May 96 Newsbits
Volume Number: 12
Issue Number: 5
Column Tag: Newsbits
By John Kawakami
DataPak Reveals the Secret of PAIGE’s Success
PAIGE, DataPak Software’s (DSI) popular cross-platform text engine, is scheduled for
a major 2.0 upgrade.
To determine what type of functionality was missing from the current version,
DSI’s marketing department interviewed and surveyed hundreds of clients and
prospects. “The 2.0 upgrade is a major step for the technology, and it was very
important that our clients were involved in that process. After all, they are the ones
putting the technology through its paces,” stated Mark Nulph, Director of Marketing
for DSI. “Besides, it’s tough for us to anticipate the needs of our clients. Let’s face it,
clients like CompuServe, America Online and Prodigy are going to have different text
considerations than, say, Macromedia, Scitex, Caere or Grolier Electronic
Publishing.”
Source code clients will have the first look, and the final version is scheduled for
broad release some time in May. The following is a partial list of suggested
features/enhancements expected to be in the PAIGE 2.0 upgrade:
• Built-in RTF Import/Export
• Full MFC support (including a new PAIGE demo written entirely with MFC)
• OLE support
• Support for Drag and Drop
• Sub-Containers (makes creating forms easier)
• Unicode Compatibility
• Electronic documentation
• OpenDoc Support
• 2.0 will employ many open standards to ensure interoperability. Under
consideration are CORBA, ODBC, Bento, SGML, HTML, SOM, Java, etc.
DataPak Software Inc. 11815 NE 99th St., Suite 1200, Vancouver, WA 98682.
Sales: (800) 327-6703. Email: sales@datapak.com.
http://www.datapak.com/~datapak/
Three Dimensional Machination
Apple, Netscape, and Silicon Graphics International announced that they are working
together to use the QuickDraw 3D metafile format as the binary format for Moving
Worlds. Moving Worlds is SGI’s proposed new Virtual Reality Modeling Language
(VRML) standard, which, at press time, hasn’t yet been picked as the new VRML, but
has significant computer industry support. Netscape, SGI, and now Apple, together
present a formidable challenge to the competing standards.
Previously, Apple had its own proposed standard competing with Moving Worlds,
but changed direction and refocused its efforts toward promoting the QD3D metafile
after SGI’s proposal garnered the support of dozens of other companies. Apple’s
promotional efforts, if successful, will help bridge the gap that exists between QD3D
and VRML, and improve QD3D’s position in the market. It would also increase Apple’s
ability to influence the VRML standard.
Apple’s contribution of 3DMF technology to the Moving Worlds effort will enable
higher compression rates, file streaming, and faster parsing of 3D objects and virtual
worlds across the Internet.
http://www.info.apple.com/qd3d/
Royal Acquires Heizer
Royal Software, Inc., and Heizer Software jointly announced that Royal Software will
acquire Heizer General Corp. for an undisclosed amount. Heizer has long been the
leading publisher of CompileIt! and WindowScript, tools for use with HyperCard and
other authoring environments. Royal Software, conversely, is an unknown entity led
by long-time Heizer client Ro Nagey, who’s famous for sponsoring trips to the former
Soviet Union to fly Russian jet fighters. Royal Software will continue to use the Heizer
Software name, and plans to pursue online marketing and additional products aimed at
entry-level HyperTalk users.
Heizer Software, A Division of Royal Software, Inc. 300 Cedar Lane, Largo, FL
34640. Phone: (813) 581-6422. Email: ronagey@heizer.com.
http://www.interedu.com/heizer/
http://www.interedu.com/mig29/
Here’s Nutmeg For Your Java
Can Steamed Milk Be Far Behind?
THOUGHT Inc. announced Nutmeg, one of the first commercial class libraries available
for the Java Language.
Even though it is one of the most promising new technologies to arrive, Java
programming can still require a great deal of time for low-level programming tasks.
One of the areas where this is true is in list management, which is still fairly
primitive in the Java Class libraries. Smalltalk has long been known as a powerful
programming language for applications like list management. THOUGHT Inc. has sought
to address the problem of making Java useful for low-level programming tasks by
creating a set of Java classes entitled Nutmeg, which have been modeled after the
Smalltalk Collection Class library. Nutmeg for Java is one more tool to assist
programmers in developing advanced applications using Java.
Nutmeg features include classes to manage: arrays of information, indexed
collections, ordered and sorted collections, sets, and even dictionaries. Users can also
define a Smalltalk-style or Java-style of error handling (exception handling), as well
as programmer-defined sorting criteria and, in many areas, programmer-defined
error handling and object selection blocks. These more robust classes should greatly
improve Java’s applicability for large-scale and serious development.
