Aug 92 Newsbits
Volume Number: 8
Issue Number: 4
Column Tag: Newsbits
By Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief
Apple & Symantec announce Bedrock!
NEW YORK-June 23, 1992-Symantec Corporation and Apple Computer, Inc.
today announced a development and marketing agreement to provide a cross-platform
application framework for Apple® Macintosh® computers and Microsoft®
Windows®-based PCs. The agreement is designed to aid commercial and corporate
software developers in quickly creating new applications for multiple desktop
computing platforms.
Symantec will provide the cross-platform application framework-known as the
Bedrock™ framework-that it is currently using internally to develop applications for
Apple Macintosh computers and Microsoft Windows. Symantec will leverage Apple
engineering resources and Apple’s current object-oriented framework technology,
MacApp®. Both Apple and Symantec will use the Bedrock framework technology
internally, and work together to support the developer community’s transition to the
Bedrock framework.
The bedrock technology will be available commercially in the first half of 1993
on Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, with future versions supporting other
desktop platforms such as IBM OS/2, UNIX and Microsoft NT. The product will be
available internationally through both Apple and Symantec distribution channels.
Information on Symantec Corporation and its products can be obtained by calling:
(800) 441-7234 or (408) 252-3570.
[See the Editor’s Page for more on this topic. - Ed.]
New Inside Macintosh!
and Addison Wesley’s Round of Updates
It’s no secret that Addison-Wesley has been working on the New Inside Macintosh
Series for some time. The series will be completely reorganized, designed to be easily
updated, and will include much more information than the current edition. The first
three titles, Files, Memory and Processes, will be available in time for MacWorld
Boston in August.
Macintosh C Programming Primer, Volume I has now entered its second edition.
This is the excellent book by Dave Mark, the MacTutor Regular Contributing Author of
our Getting Started column. The second edition now covers System 7, THINK C 5.0, and
ResEdit. Suggested retail is $26.95. If you are a C programmer on the Macintosh, this
book is a must!
Programmer’s Guide to MPW, Volume II is the newest book in the Macintosh
Inside Out series. This book is the companion to Volume I. Volume II examines the tools
and programming languages designed to be used with MPW and discusses
object-oriented tools and techniques. The tools described in depth include the MPW
Pascal and C compilers, the MPW assembler, and the SADE and MacsBug debuggers.
Four chapters are devoted entirely to object-oriented programming and cover MPW
Object Pascal, MPW C++, and MacApp.
For more information on all of these books, contact Addison-Wesley Publishing,
1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867, 617/944-3700.
Assembly Language Book
D.C. Heath and Company is now shipping Assembly Language and Systems
Programming for the M68000 Family. This second edition by William Ford and
William Topp discuss the heart of the Macintosh, the Motorola 68000 processor at its
native level. This book addresses the M68000 on all levels from the processor as a
CPU to a peripheral control chip.
For more information, conact D.C. Heath and Company at 125 Spring Street,
Lexington, MA 02173, 800/428-8071.
FaceWare announces CommControl
The CommControl module from FaceWare has been upgraded to version 2.1.
CommControl supports instant, plug-in communications controls (i.e., terminal
views) in ViewIt windows (ViewIt is an advanced window designer and manager from
FaceWare). CommControl provides a remarkably simple interface to the services
provided by Apple’s Macintosh Communications Toolbox and the Basic Connectivity Set
of communications tools (included with CommControl). Both program-based and
user-oriented tool selection and configuration is supported, as well as direct commands
for input/output. Version 2.1 supports use of Connection and File Transfer tools
without a Terminal tool so that I/O can be directed to any window.
For more information, contact FaceWare, 1310 N. Broadway, Urbana, IL
61801, 217/328-5842, AppleLink: D1323.
GCS Compressor Engine Gets You Compressed!
Puyallup, Washington - June 24, 1992: Glen Canyon Software, Inc. today
released GCS Compressor Engine, a new compression API and library for Macintosh
developers to include advanced compression technology in any Mac application. This
compliments, GCS Compressor, the premier compression mechanism for Apple’s
Installer utility, that has been available to developers for the past year.
GCS Compressor technology beats all competing technologies for compression. Its
multiple-algorithm approach allows developers to optimize file compression for speed,
or for space, as required on individual files and in developer-specified length buffers.
GCS Compressor Engine gives developers a flexible, scalable means to
incorporate compression into applications in whatever manner is appropriate under
their circumstances. No longer does compression have to be tied to the Resource
Manager, or specific environments. GCS Compressor Engine empowers developers to
bring data compression into everyday applications.
GCS Compressor Engine licenses are available for $3750. This includes a year’s
free updates, and 24-hour technical support. This license allows a developer to
incorporate compression in any number of applications and for unlimited distribution.
The only restriction is that compression cannot be made available to customers other
than through the developer’s application. Interfaces are provided in MPW and Think C
and Pascal. Other interfaces will be available soon.
For more information, contact Glen Canyon Software, Inc., P.O.Box 73044,
Puyallup, Washington 98373, 800-477-6947, 206-845-8299, or
206-841-7694/Fax, AppleLink: GLENCANYON.
C++ and Object-Oriented CASE Tool
If you are already taking advantage of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), you
may want to consider our CASE tools, e specially ObjectModeler™. ObjectModeler
supports object-oriented analysis (OOA), object-oriented design (OOD) and OOP. It has
full multi-user capability, providing concurrent network access to the data
repository. The OOA method developed by Peter Coad and Ed Yourdon is supported. Class
and object diagrams for OOD are supported with method developed by Grady Booch. In
addition OOP support is provided with integrated C++ and other language sensitive
editors. It's multi-user capability enables concurrent repository access with collision
detection, access controls down to the individual dictionary entry and powerful global
functions across the network.
ObjectModeler is just one of ten Iconix CASE PowerTools™ modules. The ten
modules are used to support a wide range of development methodologies; structured,
real-time, data driven, hybrid O-O and fully OO.
For more information, contact Iconix Software Engineering, Inc., 2800 28th St.,
Suite #320, Santa Monica, CA 90405, Phone: 310-458-0092, Fax:
310-396-3454, AppleLink: D0463
4D Client-Server Development Tool
Metropolis Software, Inc. is now shipping MSI Access for 4th Dimension version
1.5. This tool enables the development of extremely fast multi-user applications with
clients written in 4th Dimension, HyperCard, ProGraph, Pascal or C.
MSI Access helps 4th Dimension developers take advantage of the speed and
flexibility of the client-server database architecture. It is perfect for use with
AppleTalk Remote Access since only the data that is being requested is transferred over
the network. It is now possible to build client applications that access remotely from a
20,000 record database. Even at 2400 baud it takes only a few seconds to retrieve a
record.
MSI Access also allows applications created in other development environments
to access 4D data. This includes applications written in HyperCard, ProGraph, MPW
Pascal, MPW C, THINK Pascal, and THINK C.
For more information, contact Metropolis Software, Inc. at 505 Hamilton
Avenue, Suite 305, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Phone: 415/322-2001, Fax:
415/327-5579, AppleLink: METROPOLIS, Internet: metropolis.com, CompuServe:
76074,2724.
