing, X.509 certificates, and the verification of Netscape-signed files
• Java Naming and Directory Interface and RMI-IIOP, which improve enterprise interoperability

Source code for the J2SE technology can be downloaded for no charge from Sun’s Community Source Licensing (SCSL) program.

INDEXHEAD: Tivoli NetView adds Java-based console

Tivoli Systems has updated the Tivoli NetView network management tool with a new Web client and additional reporting capabilities. The Java-based console manages Tivoli NetView information from any location on a network. The Web client provides information on object collections, node status, and events as well as realtime diagnostics that start from the Tivoli NetView server.

NetView also offers a new Router Fault Isolation feature that helps administrators locate defective hardware before error messages are sent. The component identifies the faulty router and displays information about the problem and the device. Another addition is the Location Sensitive Topology, which generates topological views that incorporate hierarchical, geographic, and priority information about a network. The application’s open architecture then lets administrators incorporate topology information from other element managers so that a number of network resources can be managed from a single console.

Tivoli NetView has also updated SmartSets, previously dubbed Object Collections, so that administrators can now dynamically organize resources according to characteristics such as location or resource type.

Pricing for Tivoli NetView 6.0 varies based on the complexity of a network and network size.

INDEXHEAD: OpenConnect adds J2EE support

OpenConnect plans to support Sun Microsystems’ J2EE specification with the release of its OC://WebConnect Enterprise Integration Connector (EIC) for Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB). The J2EE technology can generate transaction objects containing business processes, without Java code. Sun’s J2EE standard also ships with extensions that support EJBs, so OpenConnect’s EIC can exchange information with legacy applications.

The EIC technology relies on OpenConnect’s Network Callable Transactions architecture to connect legacy software systems with Web applications. The connection helps developers avoid massive reengineering efforts because applications can obtain data as components. The EIC technology also enables developers to create multiple logical transactions at deployment, which means the EJBs are better able to reflect the underlying business processes being accessed. Adding J2EE and EJB support to EIC makes the application compatible with iPlanet, BEA WebLogic, Oracle, IBM WebSphere, and other J2EE-compliant EJB systems.

INDEXHEAD: ResQ/ME rescues legacy apps for wireless devices

ResQNet.com has introduced ResQ/ME (Results Quickly, Mobile Express), a wireless host solution that enables wireless devices to access AS/400 and mainframe applications. ResQ/ME relies on ResQNet.com’s interface rejuvenation technology and requires no scripting or programming. The Java-based solution can be deployed on hardware platforms that support Java-based servlets. Since it is installed on the AS/400 or mainframe system, it is capable of supporting many online wireless users. ResQ/ME requires no changes to existing host applications.

ResQ/ME’s wireless enablement technology graphically displays host screens and, using the Palm user interface guidelines, adds links and hot spots. ResQ/ME is compatible with many servers, including Bluestone’s Sapphire/Web, IBM’s WebSphere, the Netscape Application Server, and NetDynamics from Sun.

ResQ/ME is expected to be shipped during the second quarter of 2000.

INDEXHEAD: SafeWord Plus secures PKI apps

Secure Computing has unveiled SafeWord Plus, a secure access control application for public key infrastructure (PKI). The out-of-box solution goes beyond traditional authentication, authorization, and accountability capabilities with a SafeWord Plus Web Access Agent. This agent relies on PKI to secure and verify access to Websites. Other PKI-oriented features include a Virtual Smart Card Server that lets businesses implement strong authentication programs without distributing software clients for certificate processing and without requiring smart card readers. The SafeWord Plus Enrollment Server can sign up users using either a standard IT administrator-based approach or a Web-based user-completed form.

SafeWord Plus is installed and configured from a Java-based management console and ships with an LDAP directory from either Novell or Netscape. SafeWord Plus should be available in June 2000. Pricing depends on the number of installed user seats. A Password Management edition of SafeWord Plus is also available if an organization only needs assistance managing passwords across multiple locations. Pricing for the Password Management edition is dependent on volume.

INDEXHEAD: InCharge 3.2 finds problems before they happen

System Management ARTS (SMARTS) has updated its InCharge automated management application to version 3.2. InCharge 3.2 performs realtime analyses of standard network problems in an effort to correct those problems before the system is affected. The solution offers a Java-based, graphical configuration console to help administrators install the software. Version 3.2 can identify more than 100 fundamental problems and can provide early notification of exceptions that may become problems. The software contains default settings for management devices, though administrators can tailor the settings to meet their needs.

InCharge automatically identifies managed objects at the IP layer, layer 2, and the application layer. It also identifies connections between those layers and saves that knowledge in a CIM-based in-memory data model. By running CodeBook Correlation on the data, InCharge 3.2 can evaluate the cause-and-effect relationships between system and application objects, and state and events in a related network.

Pricing for InCharge 3.2 starts at 5,000.

INDEXHEAD: Sun loses round in Java copyright battle

A federal judge dismissed Sun’s copyright-infringement suit against Microsoft, ruling that Microsoft’s use of Sun’s Java technology is a contractual issue, not one of illegal licensing. Sun may still have its day in court, as its breach-of-contract suit remains pending.

Sun sued Microsoft for developing a Windows-only version of its Java technology, claiming that the Microsoft virtual machine is not compatible with Sun’s Java. According to Sun officials, this forces developers to create Java applications that function only on Microsoft’s Windows environment, thus eliminating the entire purpose of the Java “write once, run anywhere” environment and violating Sun’s licensing agreement.

For more information about Microsoft:

For more information about Sun:

INDEXHEAD: Greenbrier & Russel add client-side Java programming course

Greenbrier & Russel has expanded its Java curriculum with the addition of Client-Side Java Programming,, which will help students learn GUI development using Java. The two-day course provides an overview of Java and then covers Swing events, components and Swing containers, model/view/controller architecture, and advanced Swing elements.

The classes are held at the Greenbrier & Russel training facilities in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Source: www.infoworld.com