Software AG unveiled its Java-based software tool Bolero for the first time in Asia last week and is aiming the product at addressing electronic-business needs.
"Until now, the lack of viable software tools has stymied real growth of electronic commerce," said Wilson Tan, vice president/managing director of Asia-Pacific, Software AG. Bolero has the high-performance, high-speed, around-the-clock applications that are critical for online business. The software tool will also seamlessly integrate with existing applications.
At 1.2 million lines of Java code, Bolero is one of the largest Java applications written to date, said Tan.
The current 1.2 version of Bolero creates e-commerce applications on the Java platform without the need to use the Java language. The program uses Object Query Language (OQL), an easier-to-use language. Bolero also supports "object relational mapping", which allows two different database designs to be mapped onto each other.
Bolero comprises two functional elements, the Bolero Component Studio and the Bolero Application Server. It provides features like the use of long transactions, SQL (structured query language) syntax-checking, and the storage of objects in relational databases.
Bolero generates runtime programs in Java byte code, which allows the development and cross-platform distribution of server-based applications. Bolero components run on all hardware platforms that use the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Users can choose either DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) or JavaBeans as their component models for reusable software component development or integration. The company said that future versions will support the CORBA/IIOP (Common Object Request Broker Architecture/Internet Inter-ORB Protocol) standard.
Software AG decided to use Java as a platform to assure cross-platform portability and scalability. Bolero is targeted at corporate users and software vendors who need to integrate key Internet applications with existing custom applications and standard software packages.
"We're targeting this at medium and large corporations, who are developing enterprise, mission-critical applications," said Rainer Glaap, Software AG's director of product marketing.
According to Rainer, some sample applications developed by Bolero extend existing applications onto the Web or a company's intranet.
The product is priced at $S10,000 ($US5,900) per developer seat, and on a per CPU basis for deployment. A starter kit will be available at S$35,000, which includes two Bolero Application Studios, training and services. Bolero's development platform is for Windows NT 4.0, and can also be deployed on Sun Solaris, IBM OS/390 and Compaq Tru64 Unix platforms.