Extensibility, Inc. announced the commercial release XML Instance, a schema-driven data editor for XML-based application business documents. XML Instance is the first in a series of products that will focus on the design, processing, and management of XML infrastructure assets within an enterprise. Organizations can embed their XML-based business rules in an XML Instance document so that internal, trading partner, and industry standards are achieved. XML Instance supports the major XML schema dialects, creating a bridge for the widespread adoption of XML within an enterprise and its partners. XML Instance features include: User configurable architecture for fully customizable views; Schema-aware XML business documents; Support for major and emerging schema dialects including DTD, XDR, BizTalk, SOX v2.0, and a sub-set of XML Schema; Real-time validation and editing facilities against an XML schema or DTD; Drag-and-drop editing within the user interface; And an intuitive graphical interface for the design and navigation of long or complex XML business documents. XML Instance is available for immediate download from www.extensibility.com/products/. 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.xmlschema.com/.

Information Architects announced the availability of SmartCode, the next generation of iA’s core product offerings that supersedes their introductory framework, Metaphoria. SmartCode will be available as a suite of the following four unique products: 1. Aggregation Framework: applies the power of metadata to dynamically aggregate user-critical content and functionality from a wide range of sources without replicating the original source to a content repository. Using a mapping process, it combines user-defined templates, business objects, and information into a wide range of presentations, including browser applications, XML documents and wireless interfaces. 2. Dynamic Syndication Server: provides a simple interface for subscriber partners to define both the look of their Web sites as well as which SmartCode Framework data or functionality will be presented to the end user. Business users can define their own information views by simply using the appropriate subscription template and selecting the information that most pertains to their needs. 3. Converters: used as part of a complete solution or individually, PDF and Word documents are converted into XHTML that is ready to be displayed directly on the Web or parsed as part of an overall Web presentation. And, 4. Watcher: identifies changes to targeted source data, thereby allowing only the most current and accurate information to be available to the system. Also can be used to notify users of changes or to trigger the SmartCode Framework to apply specific business rules based on the change. www.ia.com

Bluestone Software, Inc. announced Bluestone Total-e-Server, the next generation of Bluestone’s Sapphire/Web Application Server, and the Application Server edition of Bluestone’s comprehensive, standards-based Total-e-Business platform based on Sun’s J2EE specification and using XML for internal communication and external integration services. Among the Total-e-Server highlights are implementations of J2EE, including EJB 1.1, Java Servlets 2.2, and JavaServer Pages (JSP) 1.1, including Taglib support. Bluestone enhances standard EJB functionality with global-class services not yet defined by the EJB specification, including XML persistence mapping, Dynamic XSL Stylesheets, load balancing, application management, security, and Universal Listener Framework (ULF) scheduling services. The Bluestone Universal Business Server for TeB also employs a Dynamic XSL Engine that lets users automatically detect client device types and generate the proper delivery format, whether it is a cell phone, palmtop device, desktop browser, application, or other client type. Bluestone Universal Business Server for TeB relies on XML for a number of services, including the persistence map that permanently stores the state of an application. XML gives the Bluestone Universal Business Server for TeB high-performance support for fine-grained objects in an EJB. Bluestone XML-Server for TeB provides XML and legacy integration services. The server also features a transformation engine that performs XML-to-XML document translations and DTD-to-DTD translations to facilitate communications with customers and partners via disparate DTDs and documents. Bluestone Connector Capability provides a broad array of application integration services to legacy systems such as SAP, PeopleSoft, and IBM mainframe IMS, CICS, and MQSeries applications. Bluestone Connectors are also available for commerce systems, such as CyberCash, Taxware, Verity, OpenMarket, UPS Worldship, and others. Bluestone’s Total-e-Server will be generally available on July 1, 2000 with pricing starting at $60,000. www.bluestone.com

eBusiness Technologies announced engenda, a Web content management and workflow application that enables customers to integrate with any application server to dynamically deliver and personalize content. engenda features eBusiness Technologies’ core content management capabilities – including workflow, editions, templates, and dynamic assembly – while leveraging the strengths of application servers to provide personalization, transaction processing and other delivery related capabilities. Key features of engenda include: Secure, intuitive, scalable, Web browser-based workflow system; Easy, collaborative content contribution with forms-based authoring and templating; Transparent Microsoft Word-to-XML conversion for non-technical users; A centralized content repository and content management engine; Separation of content, logic and presentation for dynamic page assembly; and integrated deployment capabilities to move approved files to the application server. engenda is serviced and supported by eBusiness Technologies’ Professional Services Group and several industry-leading application server vendors through the company’s Technology Alliance Program. engenda is available immediately with prices starting at $70,000. www.ebt.com

InfoGlide Corporation announced the availability of its XML Similarity Engine for cross-consortia and industry data exchange. The patented XML Similarity Engine is technology that offers cross-industry, B2B integration of software solutions. In the recent past, B2B firms have been forced to choose between BizTalk, OASIS, RosettaNet, ACORD and other leading industry consortia to enable interoperable XML applications. According to InfoGlide, XML was intended to solve many of these interoperability issues for data. However, XML has not been able, until today, to solve two critical data problems left over from the 1970’s: schemas in unlike formats and “dirty” or imperfect data. Neither XML nor the standards imposed by these consortia can bridge the two key barriers to applications working together. While XML enables data segments across different databases to be shared, what the XML Similarity Engine does differently is share entire databases for all common data segments, presented in an untransformed data model. Because the databases do not have to undergo any transformation, they retain all their richness and context. The XML Similarity Engine does not alter the source database or database structures. The XML Similarity Engine gives immediate results while consortia-imposed standards focus only on exchanging data in a very painful and limiting manner. For example, B2B applications must use XML documents with virtually identical schemas or file layouts, or they will not interoperate. For instance, a purchase order from one firm cannot “talk to” a bill-of-materials from another because they have completely different formats. XML cannot solve this problem so the industry has been looking to consortia to develop models and rules as standards, or worse, a rigid transformation technology is required. With InfoGlide’s XML Similarity Engine, companies are freed from the need to painfully model their data independently, or through a consortium. Now they can just use the data and schemas as they exist in their industries-and these can easily communicate with any other XML schema in any other industry. InfoGlide’s patented XML Similarity Engine also enables legacy databases to be fully accessible to XML applications without any data conversion. Any relational, flat file, or hierarchical structure becomes XML enabled through use of the XML Similarity Engine. www.infoglide.com

Quark Inc. and Quill Communications announced an alliance intended to increase efficiency and margins for companies that produce and publish advertising, direct marketing, and manufacturing product catalogs in print and Web formats. Quill will integrate Quark Digital Media System with CATPUB (Content, Approval, Tracking, Publishing), Quill’s Web application for managing workflow, content approval, tracking, and publishing. Quill’s integration of the two systems will result in a Content Intensive Media Management solution that hopes to eliminate the challenges of managing and publishing large amounts of content. QuarkDMS is a solution that lets customers manage a virtually unlimited number of text files, images, and other digital resources. It combines an Oracle8 relational database with a scalable three-tiered architecture capable of serving hundreds of concurrent users. The QuarkDMS clients offer secure access to assets from both Windows and Mac OS platforms, as well as from standard Web browsers. www.quillcom.com, www.quark.com