Visigenic Announces Support For Microsoft's OLE DB; Visigenic's VisiChannel Provides Transparent OLE DB Solution For Relational Data Access Across The Enterprise.SAN MATEO San Mateo (săn mətā`ō), city (1990 pop. 85,486), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1894. It is a commercial and retail center with some high-technology manufacturing. San Mateo, Spanish for St. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1996--Visigenic Software, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : VSGN), a leader in standards-based data access technology, today announced support for Microsoft's component database architecture interface, OLE DB (OLE DataBase) A programming interface for data access from Microsoft. It is a COM object that functions in a similar manner to ODBC, but for every type of data source, not just SQL databases. . Visigenic now supports OLE DB-enabled applications' access to relational data in two Visigenic technologies, VisiODBC Drivers and VisiChannel for ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) A database programming interface from Microsoft that provides a common language for Windows applications to access databases on a network. , a server-centric ODBC data access architecture. Additionally, Visigenic announced plans for VisiChannel for OLE DB, a direct OLE DB-based version of Visigenic's server-centric data access architecture. With the increasing shift to object-oriented application development and the increasing use of abstract and unstructured data Data that does not reside in fixed locations. Free-form text in a word processing document is a typical example. Contrast with structured data. See free-form database. types, a need for a more object-oriented data access mechanism has emerged. Microsoft's OLE DB is an evolution beyond ODBC and its `C' programming language call level interface for accessing relational data. OLE DB is designed to be a more universal data access mechanism that can access not only relational data but also data from spreadsheets, e-mail, project plans and unstructured object data, and with OLE DB, developers can write directly to the OLE DB object classes and methods for object-oriented data access. Visigenic's support for OLE DB in the current versions of VisiChannel for ODBC and VisiODBC Drivers has been made possible by Microsoft's "ODBC Provider" technology which routes data access requests from OLE DB-enabled applications to the appropriate ODBC driver. When it becomes available, VisiChannel for OLE DB will be able to receive data access requests directly from OLE DB-enabled applications. "Enterprises are moving to distributed, object-based IT architectures, and Microsoft is targeting the needs of those enterprises with its next generation data access technology, OLE DB," stated Mark Hanson, president of Visigenic Software. "As a major Microsoft partner in data access technology, Visigenic is committed to supporting enterprise-class OLE DB solutions with its line of data access products." "At Microsoft's recent OLE DB/ODBC compatibility test, Visigenic demonstrated that OLE DB and Visigenic ODBC technology is compatible and interoperates seamlessly today," said Dave Cameron, data access product unit manager at Microsoft. "As a valuable partner in data access, we are excited that Visigenic is in support of making OLE DB a universal standard for not only accessing non-relational data but also data from spreadsheets, e-mail, project plans and unstructured object data." VisiChannel for ODBC and Support for OLE DB VisiChannel for ODBC re-locates specific database components such as ODBC drivers and DBMS (DataBase Management System) Software that controls the organization, storage, retrieval, security and integrity of data in a database. It accepts requests from the application and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. connectivity libraries to the server, leading to a simpler, easier-to-administer client and server environment. VisiChannel's server-centric architecture reduces the number of client software components needed to enable data access without limiting the flexibility and openness OLE DB client applications provide. It improves control by centralizing the database specific components such as drivers, connectivity libraries (when needed) and data source definitions once on the server instead of on each client machine. VisiChannel for ODBC offers greater choice over other solutions by allowing the use of Visigenic-provided, third-party or privately-developed ODBC drivers. The architecture reduces installation, system maintenance, support and training costs through its point-and-click interface and server-centric design. Finally, VisiChannel for ODBC can also continue to support existing ODBC applications without requiring additional changes, instantly simplifying and reducing the administrative burden. VisiODBC Drivers and Support for OLE DB Alternatively, developers and IT managers can deploy Visigenic's VisiODBC database drivers for Oracle, Sybase, Informix, CA-Ingres, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) DB2 and Adabas for OLE DB or ActiveX Data Object (ADO) access to relational data. In addition, larger enterprise deployments of OLE DB or ADO applications can take advantage of the VisiChannel for ODBC 1.1 data access architecture as an immediate, manageable, open solution for accessing relational data currently supporting Windows and UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). client and server platforms. VisiChannel for OLE DB VisiChannel for OLE DB will allow developers to transparently access information independent of the data source through an "all- OLE DB" data access solution -- one that does not rely on ODBC or the interaction of ODBC with database vendor connectivity libraries. VisiChannel for OLE DB will further extend the benefits of simplicity and ease-of-administration VisiChannel for ODBC provides. Specifically, VisiChannel for OLE DB will be implemented with a single OLE DB driver that is database independent and that communicates directly to the VisiChannel Server running on Windows NT or UNIX for access to the RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management System) See relational database and DBMS. RDBMS - relational database or other non-relational data sources. Visigenic will introduce VisiChannel for OLE DB in 1997. About Visigenic Software Visigenic is playing a key role in creating the foundation on which mission-critical applications of tomorrow will be written -- the open, distributed, object-based architecture for the new global enterprise. Building on its leadership and expertise in standards- based distributed object and data access technologies, Visigenic is a pioneer in managing distributed business logic and its access to data. Visigenic data access products include VisiChannel for ODBC (Open Database Connectivity See ODBC. (standard, database) Open DataBase Connectivity - (ODBC) A standard for accessing different database systems. There are interfaces for Visual Basic, Visual C++, SQL and the ODBC driver pack contains drivers for the Access, Paradox, dBase, Text, Excel and Btrieve ), VisiODBC Drivers, the VisiODBC Software Development Kit, and the upcoming VisiChannel for JDBC (Java DataBase Connectivity) A programming interface that lets Java applications access a database via the SQL language. Since Java interpreters (Java Virtual Machines) are available for all major client platforms, this allows a platform-independent database (Java Database Connectivity (database, programming) Java Database Connectivity - (JDBC) Part of the Java Development Kit which defines an application programming interface for Java for standard SQL access to databases from Java programs. http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/docs/guide/jdbc/index.html. ). Visigenic distributed object products include VisiBroker for Java and VisiBroker for C++, both of which are based on the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (standard, programming) Common Object Request Broker Architecture - (CORBA) An Object Management Group specification which provides a standard messaging interface between distributed objects. The original CORBA specification (1. (CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) A software-based interface from the Object Management Group (OMG) that allows software modules (objects) to communicate with each other no matter where they are located on a private network or the global ), and utilize the Internet Inter-ORB protocol (protocol, standard) Internet Inter-ORB Protocol - (IIOP) A protocol which will be mandatory for all CORBA 2.0 compliant platforms. The initial phase of the project is to build an infrastructure consisting of: an IIOP to HTTP gateway which allows CORBA clients to access WWW (IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol) The CORBA message protocol used on a TCP/IP network (Internet, intranet, etc.). CORBA is the industry standard for distributed objects, which allows programs (objects) to be run remotely in a network. ). Additional information about Visigenic may be obtained via the World Wide Web at www.visigenic.com . -0- Note to Editors: Visigenic is a registered trademark and VisiBroker and VisiODBC are trademarks of Visigenic Software, Inc. ODBC is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation used under license by Visigenic. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CONTACT: Visigenic Software, Inc. Bob Macdonald, 415/286-1900 bobmac@visigenic.com or The Horn Group. Inc. Bill Cox, 415/579-6400 bcox@horngroup.com |
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