Oracle Joins Rational to Submit Proposal to Object Management Group for Industry-Standard Modeling Language.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept 30, 1996--Rational Software Corporation today announced that Oracle Corporation is collaborating with Rational to define the Unified Modeling Language (UML), a graphical object-modeling language developed at Rational to eliminate method fragmentation.

Oracle joins Microsoft Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Company in endorsing the UML, which will be submitted by the companies as a joint proposal on standard object models and notation to the Object Management Group (OMG) in response to the OMG's recently issued Object Analysis and Design Request for Proposal. In addition to the endorsement, Oracle has been working with Rational to refine the UML's capabilities for modeling business application requirements.

"Oracle's extensive experience in providing solutions for large enterprise systems has been valuable in the evolution of the UML," said Mike Devlin, president at Rational. "With the combined contributions of Oracle, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard, the UML addresses the modeling needs of mainstream enterprise application developers."

"A standard modeling language is essential to bringing objects to the mainstream database community," said Ian Thacker, senior vice president of Designer/2000 Development at Oracle. "By merging the undoubted power of object modeling and business-oriented process modeling, the UML can be that standard."

The joint proposal will be presented to the OMG at the end of this year for formal standardization. The OMG, of Framingham, Massachusetts, is a consortium of vendors that are jointly developing a set of standards for distributed object technologies.

"We are very glad to be working with Rational in this area," said Ken Jacobs, vice president of Oracle's Server Product Strategy. "As Oracle begins to bring object technology to the mainstream of commercial computing, it is critical that leaders such as Oracle and Rational provide a clear roadmap for how to move ahead. The UML is consistent with our strategic approach to support object modeling and application design based on the upcoming Oracle8 object/relational database server."

Rational continues to actively solicit customer feedback and industry involvement in refining the UML. The current draft of the UML can be obtained from Rational's Web site at http://www.rational.com.

Rational Software Corporation (NASDAQ: RATL) develops, markets, and supports a comprehensive solution for the component-based development of software systems, based on visual modeling and object technology. Rational's solution includes an integrated family of products that automate development throughout the software lifecycle, a software process that can be configured to the specific needs of customers, and a range of consulting and support services. For more information on Rational's products and services, visit Rational's Web site at http://www.rational.com.

Oracle Corporation is the world's second largest software company and the largest supplier of software for information management. With annual revenues of more than $4.2 billion, the company offers its database, tools, and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in more than 90 countries around the world. For more information about Oracle, contact Oracle's headquarters at 415-506-7000. Visit Oracle's Web site at http://www.oracle.com.

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Note to Editors: The word "Rational" and Rational's products are trademarks of Rational Software Corporation. References to other companies and their products use trademarks owned by the respective companies and are for reference purposes only.

For more information contact: Rational Software Corporation 2800 San Tomas Expressway Santa Clara, CA 95051-0951 Tel. [phone] or 800/RAT-1212 Fax [phone] Fax-on-demand 408/496-3966 E-mail [e-mail] http://www.rational.com

CONTACT: Rational Software Corporation

Kara Myers, 408/496-3891

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