Year: 2000 (Page 22 of 63)

Extensibility, Inc. announced the release of XML Instance 1.1. A schema-driven data editor, XML Instance can create, edit, and manage data-oriented XML business documents (i.e. instance documents), messages, and configuration files. It is a key component of the recently launched Turbo XML – the packaged suite of XML Instance, XML Authority and XML Console. This new release enables data from an ODBC data source to be imported and deployed throughout the organization as XML data – offering a means to integrate and reuse legacy information. In addition, XML Instance now features XSLT stylesheet transformation facilities, which provide full data management through the support of XSLT editing and processing. Through an XSLT stylesheet, an XML business document can be transformed into another XML business document or viewed in a HTML format on a web browser. This facility allows an organization to take data and present or use the information based on the specific needs of the business. New features include: XSLT stylesheet transformation facilities, data importing from an ODBC data source, support for all encoding types supported by Java, improved namespace support, and new options for customizing document display. XML Instance 1.1 is available for free to existing users. XML Instance runs on Windows (95/98/2000/NT), UNIX, and Mac and is available for immediate download at www.extensibility.com/products/download.htm. Licensing is available for single users ($99.95) and in multi-user x-packs (5-user $449.95; 10-user $849.95; 50-user $3995.00). www.extensibility.com

Navision Software announced that it has released its XBRL solution, one day after the publication of the official XML-based taxonomy. XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a free specification that first appeared on the financial and accounting scene in October of 1999. It uses a financial reporting specification, agreed upon by key members of the financial information supply chain that allows an open exchange of financial reporting data across all software and technologies, including the Internet. The XBRL coding contained in Navision Financials 2.50 will enable customers to more easily and efficiently connect and communicate with both competing products in the ERP space and complementary products such as Caseware. For example, a set of subsidiary offices using Navision Financials can now more quickly collaborate with a parent office using a larger ERP system, while realizing significant time and cost savings. XBRL offers several key benefits: technology independence, full interoperability, efficient preparation of financial statements, and reliable extraction of financial information. Information is entered only once, allowing that same information to be rendered in any form, such as a printed financial statement, an HTML document for the company’s Web site, an EDGAR filing document with the SEC, a raw XML file or other specialized reporting formats, such as credit reports or loan documents. www.navision-us.com

Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced the beta availability of the 2D graphics SVG generator software, downloadable for no charge at www.sun.com/xml. This easy-to-use tool, developed by Sun’s XML Technology Center leverages the power and growing ubiquity of XML. XML’s universal, standards-based syntax will play an important role in graphics rendering as well as data portability and usability, and Sun is meeting developer demand for the needed tools in these areas. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is in development at the World W3C and is a file format that describes two-dimensional vector graphics in XML. SVG has many advantages over graphics formats in use today, such as JPEG or GIF. Since SVG is a plain text format, its files are readable and generally smaller than comparable graphical images. SVG images are also “zoomable” or “scalable”, meaning users can zoom in on a particular area of a graphic, such as a map, and not experience any image degradation. Because SVG is scalable, SVG images can be printed with high quality at any resolution. Text within an SVG-based image, such as a city name on a map, is both selectable and searchable. Applications written in SVG can be made accessible through means for describing the visual information in textual detail. Lastly, SVG supports scripting and animation, which enables dynamic, interactive graphics. For more information on SVG, visit www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG. As well, Sun announced the availability of the SVG slide toolkit software, also available free of charge at www.sun.com/xml. This software is a collection of XML stylesheets and DTDs that help users to create XML documents that can be transformed into richly graphical, interactive SVG-based slide presentations. The software’s advantage is that it allows for the separation of a presentation’s content from its look and feel, enabling users to independently modify the content, the presentation style or both. http://sun.com

Kinecta Corporation announced it has signed on Percussion Software as its newest embedded solutions partner. Kinecta is integrating its Kinecta Interact syndication platform with content management system vendors such as Percussion to facilitate the distribution of digital content and to help drive industry adoption of the ICE (Information and Content Exchange) protocol. Percussion Software will integrate Kinecta Interact with its Rhythmyx 2.0 content management platform to provide customers with an automatic content delivery solution. The combined solution will allow Percussion Software’s customers to extend their online content initiatives while unlocking new revenue opportunities through increased content partnerships. www.kinecta.com

JetForm Corporation announced the JetForm Web Output Pak for creating and presenting real-time, dynamic electronic documents. This unique product enables companies to present e-documents in a Web-browser environment by efficiently transforming existing data from legacy systems into the Web-server environment. The Web Output Pak leverages ERP, legacy and line-of-business applications to produce professional-looking e-documents such as invoices, purchase orders, statements and more and presents them on the Web for a fraction of the printing and mailing costs typically associated with business documents. The Web Output Pak now gives the market both the ability to deliver documents in real-time, with up-to-the-minute information, and to dynamically control the look and feel of any document based on the data. This means information delivered is based on a customer’s request, rather than relying on traditional paper batch processes that only offer snapshots in time. Dynamic forms can incorporate personalized messaging and targeted marketing into customer documents to up sell additional products and services. The Web Output Pak provides both the tools to create e-document presentment applications and the run-time environment to present documents on the Web. The Web Output Pak combines document templates with data to generate real-time, personalized documents, which can be presented in either HTML or PDF on a Web browser. The JetForm Web Output Pak is available immediately from JetForm and its authorized resellers. Pricing begins at US$25,000 per server. www.jetform.com

Bristol Technology Inc. announced eXactML 1.2, a new release of its software product that is a fast way for developers to XML-enable their C++ applications. The latest version of eXactML now supports Sun Solaris SPARCompiler 4.2 and XHTML. eXactML XML-enables C++ applications by generating object-oriented interfaces for reading and writing valid XML content based on any DTD or schema. Using new parsing technology that claims to be at least 3 times faster than DOM, eXactML drastically reduces the time and expertise needed to support XML. eXactML 1.2 runs on Microsoft Windows platforms; the resulting source code can be compiled on Windows, Sun Microsystems Solaris and Red Hat Linux. A single developer license, including support and upgrades, starts at $695 and can be purchased online at . An evaluation version can also be downloaded at http://www.bristol.com/exactml/erf.htm. www.bristol.com