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New XML Servers Abound!
During the early fall; product announcements for numerous XML-based
servers dominated the XML tools marketplace. Among the new server tools announced were Bizconnect,
Dynamo 4.5, IBM s WebSphere, ExeterXML Server, and Ultraseek Server 3.1.
XML is clearly becoming integral to the Web server market place.
BizConnect
Scriptics Corporation, a
leading developer of business integration tools, unveiled its new
business-to-business integration server, known as BizConnect this
October. BizConnect is an
easy-to-use XML infrastructure for developing business-to-business
applications. It is based on a business logic paradigm as simple as paper
and 'Post-It Notes'.
BizConnect connects a wide range of software component
standards, enterprise applications, legacy software and Internet
technologies to facilitate the business-to-business application
development required for today s eBusiness environment. BizConnect claims to deliver a
complete development and deployment platform that enables companies to
bring business-to-business applications to market 5 to 10 times faster
than alternative approaches. It is designed to make it possible to
integrate new business-to-business applications with existing enterprise
applications, other Internet/XML applications, back-office and
front-office systems and software components. One component of BizConnect is an XML translation
functionality that will enable the integration of different forms of XML
that will be deployed at many organizations and across most
inter-business supply and value chains..." XMLVocabulary/Schema repositories will clearly play an
important role for BizConnect users who need to understand the different
forms of XML and how to map among them.
Dynamo 4.5
Art Technology Group (ATG),
developers of e-commerce and online personalization software, announced
that it is shipping Dynamo 4. 5 providing interface and infrastructure
support for XML. Now, Dynamo brings together two of today's most
important standards - Java and XML. The addition of XML was designed to
make the platform more robust and extensible to facilitate data access
and application integration across and between enterprises. Like
BizConnect, Dynamo now claims that XML will ease integration and means
eBusinesses can speed up their initial time-to-market and react swiftly
to changing market conditions. The XML interface based on Dynamo 4.5's
XML-based content repository is designed to simplify data interface
formats and implementation changes between sources. Once more, XMLVocabulary/Schema
repositories will help eBusinesses trying to integrate XML from different
sources.
WebSphere
Also in September IBM announced WebSphere Application Server. This server is Java-based and
helps customers to deploy and manage Web applications ranging from simple
Web sites to powerful eBusiness solutions. The new version increases
database connectivity and XML/XSL technology to enable customers to
integrate information contained in various databases. Like other server
products announced this fall, XML integration is a key component. In addition to XML support,
WebSphere boasts support for Java Servlets, Java Server Pages, XML, and
Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs).
ExeterXML Server
XMLSolutions Corporation, announced
the general availability of its new ExeterXML Server release in
September. The ExeterXML
Server utilizes the power of IBM's WebSphere Application Server to
provide servlet processing to provide some out-of-the-box functionality
for WebSphere. ExeterXML
Server can apply server-side style sheets to XML documents, allowing
customers to begin fielding XML applications today without worrying about
the client capabilities. ExeterXML Server also has the built in logic to
recognize the capabilities of the requesting application or browser to
determine whether or not to serve an XML or HTML document. Today, the
ExeterXML Server supports the Windows NT, Linux, and Solaris 2.5.1
platforms. A future release scheduled for early October [1999] will
include support for the AIX platform."
Ultraseek Server
In late August, Infoseek
Corporation announced the availability of Ultraseek Server 3.1, a new
version of its enterprise search application for corporate intranets,
enterprise portals and external Web sites. Because XML is gaining momentum as an Internet format,
Ultraseek now offers support for XML. Ultraseek Server 3.1 provides a
mapping capability for generic DTDs and allows Web administrators to
specify any number of customized mappings. In addition, the mappings are
pre-loaded with several published DTDs. Enterprises using Ultraseek
Server will be able to push ahead with XML development knowing they will
be able to take advantage of the structure of those documents and provide
search and navigation to their users. 'As XML becomes more pervasive in
the enterprise and on the Web, there is a need for search engines to
recognize and process XML documents effectively,' said Michael Floyd,
editor and publisher of BeyondHTML.com
and author of the book Building Websites with XML, to be
released later this year. 'More importantly, I think the XML support in
Ultraseek Server 3.1 is exciting because it solves a fundamental problem
that has plagued the Web and growing intranets - locating, organizing and
presenting information in a meaningful way.
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