By John J. McLaughlin, FlashBack, Inc. flash@flashback.com.

Back to the comprehensive index of February's new products.

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Table of Contents

Hardware

• SBS450 ULTRA SCSI SBus Adapter SBus Mass Storage Adapter
• UltraSPARC for VME and CompactPCI single-board computers

Software

• Aperio 2.0 Web-based business intelligence solutions
• Colorbus Monsoon print server
• Command MQ management support for IBM's MQSeries Version 5
• CrownAdmin 3 printer management software
• DynaMorph 1.5 server-side scripting language
• Hypermedia 2.10 Internet applications toolkit
• MATCOM V3 Matlab 5 to C++ Compiler
• Matrix v5 enterprise product information management system
• NetLOCK Security Suite protection of network information
• Not-So-Bad Distribution WWW-based authenticating software distribution system
• Panorama CDWeb Publisher Web CD Publishing tool to updates SGML content automatically
• PerformanceWorks performance management software for IBM's MQSeries
• ProjectStart model libraries patterns for developing model-based applications
• Qualix DataStar 1.4 Data Protection for Unix Systems
• SNiFF+ 2.4 analysis, browsing, code comprehension and project management for
• SPECTRUM Data Warehouse suite of advanced management applications
• STCTL SCSI Tape Changer target driver/command
• ScriptWorks 4.5 RIP Management System
• Together/Java 1.0 Unified Modeling Language modeler for software development
• TopCall for Java Java messaging client application
• Universal Index identifies database records and tracks duplicate entries

Books

• Multithreaded Programming with Pthreads Book describing Posix threads

Hardware

Product: SBS450 ULTRA SCSI SBus Adapter - SBus Mass Storage Adapter
Company: Performance Technologies, Inc. (Rochester, NY)
Telephone: (716) 256-0200
E-mail: info@pt.com
URL: http://www.pt.com
Platforms: Solaris 2.x, SunOS 4.1
Description: Capable of data rates up to 40 Mbytes/second. The adapter features Plug-and-Play PLUS capabilities, allowing it to operate with Solaris operating system drivers or with drivers supplied by PTI. A "driverless" configuration allows for plug-and-play installations into any current or previous generation Sun SparcStation product. For extended SCSI features, the SBS450 also includes Solaris 2.x or SunOS 4.1 drivers, allowing OEMs and end users to capitalize on the unique performance features found only in PTI's driver software. These features include extended LUN support (up to 32 logical units per device), Adaptive Synchronous Negotiation (ASN), customizable driver software and extended error reporting.

Software

Product: Aperio 2.0 - Web-based business intelligence solutions ($20,000 for two concurrent users)
Company: Influence Software (Sunnyvale, CA)
Telephone: (408) 617-0400
E-mail: info@influencesw.com
URL: http://www.influencesw.com
Platforms: AIX, IRIX, HP-UX, Solaris, and Windows NT
Description: A suite of Web-based business intelligence solutions designed to maximize productivity for all users across the corporation. A complete suite of Web-based business intelligence products, including a knowledge gallery for report maintenance and publishing, an integrated OLAP product for information analysis, an administrator tool for fast, secure deployment; and a knowledge agent for automatic notification of business events. Decision-makers can access, analyze, and distribute business information, reducing cycle time to information and allowing fast response to market opportunities. Based on Java, the suite offers integrated OLAP, reporting, administration, and user collaboration components that are deployed across the enterprise to support thousands of users. Requires no specialized user training. Decision-makers can consolidate complex information from data warehouses, data marts, and other data stores; analyze the information; and distribute it through customizable reports.

, A C++ Matrix library consisting of over 500 mathematical functions, including basic unary and binary operations, indexing capabilities, signal processing, file i/o, linear algebra, string operations and graphics. The Linear Algebra functions are based on LINPACK and EISPACK. Complex matrices are supported. The library is built on the target system, enabling the selection of compiler optimization flags and local BLAS libraries. 2D and 3D Graphics is supported in standalone applications using the freely available graphics package, Gnuplot.

Product: Matrix v5 - enterprise product information management system
Company: MatrixOne, Inc. (Chelmsford, MA)
Telephone: (978) 454-0444
E-mail: info@matrix-one.com
URL: http://www.matrix-one.com
Platforms: Unix and NT servers
Description: An enterprise product information management system that has scaled to 1,000 concurrent users on a variety of single Unix and NT servers. It facilitates the sharing, use and re-use of information and processes -- linking people across the enterprise to improve product development competitiveness. Used with popular Web browsers, Matrix provides better, more efficient control of processes, structure and information throughout the enterprise -- processes such as approvals, change and lifecycle, structure, bills of material, control documents such as CAD drawings, and information of all types and forms. Designed to reduce cycle time and cost, enhance innovation, improve product quality, comply with stringent regulatory standards such as ISO 9000, and improve return on investment.

