HP Introduces HP ORB Plus 2.0, New-Generation C++ Object Request Broker

HP ORB Plus 2.0 is Key Element of HP's Middleware Engineering Initiative

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA. APRIL 2, 1996 -- Hewlett-Packard Company today
introduced HP ORB Plus 2.0 -- a new-generation C++ object request broker
(ORB) for HP-UX(1), SunSoft Solaris and Microsoft NT platforms that
complies with CORBA 2.0 specifications.

HP ORB Plus 2.0, a key element of HP's Middleware Engineering Initiative,
enables distributed applications to be designed, developed and managed
with greater ease and speed using object-oriented technology. It enables
enterprisewide or embedded applications on diverse platforms to
interoperate easily, provides extremely fast response-times and is highly
scaleable.

"HP ORB Plus 2.0 is part of our growing suite of object-technology products
and professional services that enable developers to create flexible
object-oriented and component-based applications," said Cyndi Nickel,
product manager for HP ORB Plus 2.0.

Highly Scaleable

HP ORB Plus 2.0 provides a framework approach that allows developers to
select only the components and CORBAservices (events, naming and
lifecycle) they need. It is an efficient, small-footprint implementation
of the CORBA 2.0 specification. This gives developers the flexibility to
create applications of various sizes, including small embedded
applications and large-scale enterprisewide applications.

Although HP ORB Plus 2.0 is based on the C++ programming language, it has
been designed so that other programming languages, such as Java, can be
supported for additional scaleability.

Flexible Transports

HP ORB Plus 2.0 features the CORBA 2.0 IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol),
which allows interoperability with other CORBA 2.0-compliant ORBs. Using
the IIOP protocol, HP ORB Plus 2.0 will interoperate with Distributed
Smalltalk software, now available from ParcPlace-Digitalk.

Developers in the HP-UX environment have at their disposal the additional
capability of the DCE CIOP (Distributed Computing Environment Common
Inter-ORB Protocol), which can be used as an alternative to the CORBA 2.0
IIOP. A special transport abstraction layer, part of the HP ORB Plus 2.0
architecture, allows the DCE CIOP and the COBRA 2.0 IIOP to be used
simultaneously. With help from HP, customers can use this feature to
integrate other custom transports.

Designed for Performance

HP ORB Plus 2.0 is a fully threaded ORB that supports the native threading
package available on each system. It also automatically chooses the
fastest transport available.

Reduced Learning Curve

Since application development using HP ORB Plus 2.0 is based on standard
C++ programming, there is no need for any special software-development
tools, unfamiliar application-development environments or additional new
program-language training. For example, a current C++ developer can use
existing HP Softbench tools that are already in place on an HP-UX platform
and begin using HP ORB Plus 2.0 to further simplify development.

HP ORB Plus 2.0 provides a set of sample applications that demonstrate a
broad range of features to further reduce the learning curve. The
developer is walked through a series of applications covering basic CORBA
programming through more advanced topics covering CORBAservices.

Standards Investment Protection

HP has a commitment to technology standards as a means of reducing overall
computing costs for customers. This continuing commitment includes the
CORBA 2.0 standard from the Objects Management Group, which helps ensure
predictability and interoperability with other standards-compliant
products.

Customers' investments in DCE technology are preserved because the HP ORB
Plus 2.0 DCE CIOP transport uses DCE Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). This
adherence to standards also decreases network-administration overhead.

A translation feature between OLE Automation and CORBA objects (scheduled
for summer 1996) furthers investment protection by giving OLE Automation
developers transparent access to CORBA objects throughout an enterprise.
This feature will support the OLE Automation developers' access to CORBA
objects through their familiar OLE Automation development environment,
thus integrating the Microsoft NT and UNIX system worlds.

New Features Summary

 New architecture, which provides greater performance and
 flexibility

 Broader operating system support -- HP-UX, Solaris, NT

 Multiple transports -- IIOP (available for all platforms),
 DCE CIOP (HP-UX only)

 Interoperability between OLE Automation and ORB Plus

 Full-featured implementation of CORBA 2.0 standards

Professional Services

HP's Professional Services Organization provides services that enable
customers to move toward object-oriented development environments using
tools such as HP ORB Plus 2.0. Services include object education,
training, re-engineering design, consulting and mentoring. In addition, HP
consultants can help customers plan, design and implement enterprise
object strategies. The Professional Service Organization object expertise
and knowledge is consolidated within its virtual Object- Oriented Solution
Centers.

HP Professional Service Organization approach addresses the people, process
and technology needs of companies, allowing them to leverage object
technology successfully to meet business goals and solve business
problems. The transition to object technology can be paced and phased
according to customer requirements, taking into account short-term and
long-term objectives.

HP's Middleware Engineering Initiative helps businesses gain a greater
competitive advantage by deploying flexible, midengineered solutions, and
by reducing costs through mainframe re-hosting. The initiative provides a
low-risk method for customers to start experiencing payback from an
enterprise client/server approach.

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing,
communications and measurement products and services recognized for
excellence in quality and support. HP has 105,200 employees and had
revenue of $31.5 billion in its 1995 fiscal year.

Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.hp.com.
 
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