Sybase, Inc. Announces Web.Works Internet Architecture

Powersoft to Internet-Enable Client/Server Applications, Provide Browser
Extensions, and Enable the Development of Executable Content and
Application Servers

CONCORD, MA, JANUARY 22, 1996 -- Sybase, Inc., The Enterprise Client/Server
Company, today announced web.works, a comprehensive architecture
encompassing the company's database, middleware and tools products that
enables the delivery of sophisticated business applications on the
Internet. With web.works, Sybase will deliver a single, integrated and
extensible application architecture capable of supporting the development
and deployment of client/server and Internet applications.

Today's announcements are focused on new application development
technologies for the Internet to be offered by Sybase's Powersoft
division. Additional announcements regarding new Sybase database and
middleware products for the Internet will be forthcoming as part of the
ongoing delivery of web.works.

With web.works, the company announced today that PowerBuilder will enable
users to both leverage their existing client/server applications with new
Internet capabilities and to create new Internet-specific applications.
PowerBuilder 5.0 will enable the creation of OLE servers and browser
plug-ins. In addition, Powersoft will make available the PowerBuilder
DataWindow as an OCX and a plug-in, enabling users to add sophisticated
data access, analysis and presentation technology to their browser-based
Internet applications. PowerBuilder 5.0 will also enable the creation of
distributed objects accessible from web-based clients. Subsequent updates
of PowerBuilder will enable the creation of OCXs. PowerBuilder 5.0 is
currently expected to ship in the first half of 1996.

"The major Internet opportunity for Sybase will be to provide technology
that enables customers to develop and deploy business applications," said
Mitchell Kertzman, executive vice president of Sybase and CEO of
Powersoft. "These new applications will be more sophisticated and
demanding than those currently on the Web, very few of which allow you to
enter data or are connected to databases. The Internet holds exciting
promise, however, and many companies seeking a competitive edge are
evaluating their need for new business applications and trying to decide
whether to build them in client/server or for the Internet. We want to
enable our customers to build their applications in a single environment
and then deploy those applications on the platform that best suits their
specific clients. We believe client/server and Internet applications will
co-exist for many years to come."

Enabling Internet Business Applications

The deployment of business applications on the Internet is allowing
businesses to provide customers with self-service capabilities, and is
helping companies reach more customers sooner, at reduced cost and effort.
web.works is based on an analysis of the total requirements for the
development and deployment of successful Internet applications.

Internet-Enabled Clients

Powersoft will enhance the standard Windows interface with browser
capabilities, enabling customers to leverage their IT investments by
adding Internet capabilities to existing client/server applications
without the time and cost of a re-write. Powersoft's tools will enable
users to add "browser functionality," such as the ability to communicate
with FTP servers, download information from the Internet or simply use the
Internet as an economical wide-area network, via an OCX or class library
that plugs into their existing applications.

Components

Powersoft will extend the browser metaphor through components that provide
data access, analysis and presentation capabilities, multimedia features
and critical business functionality. To address HTML's limited data
handling capabilities, Powersoft will deliver a DataWindow OCX and
DataWindow plug-in, enabling browsers to present data in all of the
DataWindow styles, including rich text format, grid, cross-tab, business
graphics and complex forms. The DataWindow will also provide Internet
developers with data formatting from repositories, validation rules, edit
masks, update capabilities and the complete range of sophisticated
attributes that comprise the DataWindow object. Powersoft will make the
DataWindow OCX and plug-in available for downloading at no charge from the
company's Web site.

Powersoft also intends to extend browsers though products from Visual
Components, Inc., with whom Sybase recently announced its intent to merge.
Visual Components' product line includes Formula One, an Excel-compatible
spreadsheet component and First Impression, a charting and business
graphics component. Formula One/NET, a plug-in for Netscape's Navigator
2.0, is currently available for downloading from the company's Web site at
www.visualcomp.com. Other Visual Components products are being ported to
the plug-in format.

Executable Content

Powersoft's development tools will enable users to develop their own
executable content, as C++ or Java applets, OLE servers, plug-ins and
OCXs, providing client/server power on the Internet. For example, a
PowerBuilder developer could create a plug-in that contained a
PowerBuilder window with multiple DataWindows talking to different
databases, one local, one via the Internet, another bypassing the Internet
to use native APIs for higher performance and another initiating a
three-tier service.

Dynamic Content

Sybase web.sql, which provides open, high-performance links to databases,
also allows embedded SQL statements to be embedded within an HTML page,
enabling the creation of dynamic, personalized content. It supports the
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) and Netscape Application Programming
Interface (NSAPI) standards. Sybase web.sql, which is currently in beta
and available for downloading from the Sybase Web page, was announced in
December 1995 and is currently expected to ship the in the first quarter
of 1996.

Powersoft's family of application development tools will also enable the
creation of dynamic content, and will support the CGI, NSAPI and Microsoft
Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) standards.
Powersoft tools will allow the developer to invoke application servers
created in PowerBuilder or C++, which can be used to access a database and
create a dynamic page by shipping HTML directly to the browser or by using
the DataWindow. PowerBuilder 5.0's support of distributed applications
gives the user access to more than a single target database. It also plugs
the user, via Sybase's Open Client API, into the entire Sybase database
architecture, providing access to more than 25 data sources.

Multimedia Authoring

Later in Q1, Powersoft will provide more detailed product plans designed to
meet the "splash" multimedia requirements of Internet applications.

World-class Databases and Middleware

Sybase will enhance its database and middleware products to provide
security, directory services and interfaces that support reliable, safe
use of the Internet for business applications. Upcoming announcements will
provide more details.

Web Browsers, Web Servers, HTML Editors and Graphic Creation

POWERSOFT WILL PARTNER WITH LEADING VENDORS.

"We see the Internet not as a new business or market, but as a new
platform, in the same way mainframes, minicomputers and client/server were
new platforms," said David Litwack, president of Powersoft. "Years ago, a
new platform meant a new box. Then came client/server, and we had to
expand our thinking about platforms to include separate clients and
servers. Now the Internet has added the web-based metaphor. As with prior
paradigm shifts, users can build a new class of applications, in this case
with a radically different client interface -- the browser -- but they
still have all the same back-end issues and challenges they had before.
Sybase's success at solving these problems for customers who made the
shift to client/server computing through the application of its superior
database, middleware and tools products positions Sybase well for success
in an Internet-enabled market."

Sybase, Inc. is a worldwide leader in client/server software. Sybase and
its Powersoft division are focused on four major market segments: on-line
transaction processing, data warehousing, mass deployment and electronic
commerce. Sybase's software products -- database, middleware and tools --
provide customers with desktop to enterprise solutions. The company's
mission is to provide its customers with an open, adaptable information
systems architecture that enables them to develop and deliver complete
information systems solutions to facilitate rapid business change.
Headquartered in Emeryville, CA, Sybase is the sixth largest independent
software company in the world. The company's Internet addresses are
www.sybase.com and www.powersoft.com.
 
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