Product: NetLOCK Security Suite - protection of network information (ten-seat license $3200)
Company: Interlink Computer Sciences (Fremont, CA)
Telephone: (800) 366-5452
E-mail: info@interlink.com
URL: http://www.interlink.com
Platforms: Windows NT/95, Solaris 2.4/2.5, HP-UX 10, AIX, Macintosh
Description: A transparent solution to provide enterprise-wide, end-to-end protection of all information that crosses the network. Supports all popular desktop computers, laptops and servers, and communicates transparently over any combination of LANs and private and public WANs, including the Internet. Additionally, it is the only security product to support both TCP/IP and Novell's SPX/IPX network protocols. Users on any sized networked environment can now be assured that their network traffic is fully secure regardless of diverse operating systems. This is achieved using strong encryption algorithms to hide data and protocol information traveling anywhere in and across networks. The product is application-independent and transparent to its users, a critical factor in deploying strong end-to-end security. This is the result of implementing security services at the top of the network layer of the reference stack.

Product: Not-So-Bad Distribution - WWW-based authenticating software distribution system (Free)
Company: Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies
URL: http://www.bell-labs.com/nsbd
Platforms: Unix, Sunos4, Solaris
Description: An open, WWW-based authenticating software distribution system. Enhances simple Web downloads by authenticating maintainers of packages with digital signatures. It checks for updates to the packages and then downloads and installs them. This "automated pull" style of distribution has the same effect as the "push" style, with more control to the user. A direct "push" style is also supported; it is not used as frequently, but is appropriate for situations where there are multiple contributors to a shared server. NSBD uses "Pretty Good Privacy" (PGP) for authentication. Its focus is on security, leaving as much control as practical in the users' hands. Handles the operations done by both maintainers of packages and users of packages. This is free software, released under the terms of the GNU General Public License. Binaries are available for a variety of Unix platforms, including Sunos4 and Solaris, and the source code is also available. It is written in TCL/TK and C. It is portable to most Unix platforms.

Product: Panorama CDWeb Publisher - Web CD Publishing tool to updates SGML content automatically
Company: SoftQuad, Inc. (Waltham, MA)
Platforms: Windows NT/95/3.x, HP-UX, Sun Solaris, Macintosh
Description: Delivers SGML on CDROM and updates content automatically. This is a Web/CD publishing tool that allows SGML content to be published directly onto a CD-ROM and subsequently updated instantly and automatically via the Web. It incorporates technology licensed from Banta Integrated Media, a division of Banta Corp. Drives down the cost of publishing, distributing and updating large amounts of information by combining the advantages of two of the most popular methods of electronic document distribution, static CD-ROM publishing and dynamic, real-time Web publishing. Publishers can first deliver bandwidth-intensive materials (such as large SGML documents with extensive graphic and multimedia objects) into user's hands via CD-ROM, then later distribute updates and revisions via the Web or intranets.

Product: PerformanceWorks - performance management software for IBM's MQSeries
Company: Landmark Systems Corporation (Vienna, VA)
Telephone: (703) 902-8000, (800) 333-8666
E-mail: info@landmark.com
URL: http://www.landmark.com
Platforms: Runs on MVS/ESA or OS/390 and supports MQSeries on MVS, OS/2,
Description: Performance management software for IBM's MQSeries message-oriented middleware. Detects performance problems and ensures timely message delivery. Configures, monitors and manages the performance of MQSeries environments. Monitors all MQ managers in the network and provides real-time, recent-past and historical information from a single point, making performance tuning and problem identification tasks more manageable. Provides Queue Manager status and performance, channel performance, queue status, page set activity and thread/connection activity. Features management by exception to notify users when problems occur, or take pre-defined action to prevent or eliminate problems that threaten the availability and performance of their network and applications.

Product: ProjectStart model libraries - patterns for developing model-based applications
Company: Project Technology (San Leandro, CA)
Telephone: (510) 567-0255
Fax: (510) 567-0250
URL: http://www.projtech.com
Description: Collections of model patterns that make it easier to develop model-based applications. Model libraries contain object patterns that provide a starting point for developers in the form of generic solutions for commonly found problems. Industry-specific applications have similar modeling problems repeated multiple times in an application. Model libraries provide developers with robust, proven solutions packaged for quick incorporation into their projects. Packages of object patterns (ProjectStart Telecom I contains nine patterns) have repeated application within a specific industry. Each pattern is a complete executable graphical model consisting of four to twelve objects. Developers study application questions to determine the applicability of a pattern to their application. Once pattern use is identified, the developer customizes it to a specific need. Each time a pattern is applied, the developer saves 10 to 40 effort-days, and patterns can be applied multiple times in an application. ProjectStart Telecom I, the initial model library, is focused on telecommunications challenges.

