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PDORelease2.0.txt
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1995-06-12
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From: Darren_Smith@NeXT.COM (Darren Smith)
Subject: NEXTSTEP AND PDO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH TRUE CLIENT/SERVER OBJECT MODEL
Date: 25 Jun 1994 13:50:04 -0400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Karen Logsdon
NeXT Computer, Inc.
415/780-3786
or
Charlotte Penner
Copithorne & Bellows
415-975-2225
NEXTSTEP AND PDO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH TRUE CLIENT/SERVER OBJECT MODEL
SAN FRANCISCO - June 21, 1994 - PDO Release 2.0, NeXT's portable version of its
Distributed Objects Framework, is currently in beta for the most popular UNIX
server operating systems from HP and Sun, and will be in beta for Digital
servers by the end of this year. The company also announced that NeXT's NetInfo
Editions for Servers, which enables distributed network-wide system
administration, is available for these same popular UNIX operating systems.
PDO provides a heterogeneous client/server framework based on objects by
extending NEXTSTEP's dynamic and distributed object model to UNIX server
environments. With PDO, objects, whether local or remote, are accessed in
identical fashion, providing transparent access to distributed application
processing. This enables application developers to take advantage of
networked resources without adding complexity to the overall application design
and implementation.
"Because PDO uses the same distributed object messaging architecture, it allows
us to take advantage of our client/server architecture by off-loading compute
intensive processes to the computers best suited for the task," said Matt
Peron, assistant vice president at The First National Bank of Chicago. "In our
business where time is money, PDO is definitely a competitive advantage."
Enhanced features incorporated into PDO 2.0
To give developers more language choice, NeXT is integrating C++ support into
the existing Objective C compiler in PDO 2.0. The integrated compiler allows
developers to merge Objective C, C++ and ANSI C code into one application.
Additionally, NeXT is adding a NEXTSTEP-compatible make facility to PDO, based
on the GNU make program, allowing one set of makefiles to be used for building
objects on clients and servers. This feature also provides better
integration with NEXTSTEP's ProjectBuilder, making it easier to maintain PDO
applications.
Distributed objects benefit enterprise computing
NEXTSTEP's Distributed Object Framework allows the same transparent messaging
to occur between objects residing in different applications, whether the
applications are running on the same machine or across the network. This
messaging architecture allows greater flexibility of software design by
providing a framework for applications to share common objects throughout a
networked environment. By facilitating the sharing of objects between
applications, developers benefit from less duplication of code and
less effort in designing enterprise application solutions.
"With PDO, we gain all of the benefits of object-oriented programming,
including writing fewer lines of code in development, higher reusability of
software and greater maintainability and reliability of software systems,
plus we gain the performance, centrality of data, and other features of
high powered enterprise servers," said Vince Jordan, vice president of
technology for SHL Systemhouse. "That's compelling to a business that relies
on compute intensive processes to increase its business."
Today, PDO provides interoperability between NEXTSTEP clients and server
environments. In the future, PDO will allow interoperability between NEXTSTEP
and emerging distributed computing standards, such as OMG's CORBA (Common Object
Request Broker).
PDO provides access to legacy software
Using PDO, customers can preserve their investment in legacy software running
in existing server environments by providing PDO objects as front-end gateways.
For example, applications developed in NEXTSTEP can gain access to
information being provided by a legacy real-time data feed on the server as
though it was a local NEXTSTEP object.
Pricing and Availability
PDO 1.0 is currently shipping for HP-UX. PDO Release 2.0 will be shipping for
HP-UX 9.0, Sun OS 4.1.3 and the Solaris 2.3 operating systems in August of
this year, followed by DEC OSF/1 at the end of the year.
Pricing for PDO is based on vendor's server types and ranges from $2,500 to
$10,000 per server, including the development tools and server software.
NetInfo
NetInfo Editions for Servers simplifies administration of a network comprised
of NEXTSTEP and other UNIX operating systems. NetInfo, bundled with NEXTSTEP,
provides a powerful and easy framework for administering large networks
without the overhead, delay and inconsistencies created by other network
administration tools. NetInfo Editions for Servers extends that advantage to
other industry UNIX platforms by providing compatibility with NEXTSTEP's
native NetInfo along with tight integration with existing
network administration tools on the server. The graphical network
administration tools available with NEXTSTEP can be used from one location to
administer all of the servers on a network that use NetInfo.
NetInfo Editions are currently available from NeXT for SunOS, HP-UX and DEC
OSF/1 and will be available for Solaris in the second half of 1994. NetInfo
Editions for Servers have the same pricing structure as PDO.
NeXT Computer, Inc.
NeXT develops and markets the award-winning NEXTSTEP object-oriented software
for industry-standard computer architectures. Customers use NEXTSTEP's
advanced object environment to rapidly develop and deploy custom,
enterprise-wide, client/server applications. NeXT is headquartered in Redwood
City, California, and has offices in North America, London, Paris, Munich
and Tokyo.
# # # #
NeXT, the NeXT logo, NEXTSTEP, PDO, Portable Distributed Objects and the PDO
logo are registered trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc. All other trademarks
mentioned belong to their respective owners.