Dr. Dobb's Journal July 1997
Newfire has unveiled Catalyst, an authoring tool for creating 3-D games for the World Wide Web. Catalyst is designed as an extensible base platform that can be extended through plug-ins. The Catalyst base platform supports/provides scene composition, an interactivity editor, real-time playback and analysis, performance optimizer, and project manager. A Catalyst SDK will available shortly. The Catalyst base product is priced at $1995.00 for a single-user license. Newfire's plug-in modules are priced between $250.00 and $1000.00 each.
Newfire Inc.
12901 Saratoga Ave., Suite 4
Saratoga, CA 95070
408-996-3100
http://www.newfire.com/
Pro\Sim has announced Version 2 of its PinQuik (PQ) Toolkit for system administrators and developers. PQ is a user-interface development package, which can simultaneously execute in graphical and text modes. PQ is delivered with sample panels, bar menus, and forms that can be used as examples for users to start developing their own applications. PQ has several UNIX System Administration Utilities built in, including disk utilities, administration tools, and others. PQ is implemented in Tcl/Tk, and a copy of Tcl/Tk is distributed with PQ.
Pro\Sim Corp.
14201 Memorial Dr., Suite 400
Houston, TX 77079
800-489-3592
http://www.prosim.com/
Headspace's Beatnik is a web-based software system for the creation and playback of interactive music. The Beatnik system consists of the Beatnik Editor and the Beatnik Plug-in. The Beatnik Editor, available for the Macintosh, can import music and sound in a variety of industry-standard file formats, and outputs Real Music Format (RMF), which allows for MIDI music to be integrated with digital audio samples. The Beatnik Plug-in manages playback on web browsers. Beatnik supports a set of Java-callable functions that allow a web site to play music based on user events, such as a mouse-click or a mouse- over. These events can also trigger individual notes, sampled voices, or sound effects; start or stop music; and change tempo, volume, pitch, or mix. The Beatnik Plug-In and the Beatnik Editor are both freely available.
Headspace Inc.
217 South B St.
San Mateo, CA 94401
415-696-9400
http://www.headspace.com/beatnik/
TracePoint Technology announced HiProf, a hierarchical profiler available for the Windows Intel platform. HiProf's hierarchical profiling enables developers to conduct code analysis on the binaries of 32-bit C/C++ Windows applications. Hierarchical profiling shows each function's self-time and the number of calls taking place between all parent and child functions, and the time that the activity takes. This information is displayed in graphical pie charts, histograms, and lists. HiProf instruments and profiles compiled and linked EXEs or DLLs, using its patented Binary Code Instrumentation (BCI) technology. No source code or OBJ files are required with HiProf. HiProf also enables developers to selectively exclude DLLs or portions of their EXE file from profiling in order to drill down on specific portions of an application, or to evaluate third-party components. HiProf reports on multiple threads individually, and supports all applications compiled with Visual C++ 2.x and later. HiProf's suggested retail price is $599.00.
TracePoint Technology Inc.
One Almaden Blvd., Suite 1100
San Jose, CA 95113
408-283-5350
http://www.tracepoint.com/
DFL Software has announced 32-bit ActiveX versions of its Light Lib Magic Menus component. This control allows developers to create menus with background images, bitmap menu items, and tool button palettes. The professional version of Light Lib Magic Menus is $139.00, while the standard version is $99.00.
DFL Software
55 Eglinton Ave., East, Suite 208
Toronto, ON
Canada M4P 1G8
416-487-2660
http://www.dfl.com/
ObjectSpace's Voyager is a platform for agent-enhanced distributed computing in Java. It supports both traditional and agent-enhanced distributed programming techniques to create sophisticated network applications for equipment ranging from desktop computers to embedded consumer devices. Voyager enables you to create agents that can roam a network and continue to execute as they move. Moving agents and other objects can exchange remote messages using regular Java message syntax. Objects can be constructed remotely using the regular Java construction syntax, static methods can be executed remotely, remote exceptions are automatically rethrown to the caller, and serializable objects can be passed and returned by value. Once serializable objects are created, you can move any of these objects to a new location, even while the object is receiving messages. Messages sent to the old location are automatically forwarded to the new location. The entire Voyager system, is 70 KB in a compressed jar file, and 150 KB uncompressed. Voyager is available free for commercial use at the ObjectSpace web site.
ObjectSpace Inc.
14881 Quorum Dr., Suite 400
Dallas, TX 75240
972-934-2496
http://www.objectspace.com/
WebRunner Toolkit from Taligent is a web-development toolkit consisting of Client Works, Server Works, and Bean Factory. WebRunner Client Works is a set of Java class libraries that form a framework for JavaBeans and Java applications. WebRunner Server Works is a class library that abstracts common server-side API's (such as CGI and NSAPI) so that you can develop API-independent server-side web applications. C++ and Java versions are available. Bean Factory is a tool for creating, modifying, and testing JavaBean components.
Taligent Inc.
10355 N. De Anza Blvd.
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-255-2525
http://www.taligent.com/
SoftQuad International has introduced the SoftQuad AdaptAbility Toolkit, a suite of technologies designed to make the World Wide Web accessible to people with disabilities. SoftQuad AdaptAble Technologies consists of four components: a Visual Dynamic Keyboard, a Screen Enhancer, an integrated screen reader, and customizable user profiles. The Visual Dynamic Keyboard is an on-screen keyboard that lets users enter text, select commands, activate dialog box controls, and so on, without using a traditional keyboard and mouse. The Screen Enhancer is a screen-magnification technology that rerenders the desktop and/or the application in logical ways for better, more intuitive navigation and viewing. SoftQuad's integrated screen reader is both application aware and HTML aware. In addition to standard screen-reader elements, users are able to set up automatic routines for reviewing an HTML page when it appears. SoftQuad's AdaptAble Technologies also include customizable user profiles, in which users can select display and control preferences. User profiles can be selected upon startup, so multiple individuals with varying preferences can use a single terminal.
