Object Design has announced the XML Object Manager, a new database development tool that enables software developers to create highly interactive eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based Web applications.
XML is an emerging universal data transfer standard from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
The XML Object Manager uses Object Design`s ObjectStore as an XML application database. ObjectStore, the industry`s leading object database management system (ODBMS), powers many of the world`s largest and most successful Internet applications.
Developers can use the XML Object Manager to add dynamic data processing to their Internet applications without having to master technologies such as COM, DCOM and CORBA. Any Web professional can use the XML Object Manager to add features such as data entry, queries and personalisation to ObjectStore-driven Web sites by using simple document type definition (DTD) for defining the database, and hypertext markup language (HTML) and XML extensions for accessing and updating the data.
"There has been much talk about XML on the client side, but what makes the XML Object Manager unique is that it supports XML all the way back to the server," says JP Morgenthal, president of NC.Focus, an application integration consultancy.
"Server-side XML will become an increasingly important topic in the coming months as more companies realise that XML is not just about document data, but also application data. XML Object Manager is one of the first manifestations of this emerging trend."
The XML Object Manager was used to develop and deploy an ObjectStore-based timecard approval application for Siemens Communication Systems. This intranet application services more than 7 000 employees at multiple locations throughout the United States and seamlessly interfaces with legacy directory databases and payroll systems.
"XML Object Manager has enabled Siemens to be one of the first companies in the world to reap the benefits of XML," says Pat Nocero, director of accounting services for Siemens Business Communication Systems. "We expect our new timecard application to save Siemens significant dollars with reduced error rates and increased productivity. Furthermore, it will be easy for us to expand the application in the future without increasing our support and maintenance costs."
Developers using XML Object Manager benefit from ObjectStore`s Cache-Forward architecture, which allows them to cache locally their XML data in the middle-tier with the application server or Web server, thus eliminating the need for applications to access back-end databases with every query. This greatly reduces traffic to those databases and results in greater scalability and faster performance than can be achieved using traditional data management solutions.
"The XML Object Manager gives customers a server-side solution for using XML, which means faster time to market and superior performance," says Larry
Alston, VP of marketing for Object Design. "While most vendors are just beginning to look at XML, Object Design is already delivering a solution that will help customers incorporate XML into their Web applications today."
Object Design`s databases are represented in South Africa by Software Futures, a subsidiary of Computer Configurations Holdings.
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