Lutris Technologies announced the inclusion of Enhydra, the Open Source Java/XML Application Server, on the Red Hat Application CD that ships with Official Red Hat Linux 6.1. Enhydra 2.2 is an Open Source application server that includes XMLC, XML Compiler. XMLC is a development tool that uses the popular Internet standards, XML and Document Object Model (DOM), for the creation of dynamic Web applications. Red Hat is the first commercial vendor to distribute Enhydra. Lutris realized that a complete Open Source Internet server platform was missing a critical piece: an application server. Enhydra provides the final part of this equation, the Open Source Java/XML application server for building Internet applications. www.enhydra.org
Category: Web technologies & information standards (Page 56 of 58)
Here we include topics related to information exchange standards, markup languages, supporting technologies, and industry applications.
The Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF) announced the completion of the specification for Common Information Model (CIM) Operations over HTTP v1.0. This specification, which is available on the DMTF Web site at www.dmtf.org/wbem/index.html joins CIM and XML in providing the base of technologies for the DMTF’s WBEM initiative. The CIM Operations over HTTP specification defines a mapping of CIM operations onto HTTP that allows implementations of CIM to interoperate in an open, standardized manner and completes the technologies that support WBEM. With all three of the component pieces of WBEM now in place, CIM, xmlCIM, and CIM Operations over HTTP, vendors can now build WBEM based management solutions. CIM is an object-oriented information model standardized within the DMTF for the purposes of providing a conceptual framework within which any management data may be modeled. Allowing CIM information to be represented in the form of XML brings all of the benefits of XML and its related technologies to distributed management. WBEM is a set of management and Internet standard technologies developed to unify the management of enterprise computing environments. It provides the ability for the industry to deliver a well-integrated set of standards-based management tools, leveraging ubiquitous technologies such as CIM, XML and HTTP. www.dmtf.org
Interleaf, Inc. announced QuickSilver, a comprehensive XML-based workgroup publishing solution for complex documents. QuickSilver offers customers a bridge to the rapidly emerging XML standard by extending the power of the complete line of Interleaf’s high-end desktop publishing solutions known as Interleaf 5, Interleaf 6 and Interleaf 7. With QuickSilver, customers gain the ability to convert legacy documents to the open XML standard and to publish to multiple formats including Web, CD-ROM or hardcopy distribution. QuickSilver is available immediately and as part of the introduction to QuickSilver, Interleaf will be offering a special migration package to its existing Interleaf 7 customers this September. www.interleaf.com
OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, announced the restructuring of its membership requirements, widely expanding access to its XML interoperability technical work. The non-profit consortium, which was previously open only to companies who use or provide products or services based on structured information standards such as XML, SGML and CGM, added new membership categories for individuals and associate XML industry groups. Interested parties may apply for membership online at www.oasis-open.org. OASIS membership levels now include Sponsors, Contributors, Individuals and Associates. Organizations participate in OASIS as either Sponsors or Contributors, based on the level of benefits they wish to receive. Sponsors, who take advantage of comprehensive technical and marketing benefits, support the consortium for 9500 USD annually. Contributors, who also benefit from OASIS marketing and technical work, pay 5000 USD (companies with ten or more employees) or 2500 USD (companies with fewer than ten employees). The new Individual Membership, at 250 USD per year, is offered to those who wish to participate in OASIS technical activities. Like all members, Individuals have the right to attend all OASIS general meetings, and they can fully participate in all working groups. At this level, membership is on an individual basis and is not transferable to other individuals. OASIS supports the development of XML specifications by offering an Associate Membership to individuals representing application or industry standards bodies. Associates, who pay 250 USD annually, are individuals appointed by an industry consortium or standards body (recognized as such by the OASIS Board of Directors) to represent the interests of that body in OASIS. Representatives enjoy the same rights and level of service as Individuals; the difference is that representation is transferable between individuals if the designated contact person for the represented organization gives notice. This allows continuity of participation by an organization even when it is necessary to change designated representatives. www.oasis-open.org
