The Open Systems Foundation (OSF) will make a major announcement with X/Open Co. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, concerning the direction of open computing and the standards development process. This announcement caps a very busy year for OSF. Over the past 12 months, they have introduced a range of new technologies through their Advanced Technology Offering (ATO) and Pre-Structured Technology (PST) programs.
ATOs develop software products to the degree where they can be tested and explored by end users, independent software vendors and other vendors. ATOs are made available freely on a noncommercial basis through OSF's Open Software Mall on the Internet. Feedback is used to further develop the products. PST projects, based on existing technology, result in market-ready products. OSF develops a framework for development and licenses the results to the industry.
OSF has recently introduced two ATO projects: Java/Hot Java and DCE-Web. The Java project is designed to assess the new Java technology developed by Sun Microsystems in three ways: porting the Java software to other platforms in addition to those already ported by Sun; assessing the performance, completeness and security of the Java technology; and developing a test suite for measuring performance and verifying security. The Java ATO is sponsored by AT&T, Digital Equipment Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Novell, Inc., Sony, Inc. and Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Another ATO is based on the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) and the World Wide Web. Developed by OSF, DCE is a standard set of distributed computing technologies that provides security services, name services for finding distributed resources and a highly scalable model for organizing widely scattered users, services and data. The DCE-Web ATO aims to provide all the essential pieces required for integrating DCE and Web technology in an secure, enterprise-wide network. The DCE-Web is modeled to function as one component of an environment which includes standard HyperText Markup Language (HTML) communications as well as other Web technologies. Currently, there are four sponsors for the DCE-Web ATO: Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, CP Labs, Inc. and Gradient, Inc.
OSF has also recently announced a PST involving version 1.0.10 of the Common Desktop Environment. CDE is a user interface developed for open systems platforms, based on standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) and guides for developers. Originally supported by Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Novell and SunSoft, CDE sponsors now include DEC, Fujitsu, Inc. and Hitachi, Inc. Version 1.0.10 incorporates OSF/Motif APIs and provides additional APIs for key desktop services such as interapplication communication and group scheduling.
CDE 1.0.10 will be available for platforms from DEC, Fujitsu, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Novell, Sun and TriTeal Corp.
In addition, UniForum, in conjunction with OSF will begin a regular column in UniForum's IT Solutions magazine (formerly UniForum Monthly). The column will keep readers up to date on recent developments and issues in standards for the open systems industry.