Product: Qualix DataStar 1.4 - Data Protection for Unix Systems ($19,950 per server pair)
Company: Qualix Group Inc. (San Mateo, CA)
Telephone: (650) 572-0200
E-mail: info-pr@qualix.com
URL: http://www.qualix.com
Platforms: Sun Solaris 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6, Hewlett Packard HP-UX
Description: Data protection software for Sun Solaris systems; adds synchronous mirroring capabilities to the asynchronous mirroring architecture of the original product. The new synchronous option is designed primarily to meet the needs of banking and financial institutions for a network mirroring solution. This option allows the data to be identical at both sites at all times, enabling a speedy recovery in the event of a system failure or natural disaster. The new release makes it easier to administer and monitor, because the new monitoring interface (GUI) gives the user vision into the software's processes, including both the mirroring activity and up-to-the-minute status of error messages. This allows continual and easy assessment of the system's health. The product also has been strengthened to make it easier to activate configuration changes, allowing monitoring parameters to be changed. In addition, the HTML documentation enables text searching, better navigation and electronic distribution of updates of the documentation.

Product: SNiFF+ 2.4 - analysis, browsing, code comprehension and project management for ($1,995 for node-locked licenses)
Company: TakeFive Software (Cupertino, CA 95014)
Telephone: (408) 777-1440
Fax: (408) 777-1444
E-mail: info@takefive.com
URL: http://www.TakeFive.com
Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 95, Unix
Description: An object-oriented analysis, browsing, code comprehension and project management framework for developers and teams. An integrated collection of source code analysis, browsing, navigation, comprehension, editing, make, and configuration management tools for C, C++, Java and IDL developers. Supports cross-development and heterogeneous development environments. New, point-and-click wizard for new users checks installation and other important properties and notifies the user of errors, shortening installation time and administrative tasks. A new project setup wizard assists in the setup of software projects, reducing project setup time and making developers productive.

Product: SPECTRUM Data Warehouse - suite of advanced management applications
Company: Cabletron Systems (Rochester, NH)
Telephone: (603) 337-1868
URL: http://www.cabletron.com/
Platforms: Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server
Description: A suite of advanced management applications enabling businesses to account for and bill IS services, redesign IS investments to honor service commitments, plan ahead to match IS investments and support future business growth. Using "data fusion" technology, it simplifies information retrieval by fusing together data from multiple sources into one common model. The converging sources can include data from switched and non- switched networks, systems, applications and, eventually, PBX and telecommunications-specific sources. Billing, accounting and planning applications can access the data as if it came from one source. SPECTRUM Data Warehouse is an SQL-based, open architecture that supports Oracle, Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server databases, and enables customers to use existing database skills. The warehouse product will also work seamlessly with existing business databases, allowing an application to jointly access a database and the warehouse for advanced business process management and decision-making.

Product: STCTL - SCSI Tape Changer target driver/command (Free)
Company: Portland State University (Portland, OR)
URL: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~eric/stctl/stctl.tar.gz
Platforms: Solaris 2
Description: Provides an interface for issuing tape changer commands to common changers which implement the SCSI-2 "Medium Changer Devices" command set. Many commercial backup systems provide their own drivers and they should be used with their system. This implementation is for those wishing to control their changer outside of the backup system or wish to interface their changer with a backup system that either doesn't directly support changers or provide a suitable driver (such as the freely available, but very good, AMANDA backup system). An accompanying command "stc" is used to provide a command-line interface for issuing load/unload/status commands. This driver was written for and tested against a Quantum 7-tape library changer (model DLT4700), but flexibility was added such that it ought to work with most random access changers that use the changer command set (such as Exabyte 2x0, etc), or at most, with minor tweaking. NOTE: This driver does not replace the standard "st" (scsi tape) driver included with the operating system. This driver works independently on the changer portion of the library (which has a separate SCSI address from the tape drive(s) itself), so there should be no additional reliability problems with the data transport functions of the tape subsystem. This file is provided with no support and without any obligation on the part of the author to assist in its use, correction, modification or enhancement.

Product: ScriptWorks 4.5 - RIP Management System (OEM only)
Company: Harlequin Inc. (Cambridge, MA)
Telephone: (617) 374-2400
Fax: (617) 252-6505
E-mail: web@harlequin.com
URL: http://www.harlequin.com/
Platforms: Power Macintosh, PowerPC, Windows 95, Windows NT, Digital Alpha,
Description: Processes Portable Document Format (PDF) file input in native mode, useful for mixed production workflows and multiple file formats common in today's digital printing and publishing environments. Other features/options include: full support for symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP), "In-RIP" color management, full ICC 3 support, including "device-link" profiles, display list access, TIFF/IT-P1 processing, and "In-RIP" object-based trapping. An "Extra grays" feature extends PostScript function to support over 4,000 shades of gray, enabling smooth blends from almost any output device.