The W3C released Associating Style Sheets with XML Documents as a W3C Recommendation, representing cross-industry and expert community agreement on the first efforts for allowing style sheets to be associated with an XML document, thus bringing a wider range of design and display options to XML authors. A W3C Recommendation indicates that a specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C membership, who favor its adoption by the industry. Style sheet development and the separation of presentation information from the structure of a document has been a core W3C work area since its inception. Web publishers use style sheets written in the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) language to flexibly enhance the display of Web pages written in HTML. Microsoft, Netscape, Opera Software, and SoftQuad have products that support the new recommendation. Other vendors have promised to support the specification in upcoming products. Work is already underway to develop technologies that will allow developers to place the style sheet link outside the XML document itself in ways that are extensible, self-documenting, and that can be validated. www.w3c.org
SoftQuad Software Inc. has started shipping XMetaL 1.0, a full-featured, easy-to-use XML authoring tool. XMetaL is an advanced, simple to deploy XML authoring tool for customers working with XML and SGML. Modeled on common word processing applications, it offers a familiar, easy-to-use, authoring environment that virtually eliminates unnecessary learning curves and training costs. By easily creating XML content, XMetaL eliminates the need to convert documents authored in traditional word processors, streamlines the publishing process and substantially reduces conversion expenses. XMetaL’s extensive customization features enable the authoring environment to be optimized for any DTD, in many instances without programming. Its COM-based architecture and support for any Windows scripting language ensure that XMetaL can be extended and integrated into any existing publishing infrastructure. Its comprehensive support of SGML and web technologies makes XMetaL a tool for any hybrid SGML/XML environment. XMetaL is shipping today and is available at a cost of U.S. $495 per single user license. The product will be sold both directly and through VARs and OEMs. Volume discounts, site licenses, partner programs and on-site training are all available. www.softquad.com
The Meta Data Coalition (MDC) and the Object Management Group (OMG) announced their first cooperative effort to develop metadata standards. In establishing a formal technical liaison, the MDC is now a Platform Member of the OMG, and the OMG is a member of the MDC. The objective of this cross-membership is to provide a way for the two groups to work together on common standards, based on the belief that standards reduce confusion in the marketplace and increase efficiency for IT organizations. The OMG has provided leadership in metadata management starting with issuance of the Repository RFI in 1995, which led to the OMG distributed repository architecture definition in 1996. The Meta Object Facility (MOF) was adopted by the OMG in 1995 and has been refined through the OMG’s open, vendor-neutral standards process. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) was adopted in 1997. More recently, the OMG embraced W3C XML with the adoption of the XML Metadata Interchange (XMI). These three standards, UML, MOF and XMI, form the foundation of the OMG’s modeling and metadata management architecture.. The MDC was founded in 1995 to develop and provide standardized metadata exchange; the coalition introduced the Meta Data Interchange Specification (MDIS) in 1996. Recently the MDC completed the technical review of the MDC-OIM, a technology-independent and vendor-neutral information model describing the structure and semantics of metadata. The MDC-OIM is based on the Microsoft Open Information Model, a metadata model and specification that is part of Microsoft Repository, a metadata management product. This model was developed by Microsoft, together with over 20 industry-leading companies, and has been reviewed by more than 300 companies as part of Microsoft’s Open Process. The MDC-OIM supports the OMG’s UML specification www.MDCinfo.com/. www.omg.org.
CiTEC Information, a Finnish developer of advanced information systems and document-technologies, announced component technology based on Netscape’s Mozilla Open Source. DocZilla displays XML and SGML directly, just like HTML, using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and can manipulate the entire document dynamically using the Document Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript. The “DocZilla” components address the demanding requirements of complex documentation and electronic publishing systems: technical illustration, precision searching, efficient handling of extremely large documents, dynamically-generated navigators, powerful link capabilities, complex tables, and SGML. DocZilla is slated for release in the second quarter of 1999, but a “Preview” can be download from the DocZilla web site today at www.doczilla.com.
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