X/Open Co Ltd is expected to announce in October that it will lead a new internationally-based project to encourage creation of a new breed of application conversion and applications programming interface testing tools using technology conceived by the UK Defence Research Agency and currently being honed in the European Commission Esprit-funded Deploy project. We understand there will be 12 project affiliates, including users, independent software vendors and vendors, which will evaluate the tools as key project technologies. The apparent success of Deploy, described by project members to the industry at large, seems set to lead, as the Defence Research Agency, X/Open and others had hoped, to a new initiative to enable users, independent software vendors and other organisations to develop consistent and strictly enforceable application transferring processes. Deploy partners, apart from X/Open and the Defence Research Agency, include the Open Software Foundation Research Institute, IXI Ltd, Software AG and two consultancies, Etnoteam and ET International SA. Former Unix International Europe front man Scott Hansen, now head of Brussels-based consultancy ET International, is expected to head the project and will co-ordinate development of requirements, feedback and pursue funding. The UK Defence Agency believes its tools can revolutionise the weird science of converting applications for different operating systems. It says independent software vendors, users and vendors can all benefit from being able to enforce a consistent conversion system across entire development teams and projects. The tools apply equally well to all stages of the development cycle including analysis, design, coding testing and deployment across multiple environments. The tools are designed to check and maintain adherence to applications programming interface requirements at every stage. They are not restricted to Unixes per se and are expected to be used for converting to Windows NT and other systems and combinations. Once the developer sets the conversion goals, the tools will enforce those criteria.
Robust enough for serious use
It should enable independent vendors to develop across a set of strategic systems then move software over to other operating systems at minimal time and expense. From operating system applications programming interfaces, the tools can be applied to enforcing systems management, object or other applications programming interfaces, the Defence Research Agency says. Although the tools will provide a common infrastructure, the Agency believes the concept must be extended to create a configurable framework for different market sectors; prepackaged policies that can accelerate converting tasks. The Agency will sell the tools, in C and C++ versions, but wants other independent software vendors to market products in this area too: X/Open project is expected to lead to the creation of common interfaces and develop relations with other tool suppliers. Right now there are around 30 prospects being evaluated for the remaining place on the project. The UK Agency will provide around 1,000 licences to the 12 participants and will refine and customise the tools based on members’ feedback and requirements. Having cut its technology teeth inside the Architecture Neutral Distribution Format project, the Agency says the tool set is already robust enough for serious use. Commercial sales are still a couple of years out, it reckons, but estimates that the 12 project members represent less than 5% of a market that could be worth up to $2m a sale. In the short term, the Agency will continue sales of its compiler systems. It says it is seeing increased sales of C++ for object-oriented development and developers using C in object work. Smalltalk, it feels, is inefficient for object development. The Agency says Deploy has shown its technology can deliver strategic advantages to companies; prospective members of the X/Open-driven effort have taken decisions to get involved to board-level and it says the technology was discussed at the Software F
oundation’s recent Brussels board meeting where the main topic of conversation outside of trying to define Pre-Structured Technology Processes was what the new-styled organisation could do for software developers. Of course it was originally the Software Foundation that backed the Agency’s technology by adopting it for its all-but abandoned Architecture Neutral Distribution Format system. Deploy still has two years to run and there are three more releases of tools scheduled under its terms. Another call for Esprit funding is expected at the end of the year when Deploy members will have to decide if and how they wish to take the Eurodevelopment forward.
