Novell Announces Appware Support For OpenDoc

Environment will provide high-level, visual tools for developing OpenDoc cross-platform component software

Atlanta, GA -- April 25, 1995 (at COMDEX) -- Novell today outlined a comprehensive plan to provide OpenDoc component software development through the AppWare visual programming environment. This will result in a powerful visual development environment for OpenDoc, and will greatly increase the opportunity for solutions providers and developers to create new, business-specific OpenDoc parts .

"By enabling AppWare to become an OpenDoc development environment, Novell provides a powerful platform for building network-ready solutions based on an open, industry-standard component software architecture," said Joe Firmage, vice president for strategic planning in Novell's NetWare Systems Group.

OpenDoc, which ships for Macintosh, OS/2 and Windows later this year, will allow developers to combine standard, reusable, cross-platform software components, like text editors and database engines, with specialized components designed for vertical applications and unique platforms. AppWare is a visual environment that lets users with little or no development experience create and deploy network-ready Macintosh and Windows business applications. Together, these technologies will significantly reduce the time, cost and expertise required to develop and implement highly specialized, network-aware business applications for heterogeneous environments.

"The combination of OpenDoc and AppWare brings the most robust component software architecture together with a powerful visual development environment," said Jed Harris, president of Component Integration Laboratories, Inc., the industry consortium promoting OpenDoc. "Novell's continuing support for OpenDoc demonstrates the momentum that component software, based on OpenDoc, is experiencing in the industry."

This initiative is another key step in Novell's continuing efforts with industry partners to deliver Pervasive Computing. The modularity, compact size, and portability of component software is vital for delivering the power of network computing to new devices -- from PDAs to television sets, and even automobiles -- and for creating flexible, network ready applications for desktop systems.

OpenDoc's System Object Model (SOM) lets components run over networks and on numerous operating systems and hardware platforms. AppWare provides a simple, powerful visual toolset for developing advanced network applications in this environment -- facilitating the creation of OpenDoc parts by IS shops, Systems Integrators and VARs, as well as traditional developers.

Over the next two years, Novell will build seamless OpenDoc support into AppWare. Through OpenDoc's ComponentGlue technology, also supplied by Novell, component-based applications will have complete interoperability with applications using Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding (OLE 2.0). OpenDoc applications built with AppWare will be deployable on both Windows and Macintosh platforms, as well as other platforms to be announced at a future date.

Two Phase Integration Strategy

In the first phase, expected in late 1995 for Macintosh and 1996 for Windows, AppWare will be enabled to create both OpenDoc parts and standalone applications, with nothing more than a recompilation required to create OpenDoc parts from existing or future software projects. Users will be able to exploit the unique functionality and market opportunities available with OpenDoc, without excluding other development models.

For example, when the Macintosh and Windows updates to AppWare are available, an IS professional with an existing ALM-based AppWare application for accessing a database could recompile it with AppWare as an OpenDoc part. That part would immediately gain the portability and platform independence of OpenDoc. It would also be capable of interoperating with other OpenDoc parts and Microsoft's OLE 2.0-based components.

"Our first issue in incorporating OpenDoc within AppWare is empowering corporate developers, VARs, integrators, and consultants," said Ed Firmage, director of marketing for AppWare. "Developers who do most of their programming in higher level tools will be able to create vertical and business-specific parts. In this first phase, developing OpenDoc parts becomes accessible to these developers just as client-server development has through 4GLs," he said.

In the second phase, expected to be released on both Macintosh and Windows by 1997, AppWare will be enabled to use OpenDoc parts as well as ALMs (AppWare Loadable Modules) within its visual development environment. AppWare users will be able not only to create new parts, but also to programmatically control the integration of existing parts through AppWare's visual representation of OpenDoc's Open Scritping Architecture (OSA). Parts will be able to exchange data with ALMs and be referenced by them.

OpenDoc

OpenDoc is an industry standard architecture for component software backed by numerous industry leading ISVs. Designed to support information access, communication and collaboration across organizations and between individuals, it enables the construction of compound, collaborative, and customizable documents. These documents can be shared across platforms (Macintosh, OS/2, Windows, and UNIX) and interoperate with proprietary APIs for desktop application integration such as Microsoft OLE 2.0.

OpenDoc will allow companies to replace today's monolithic applications with smaller units of content and related functionality -- allowing faster, leaner and task specific software applications. Every component includes the ability to edit its particular type of content. Components, which are simpler and more focused than general-purpose applications, can be "mixed and matched" to fit the task at hand. Final SDKs (software developer's kits) for OpenDoc are due to be released this Fall.

AppWare

Designed for corporate developers, MIS, integrators, and others involved in building vertical and business-specific applications, AppWare is a high-level (5GL), component-based tool for developing Macintosh and MS Windows applications. AppWare's native components known as AppWare Loadable Modules or ALMs are "programmed" by linking them together visually on screen, as in a flow chart. The resulting project is then compiled as a double-clickable application (.exe).

Currently available components support GUI building, database access (Oracle, ODBC, SequeLink, DAL, etc.), host emulation (3270, 5250), document imaging (scanning, OCR/ICR, viewer), communications (file transfer, terminal emulation, serial connection), multimedia, PDA connections, NetWare management (NDS, Bindery, authentication, client and server configuration, NDS browser, schema manager, etc.), and much more. An ALM interface for VBXs is also provided. No previous programming expertise is required. AppWare 1.2 is available now for Macintosh and Windows.