Product: Together/Java 1.0 - Unified Modeling Language modeler for software development
Company: Object International, Inc. (Raleigh, NC)
Telephone: (919) 773-1063
E-mail: info@oi.com
URL: http://www.oi.com
Platforms: JDK 1.1, Windows 95, NT, and Solaris
Description: An all-Java, full UML (Unified Modeling Language), platform-independent modeler for enterprise-wide software development. Features simultaneous design-and-code editing (design first, code first, or do some of both at the same time). Works with source code (no batch code construction, no batch reverse engineering). Features physical and logical packages. Supports design-and-code reuse across multiple projects. Detects and displays Java Beans. Fully scalable from a repository perspective. Works with files (source code, project, and custom layout); this "files only" approach translates in proven scalability for large applications (always an open question for those with proprietary formats and databases). Fully scalable from a performance perspective, too; for day-to-day work, the parser parses just the packages you are working with, resulting in very fast, synchronous design-and-code editing, even when developing large-scale applications. Web-centric features include URL hyperlinking of diagrams and other design documents, and automatic HTML documentation generation. A family of design diagrams: UML's package, class, sequence, state, and use-case; plus Coad's object model and scenario view. User-interface features an inspector, reducing keystrokes and distracting context- switches.

Product: TopCall for Java - Java messaging client application
Company: TopCall International (Vienna, Austria)
Telephone: +43-1-661330
Fax: +43-1-661-3321
E-mail: marketing@topcall.co.at
URL: http://www.topcall.com
Platforms: Sparc Solaris 2.0 or later, MacOS, OS/2, Windows, Unix
Description: Version 2 of this Java client is fully interoperable with Sun workstations, supporting local and remote access from any Web browser with the ability to exchange fax and e-mail with attachments. It enables local and remote users to transparently send and receive messages and binary attachments from any Web browser to fax, Internet mail, X.400, and telex systems, and to other popular e-mail and application platforms supported by the TopCall communications server. It is fully interoperable with Sun's Sparc Solaris operating system, and does not require installation at the client level, enabling staff, customers, and partner organizations to exchange messages from any Web station over the Internet and intranets -- regardless of the user's location. Since the software was designed as a 100 percent pure Java client, it does not require any additional plug-ins to be installed on the workstation. The software is signed with a digital certificate for added security. Using the new software, companies can easily deploy the new diskless network computers and conduct all fax and e-mail transmissions via the Java operating system.

Product: Universal Index - identifies database records and tracks duplicate entries
Company: Software Technologies Corp. (Monrovia, CA)
Platforms: Sun Solaris, Sun Ultra Enterprise Servers
Description: The product serves enterprise applications by identifying database records and tracking duplicate entries. By consolidating the identification and demographic information for all members/persons into a common index, the enterprise establishes a single source to search and obtain the most recent information on each person. For example, in the health care arena, this participation is not limited only to patients, but also can be extended to HMO members, physicians, guarantors, next of kin or even employees within a company. Health care organizations can track the most recent information on each person, regardless of where they obtain care in the enterprise. The product can be used in any enterprise requiring a central repository of data that is used by multiple areas of the enterprise. It was developed for Sun Solaris running on a Sun Ultra Enterprise Server.

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Books

Product: Multithreaded Programming with Pthreads - Book describing Posix threads ($34.95)
Author: Bil Lewis and Daniel J. Berg
ISBN: 0-13-680729-1
Company: Sun Microsystems Press (Palo Alto, CA)
Telephone: (650) 786-4706
Fax: (650) 786-8611
E-mail: john.bortner@sun.com
URL: http://www.sun.com/books/
Platforms: Unix, Win32, OS/2
Description: Based on the book, "Threads Primer," covering Posix threads: what they are, how they work, when to use them, and how to optimize them. It retains the clarity and humor of the Primer, but includes expanded comparisons to Win32 and OS/2 implementations. Code examples tested on all of the major Unix platforms are featured along with detailed explanations of how and why they use threads. In addition to scheduling, synchronization, signal handling, etc., special emphasis is placed on: Cancellation -- What does it mean to do bounded-time cancellation? Error Conditions -- What do they all mean and what should you do about them? Performance -- How fast can a program run, and what are the limiting factors? Hardware -- A number of machine designs are examined (Sun, SGI, and DEC), focusing on issues of performance, synchronization instructions, bus design, and invalidation techniques. Languages -- The use of threads in other languages (Lisp, Eiffel, Smalltalk, etc.) is examined, with special emphasis on C++ and Java. References -- Pointers to the newsgroup, FAQs, Web pages, code examples, other books, freeware tools, and commercial products are included.

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Last updated: 4 February 1998