Forte Software Adds World Wide Web Support for High-End Client/Server
Applications

THE FORTE WEB SDK WILL ENABLE FORTE DEVELOPERS TO EASILY ADD WEB BROWSER
AND JAVA SUPPORT TO ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS

OAKLAND, Calif. (April 2, 1996)-Forte Software (NASDAQ: FRTE) today
announced the Forte Web SDK (Software Developer's Kit)-new extensions that
will allow enterprise applications to easily take advantage of the
Internet's World Wide Web. The Forte Web SDK will be an optional product
that complements the Forte Application Environment', an integrated set of
object-oriented tools for building, deploying and managing high-end
client/server applications.

The Forte Web SDK will enable Netscape's Navigator and other Web browsers
to function as Forte' clients with full access to the powerful Forte
infrastructure, which is designed to support up to thousands of concurrent
users with high levels of reliability and manageability. The combination
of Forte and the Web will provide organizations with the facilities they
need to rapidly deploy Web-accessible business- critical applications,
such as order processing, without duplicating existing systems.

"The Web is one of the most significant developments in computing," said
Marty Sprinzen, president and CEO of Forte Software. "In order to take
full advantage of the Web, however, organizations need to leverage their
existing software investments. Just as the initial release of Forte
provided technology independence from specific graphical user interfaces,
relational databases, operating systems, and networks, the Forte Web SDK
will allow MCS-0471-1 organizations to add Web access with little more
than a couple of mouse clicks. With this flexibility, organizations can
deploy Web-accessible applications that fully leverage the Forte
infrastructure for high levels of performance, reliability and
manageability."

"Future development of the World Wide Web depends on its integration into
mainstream business applications," said Judith Hurwitz, president and CEO
of the Hurwitz Consulting Group. "Forte's Web support will enable
customers to transparently use Intranets for connecting both remote sites
and telecommuters to applications like funds transfer that interoperate
with other operational systems such as credit authorization," she said.

FORTE'S WEB-ENABLED BUSINESS SERVICES

Forte's open architecture will turn the Web into an extension of an
organization's existing business infrastructure. With a few simple
commands, a developer will be able to add Web access to an existing
business service that implements the business rules for an application.
The business service will be accessible concurrently by Forte client
applications, by non-Forte clients using DCE or CORBA, and by Web
browsers.

The Forte Web SDK will allow organizations to re-use business logic and
thereby deploy Web-enabled applications more quickly, while also enforcing
the consistent use of business rules and achieving better integration with
existing systems. Once deployed, Web-enabled Forte applications will
automatically take full advantage of the Forte environment, which includes
facilities such as transaction support, load balancing, fault tolerance,
configuration management, and performance monitoring.

THE FORTE WEB SDK

Forte Software plans to deliver WWW support in two phases. The first phase
will allow developers to easily enable Web clients in a Forte application.
Web clients will interface with the powerful Forte server infrastructure
bi-directionally, using a customized, high- performance Common Gateway
Interface (CGI). The customized CGI will provide higher speed information
transfer between Forte applications and Web browsers than the conventional
CGI.

In addition, the Forte Web SDK will provide a new set of HTML class
libraries that formats responses to requests made by Web browsers. This
will include automatically formatting the results of a SQL database query
for display to a user in a table format. Forte's HTML class libraries
provide developers with the ability to create interactive user interface
screens with much of the same useability delivered by graphical user
interfaces such as Microsoft Windows.

The creation of Web clients will be automated by a new utility within the
Forte Web SDK that converts Forte graphical user interfaces into HTML
pages in seconds. This utility will support all HTML widget types and
allow existing Forte user interface layouts, such as order entry screens,
to be used within Web browsers. Forte will also support client execution
of Netscape's JavaScript scripting language. Forte's JavaScript support
will enable Forte Web applications which could, for example, recognize and
respond to user actions, such as mouse clicks, or proofread user inputs
before returning the user information to the application.

The second phase of Forte's Internet support will automatically generate
interfaces to Sun Microsystems' Java programming language, allowing Java
applets to interoperate with the Forte infrastructure. This second phase
will also include support for the Netscape API as an alternative to CGI
for even faster interoperability with the Forte infrastructure. The
interaction between Java applets and Forte will enable organizations to
provide advanced applications, such as the design, visualization and
ordering of customized products, to previously unknown users, who would be
unlikely to have the necessary software installed on their computer.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Phase one of the Forte Web SDK is now in beta test and is currently
scheduled to be available for production use by the end of the second
quarter of 1996. North American pricing for the Forte Web SDK will be
$20,000 for a site license.

Phase two of the Forte Web SDK is currently scheduled to be available for
production use at the same time as the next major release of Forte.

FORTE APPLICATION ENVIRONMENT

The Forte Application Environment is an integrated set of object-oriented
tools for building, deploying and managing high-end client/server
applications that give companies a competitive edge in today's business
world. Forte enables organizations to create and effectively manage
powerful, multi-tier client/server applications, designed to support up to
thousands of concurrent users with high levels of reliability and
performance. Forte reduces complexity for developers by providing
automatic application partitioning, object-oriented development and
independence from specific hardware platforms, operating systems and
databases. Forte Software, Inc.

Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., and publicly traded on NASDAQ, Forte
Software, Inc. designs, develops, markets, and supports the Forte
Application Environment, for the development, deployment and management of
high-end client/server applications. Forte has direct operations in North
America and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
Forte is also marketed and sold worldwide through distributors and
value-added resellers.

Forte has been adopted by customers in a wide variety of industries,
including banking, finance, healthcare/pharmaceuticals, insurance, and
telecommunications.

For additional information contact Forte Software in the United States at
510/869-3400, in the United Kingdom at +44-1-344-482100, in France at
+33-1-41-43-01-80, in Australia at +61-2-9926-1400, via the Internet at
info@forte.com, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.forte.com.
 
 =========================================================
 From the 'New Product News' Electronic News Service on...
 AOL (Keyword = New Products) and Delphi (GO COMP PROD)
 =========================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 company/author mentioned. For additional details, please
 contact them directly at the address/phone# indicated.
 Trademarks are the property of their respective owners!
 =========================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  USA
 Email:   rbakerpc@aol.com   --or--   rbakerpc@delphi.com
 =========================================================
