EBT And AIS Form Partnership; Integrate Electronic Publishing Technologies In New SGML-Based Publishing Solutions.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 1995--SEYBOLD '95--Electronic Book Technologies (EBT, Booth 2620) today announced that it has formed a partnership with Advanced Information Systems (AIS) S.A. to integrate technologies from EBT's DynaText(tm) electronic publishing system and AIS' Balise(tm) SGML processing tool to create new powerful electronic publishing tools.

EBT and AIS have signed an agreement through which EBT gains access to the Balise technology for integration in a variety of EBT products. Both companies will be directly involved in integration work. Initial co-development has resulted in two new products -- DynaPage(tm), a DynaText page--composition gateway, and DynaText/Balise Toolkit. The new products are designed to provide powerful SGML publishing solutions to DynaText publishers. Future plans call for Balise technology to be integrated into several EBT products including DynaTag(tm), EBT's SGML conversion software, and DynaWeb(tm), EBT's SGML World-Wide Web Server. In addition, the two companies have signed an agreement enabling EBT and its distributor network to distribute Balise worldwide.

DynaText, introduced in 1990, is the world's leading SGML-based online publishing system. DynaText accepts any valid SGML document and automatically builds a dynamic electronic book that enables users to quickly browse, search and annotate large documents. DynaText electronic books can include hyperlinks, tables, equations, graphics, audio, video and animation.

Balise is an advanced SGML processing tool for simple to sophisticated SGML conversions. Due to its flexibility, Balise is used for a wide spectrum of applications ranging from basic SGML parsing and validation tasks to complex document composition or database-oriented applications.

DynaPage

When integrated with DynaBase(tm), EBT's native SGML document repository and publishing system for storing and managing SGML documents and related data, DynaPage automatically generates input to popular document composition systems, including FrameMaker, Interleaf and Microsoft Word. The resulting document will appear in the target formatter with the same styles as those defined in the DynaText online browser. The DynaText stylesheets are automatically converted into stylesheets for the target formatter, where they can be interactively refined and completed, along with master page layout. The main applications for DynaPage are reference book composition, database publishing, and on-demand printing. The target list price for DynaPage is $2500.00 per seat.

DynaText/Balise Toolkit

The DynaText/Balise Toolkit reaches an unprecedented level in SGML processing power by providing a direct connection between the Balise SGML processing language and DynaBase. The Toolkit provides access to EBT's Systems Integrator Toolkit (SIT) through Balise functions, as well as enabling full access to DynaText stylesheets. By combining a powerful SGML processing language with a native SGML database, the DynaText/Balise Toolkit removes all constraints related to sequential data processing, and knows no limits on data size. The primary applications for the DynaText/Balise Toolkit are SGML data extraction and filtering, SGML database report generation, SGML instance pre-processing for DynaText CD-ROM indexing, and DSSSL-like document composition. The target list price for the DynaText/Balise Toolkit is $7500.00.

"I am very excited about the prospects for collaboration with AIS on a variety of projects that involve integrating Balise with EBT technology," said Louis R. Reynolds, EBT President/CEO. "We selected AIS' Balise over other alternatives due to its modern design and its superior open-endedness, which enable ready integration with our software. DynaPage and the DynaText/Balise Toolkit will provide powerful solutions to the growing number of international companies who have made the decision to base their electronic information delivery strategy on SGML and publish online with DynaText."

"AIS and EBT have always shared very similar conceptions about SGML data processing and management and our current agreement is a logical consequence of this fact," said Francois Chahuneau, General Manager of AIS. "Balise and DynaText are both high-end SGML-based products. Balise, as a high level conversion tool, is an ideal complement to EBT's range of superior SGML-based online publishing products. Balise represents an optimal solution for preparing complex SGML data to fully exploit all features of DynaText. Combining DynaText and Balise technologies in a new line of products will provide world-class electronic publishing solutions through collaboration of some of the world's best engineers and resources in the SGML arena," continued Chahuneau.

The main applications for Balise are SGML to SGML transformation, SGML instance-enrichment, document content validation, database loading and instance formatting. Balise is optimally designed for extensive and demanding conversions at high speed and is therefore particularly useful for preprocessing data in an SGML environment or for systems integration tasks that require comprehensive SGML conversions. Balise's powerful programming language offers high flexibility without compromising performance. Balise has an attractive licensing scheme with free runtimes. DynaText is particularly well-suited for electronic delivery of large, highly structured documents. Full-text searches can be conducted for individual and collections or "libraries" of DynaText books. DynaText electronic books can be shared on heterogeneous client/server networks or placed on standalone workstations, PCs or PDAs. DynaText runs on Microsoft(tm) Windows(tm) and Apple Macintosh(R) systems, as well as all major UNIX(R) platforms.

Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. (EBT) provides corporate and commercial publishers with the industry's most comprehensive, standards-based electronic publishing solutions. EBT, a founding member of SGML Open and the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C), develops and markets a product suite engineered from the ground up around SGML. DynaText, EBT's flagship product, currently reside on millions of desktops through widespread deployment by Autodesk, Legent, Novell, Siemens Nixdorf, Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, Sybase, AT&T, Australian Telecom, British Telecom, and Ericcson Telekom. EBT is privately held and headquartered in Providence, RI.

Advanced Information Systems, S.A. (AIS) is a European leader in design and implementation of SGML-based publishing tools and systems. AIS also provides consulting and training services and distributes EBT products in France. AIS' customer base combines large commercial publishing houses (Editions Lamy, Edition Francis Lefebvre, Editions Legislatives, Bordas, Flammarion) and major industrial companies (Aerospatiale, PSA, EdF, Groupe Bull). AIS is a wholly owned subsidiary of graphics communication group Berger-Levrault and is based in Neuilly, France.

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Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is an international ISO standard for the publication and delivery of electronic information. SGML has been adopted by industries with large amounts of in-house publishing including, aircraft, automotive, computer, defense, electronics, pharmaceuticals, securities, telecommunications and transportation, as well as government systems integrators, publishing companies, and academic research centers.

All products listed within are trademarks of their respective companies

CONTACT: Markus Wachsmuth

EBT S.A. AIS S.A.

Geneva, Switzerland

41-22-788-6550

or

Kent Summers

EBT

Providence, RI

401-421-9550

or

Francois Chahuneau

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

33-1-46408400