SoftQuad Inc.
20 Eglinton Ave. West, 12th Floor
Toronto, ON
Canada M4R 1K8
416 544-9000
http://www.softquad.com/
Arial Software's Virtual Print Engine gives developers using Visual Basic, C/C++, FoxPro, Delphi, and other languages the ability to dynamically create and output documents by invoking any of Virtual Print Engine's 65 page-building function calls. Objects such as lines, polygons, bitmaps, text, and barcodes can be positioned, rotated, and scaled, and can incorporate external data at run time. Developers can give users print previewing. The Virtual Print Engine has no run-time fees or royalties, and a list price of $398.00.
Arial Software
1225 NW Murray, Suite 101
Portland, OR 97229
503-646-4515
http://www.arialsoftware.com/
Snowbound Software's RasterNote Annotation Toolkit for Windows 3/95/NT lets you use circles, lines, and freehand shapes to annotate documents. RasterNote toolkit is available as a DLL for Windows 3.x, and OCX/ActiveX for Windows 95/NT, and costs $995.00.
Snowbound also announced version 6.0 of its RasterMaster UNIX image libraries. New features include enhanced document imaging support for hot document archival, deskewing, despeckling, automatic aspect ratio correction, and GIF and PNG support. The RasterMaster toolkit for UNIX costs $2495.00.
Snowbound Software Corp.
P.O. Box 520
Newton, MA 02159
617-630-9495
http://www.snowbnd.com/
RoseGUI from HexaTech is an ActiveX component for developing GUIs. Features include creating interactive scenes containing any objects, shapes, and behaviors of objects controlled by user bitmaps, simulating real-life objects such as airplanes and TVs, support for flying-mouse highlight, and scripting support. RoseGUI allows you to supply your own bitmaps to control the look and feel of your application.
HexaTech
725 Mariposa Ave., #107
Mountain View, CA 94041
415-254-0610
http://www.hexatech.com/
Interactive Network Technologies, has announced Version 1.1 of Carnac, a 2-D graphics toolkit. Two SDKs have been added to the toolkit: the Flavors SDK and Dynamic Scenes SDK. The Flavors SDK aids production of User Defined Primitives (complex shapes), while the Dynamic Scenes SDK assists production of code that generates dynamic scenes on the fly. Additionally, support for 1, 8, and 24-bit rotatable, sharable, and scalable images with full transparency control and a CGM output option have been added. Carnac is available for Windows 95/NT and most common UNIX implementations.
Interactive Network Technologies Inc.
2901 Wilcrest, Suite 300
Houston, TX 77042-6011
713-975-7434
http://www.int.com/
Preview Software announced TimeLOCK 3.0 Transaction Server and Client Builder, a client/server extension to Preview's trialware development kit. TimeLOCK Client Builder allows you to wrap your software with "try before you buy" and electronic commerce capabilities. The Client Builder supports multitier distribution as well as direct sales, and allows connections via the Internet, modems, voice, and fax. With the TimeLOCK Transaction Server, software companies can handle all aspects of online transactions royalty free. The Transaction Server is available for both Windows NT and Solaris, and a single-key license costs $4995.00. A license for TimeLOCK Client Builder and one key module costs $795.00.
Preview Software
345 California Ave., Suite 3
Palo Alto, CA 94306
415-326-2242
http://www.previewsoft.com/
EdgeworX, from the Antares Alliance Group, is an object-oriented web development and execution framework using Microsoft's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). EdgeworX uses a class library of ActiveX objects to represent the base components of a web application, including objects for database access. EdgeworX works on any Windows 95/NT web server that supports CGI, ISAPI, or NSAPI, and costs $399.00.
Antares Alliance Group
17304 Preston Rd., Suite 1200
Dallas, TX 75252
972-447-5500
http://www.aag.com/
emWare has announced EMIT (Embedded Micro Interface Technology), a micro web server designed for embedded devices. EMIT requires 750 bytes of ROM and 30 bytes of RAM. It achieves its size by distributing part of the server functionality to the client, emManager. The client interface consists of emObjects, preprogrammed functions in the form of Java applets, ActiveX components, and others. A single-user EMIT SDK with ten embedded licenses costs $1200.00.
emWare
1225 E. Fort Union Blvd., Suite 220
Midvale, UT 84047
801-256-3883
http://www.emware.com/
NetManage has announced Chameleon UNIXLink 97, which uses the X Consortium's Broadway standard to run X applications from within a web browser. Chameleon UNIXLink 97 uses LBX to handle data over low-bandwidth lines, and includes a web-based management tool. Chameleon UNIXLink97 sells for $400.00.
NetManage Inc. 10725 North De Anza Blvd. Cupertino, CA 95014 408-973-7171 http://www.netmanage.com/
Rational Software has announced new versions of SQA Suite 6.0 and RequisitePro 2.5, both of which have been integrated with the Rational Rose visual modeling tools. SQA Suite 6.0, a suite of automated client/server testing tools includes new capabilities for HTTP-based performance testing and a new Object Scripting capability. RequisitePro 2.5, a requirements management tool, adds integration with Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, in addition to Rational Rose. SQA Suite 6.0 starts at $9995.00, while RequisitePro starts at $1295.00.
Rational Software Corp.
2800 San Tomas Expwy.
Santa Clara, CA 95051
408-496-3600
http://www.rational.com/
DDJ