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

Eprise Corporation announced that Eprise Participant Server fully supports wireless devices including those using Windows CE, Palm devices, and WAP phones. Eprise’s adaptive user interface architecture allows many of these devices to not only receive content, but also participate in key content management processes, such as content contribution and user management. Eprise customers and partners alike will reap the benefits of Participant Server’s ability to deliver and manage content for wireless devices the same way they may already be applying Participant Server to their current intranets and extranets. Participant Server operates as a Web server plug-in providing event-driven services for controlling content contribution, management, and distribution. No specialized server scripting language is required as all functions are accessible via easy-to-use Web browser forms. Integration agents for Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP), Allaire ColdFusion, and Java technologies are standard. Enhanced LDAP support is included as are advanced features such as QuickForms content and style sheet management, and Workflow, which manage content update and approval status. www.eprise.com

Microsoft Corp. announced the official beta release of its newest XML parser, which is available for immediate download from the MSDN XML Developer Center ). This version of the parser, MSXML3, increases XML conformance over previous releases by achieving a pass rate of over 98 percent using the OASIS XML Conformance Test Suite. It also extends support for the Simple API for XML (SAX2) programming interface, making SAX2 accessible from the Visual Basic development system. This version of the parser marks the transition from “technology preview” to full beta, with general product availability scheduled for Web release in fall 2000. XML is a key technology of the Microsoft.Net Platform, and MSXML3 lays the groundwork for that vision by allowing developers to rapidly build and deliver XML-based Web services today. Since the last release just two months ago, when SAX2 support was added, one of the most requested features was access to SAX2 from Visual Basic. Extending access to developers using Visual Basic is a reflection of Microsoft’s commitment to delivering the features its customers demand in “Internet time.” SAX2 is designed to enable fast and efficient processing of XML by allowing programs such as the Visual C++ development system, and now Visual Basic, to read, review and process XML files without having to load the entire document into memory. Microsoft released the first version of the new XML parser in January 2000 with updated versions posting in March and May. www.microsoft.com