Altova Reveals Ground-Breaking Semantic Web Development Tool; Altova SemanticWorks 2006 Helps Customers Intuitively Learn and Work with RDF and OWL Technologies.

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Altova(R) (www.altova.com), creator of XMLSpy(R) and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services tools, today announced a new addition to its award-winning line of XML applications. Altova SemanticWorks(TM) 2006 is a visual Semantic Web development tool with support for Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology Language (OWL) creation and editing. In line with its tradition of supplying developers with easy-to-use, visual development tools, Altova created SemanticWorks to help customers learn and work with emerging Semantic Web technologies in an intuitive way.

According to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Semantic Web is the next evolution in Web technologies. In the Semantic Web, data itself becomes part of the Web and is able to be processed independently of application, platform, or domain. Where the current Web is a collection of documents, the Semantic Web is more like a huge database, in which data on Web pages as well as in databases and other information management systems can be searched, processed, and acted on by machines in meaningful ways. The Semantic Web relies on structured sets of metadata and inference rules that allow it to "understand" the relationship between different data resources. The technologies that form the basis of the Semantic Web by adding these metadata and inference rules are RDF and OWL.

"The Semantic Web gives more meaning to the information available on the Internet and in private data stores," said Tim Hale, Director of Marketing for Altova. "It greatly enhances the relevance and versatility of information accessed via knowledge management and search systems, and opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for intelligent computerized applications. The Semantic Web is a technology whose time has come, and Altova SemanticWorks 2006 makes it a reality for software developers and information architects everywhere."

Create Semantic Web Documents Visually

Altova SemanticWorks allows developers to graphically create and edit RDF instance documents, RDF Schema (RDFS) vocabularies, and OWL ontologies with full syntax checking. Context-sensitive entry helpers present developers with a list of permitted choices based on the RDF or OWL dialect they are using, so they can create valid documents quickly and easily. In particular, SemanticWorks provides powerful, easy-to-use functionality for:

--Visual creation and editing of RDF, RDFS, OWL Lite, OWL DL, and OWL Full documents using an intuitive, graphical interface and drag-and-drop functionality

--Syntax and semantics checking according to selected conformance level (RDF, RDFS, OWL Lite, OWL DL, and OWL Full)

--Auto-generation and editing of RDF/XML or N-triples formats based on visual RDF/OWL design

--Printing the graphical RDF and OWL representations to create documentation for ontologies

In SemanticWorks, developers can switch from the graphical RDF/OWL view to the text view to see how their documents are being built in RDF/XML or N-triples format, and they can export files from RDF/XML to N-triples or vice versa at any time. And, because the RDF/XML or N-triples code is auto-generated based on their design, developers can learn and experiment with the concepts of the Semantic Web without having to write complicated code.

Additional information on all the powerful features of Altova SemanticWorks 2006 can be found at: http://www.altova.com/products_semanticworks.html.

Availability and Pricing

Altova SemanticWorks 2006 is immediately available for download and purchase with the (USD) price for a single-user license starting at $249. Purchases can be made via the Altova Online Shop at: https://shop.altova.com. A 30-day free trial may be downloaded from: http://www.altova.com/download.html.

SemanticWorks 2006 is also included within both the Enterprise and Professional Editions of the Altova XML Suite 2006. Now when customers purchase the Altova XML Suite they get the five leading XML development tools - XMLSpy, MapForce(R), StyleVision(R), SchemaAgent(TM), plus SemanticWorks - at a 50% savings off the price of the five products purchased separately.*

Existing Altova XML Suite customers with a valid Support and Maintenance Package (SMP) are eligible to get SemanticWorks 2006 at no additional cost. SMP covered XML Suite customers can request their new key code for SemanticWorks 2006 at: http://www.altova.com/GetSemanticWorksKey.asp.

The Altova Support and Maintenance Package (SMP) can be purchased for 25% of the product price for a one-year period or 20% of the product price per year for a two-year period. Altova SMP provides free major software updates, maintenance releases, and priority technical support for the duration of the support period. SMP renewals are available beginning 90 days prior to expiration.

About Altova

Altova accelerates application development and data management projects with software, services, and solutions that enhance productivity and maximize results. As an innovative, customer-focused company and the creator of XMLSpy and other leading XML, data administration, UML, and Web services tools, Altova is the choice of over 2 million clients worldwide, including virtually every Fortune 500 company. With customers ranging from vast development teams in the world's largest organizations to progressive one-person shops, Altova's line of software applications and custom-tailored professional and educational services fulfills a broad spectrum of business needs. Altova is an active member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Object Management Group (OMG) and is committed to delivering standards-based platform-independent solutions that are powerful, affordable, and easy to use. Altova was founded in 1992 and has headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts and Vienna, Austria. Visit Altova on the Web at www.altova.com.

Altova, XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, SemanticWorks, and SchemaAgent are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Altova GmbH in the United States and/or other countries. The names of and reference to other companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to Editors

*The Altova XML Suite 50% savings is based on the price of purchasing all five products separately. The 50% price comparison and price calculation are edition specific and relate to the purchase of either Professional Edition or Enterprise Edition software and not a combination of individual Enterprise or Professional Edition products. Prices displayed on the Altova Online Shop pages already take this discount into account - it is not in addition to the quoted prices, but already reflected in the prices listed on the site.