A limited evaluation copy of Nutmeg is available for download under “products”
on their Web site. Corporate pricing is expected to be US$495 per seat for the binary
release, US$995 per seat for a source code license. Student pricing is US$49 for the
binary. [Time to register for classes! - jk] These classes have been designed to work
with either the Windows, OS2, Macintosh or Unix based Java Developers Kits.
http://www.thoughtinc.com/
There’s a Company Behind ftp.pht.com!
Pacific Hi-Tech, which has, for some time, mirrored the Info-Mac archives at
ftp.pht.com, recently sent us a notice regarding three CD ROMs:
MacSource is a disk containing 600 Megabytes of source code, compilers and
languages. 200 Megs of this is source code, 150 of C/C++, 25 of Pascal, and the rest
BASIC, Lisp, Assembly, Applescript, Prolog, and others.
Hyperstacks is a disk containing more than a thousand freeware and shareware
stacks. [Including several classics by Your Humble Managing Editor. - man]
Internet PowerWEB is a book/CD-ROM combo intended to assist in the writing of
Web pages. The book is a tutorial in three languages, and the CD-ROM is all of the most
popular Web writing sites on the Internet.
http://www.pht.com/
Oracle Plans for The Future
Oracle has been expanding into microcomputer software development tools, and has
been focusing on the Macintosh as one of its key platforms. Not only do they produce
high-powered cross-platform development environments for the Macintosh, they even
make an effort, in their marketing material, to appeal to Macintosh developers. To
wit, an Oracle executive commented about their Oracle Media Objects development tool:
“Oracle Media Objects 1.0.5 adds a Windows 3.1 development environment to the
already available Macintosh development environment. Players for Macintosh and
Windows are included with both development versions. OMO is fun and easy to use, and
gets your applications up and running quickly. Developers can easily extend the
functionality of OMO using the MOX (Media Objects eXtensions) interface. The OMO
metaphor is based on the card and stack, just like HyperCard.”
[When I tried out the demo, it was a lot like HyperCard, but with many new tools.
It was much slower that I expected on a Power Macintosh. Perhaps there’s some
significant overhead incurred by running under Oracle’s cross-platform environment.
- jk ]
You can download the 17 megabyte trial of OMO at the Oracle Web.
Oracle Web
http://www.oracle.com/
Oracle Media Objects Web
http://omo.us.oracle.com/
Peregrine Shapes Up to Challenge Client/Server Tools
Peregrine is a rapid application development tool for creating compiled client/server
applications and databases. Peregrine is completely visual and object-oriented so code
is reusable and extensible. It has a built-in database for testing and prototyping
applications without overloading the server, as well as for creating standalone database
applications. Peregrine provides true client-server architecture and includes full
source code, giving developers control right down to the Mac Toolbox level.
Peregrine 1.3.2 features:
• ODBC driver support, which increases the number of databases which can be
connected to simultaneously and in the same application. Other databases
supported by high performance drivers are Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL
Server, Butler, dtF and DAL/DAM.
• A Power Mac compiler for compiling Power Mac native client applications.
• Support for dtF LAN.
• Peregrine Xtras - including 4D Migrator Tool for moving schemas and data from
4D Server into Peregrine’s internal database or to another Peregrine-supported
database. The Xtras also include an Application Generator and window items that
ease the creation of relationships.
• Preview of the Windows version of Prograph CPX, the underlying programming
language for Peregrine.
Pictorius, Inc. 2000 Barrington Street, 4th Floor, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, B3J 3K1, Canada. Sales: (800) 927-4847. Email:
info@pictorius.com
http://www.pictorius.com/
The Claris World Wide Developer’s Conference
(Not to Be Confused With Apple’s WWDC)
Claris Corporation is holding its first-ever Worldwide Developer’s Conference
(WWDC) June 3-5, 1996, at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara, CA, and
will offer both in-house and third-party developers hands-on sessions using the
hottest Macintosh and Windows technologies with Claris and Apple software.
“Developers have become increasingly successful deploying solutions based on
FileMaker Pro and ClarisWorks across small business, education and workgroup
environments,” said Guerrino De Luca, president of Claris Corp. “With technologies
such as OpenDoc coming to the forefront, and the Internet emerging as a platform,
Claris more than ever needs to listen to our developers, support them, and give them
the tools they need to deliver custom solutions and services based on our products.”
The first Claris WWDC will include three days of developer-specific sessions for
Macintosh and Windows developers, with the objective of providing tools and
techniques to maximize solutions based on Claris products, and will cover several
topics, including:
• Deploying database solutions over the Internet using FileMaker Pro.
• Designing user interfaces for Macintosh and Windows solutions.
• Integrating OpenDoc and OLE with Claris applications.
• SQL connectivity with FileMaker Pro and third-party programs.
• Marketing and selling solutions and services.
Developers interested in getting registration information, or who have other
Claris WWDC questions, can call (800) 778-9383 (North America) or (503)
699-7178 (International) for more information.