NetLinks Announces SOM/DSOM Licensing Agreement With IBM

SAN JOSE, March 15, 1994 -- NetLinks Technology, Inc. announced today that
it has licensed IBM's SOMobjects Kernel and workstation DSOM (Distributed
System Object Model) for OS/2, AIX and Windows. NetLinks will integrate
SOM technology into ORBitize, the first in its family of ORB-based
development tools. NetLinks is also developing a version of its
ORBworkshop that introduces distributed objects to developers via a
combination of lecture and DSOM-based labs.

ORBitize provides a graphical user interface for creating and browsing
interface and implementation definitions rapidly and without syntax
errors. The browsing capabilities allow developers to effectively cope
with complex definitions and to immediately navigate to related
definitions. The creation features let you quickly build error free IDL by
enforcing syntax and validation rules on the fly.

With SOM integrated directly into ORBitize, developers can easily generate
client and server bindings for a wide variety of programming languages.
Built-in SOM support also lets developers register implementations and
load definitions directly into an interface repository, all from a single
easy to use graphical user interface.

Mark Roy, co-founder of NetLinks, said, "NetLinks is making it easier for
developers and integrators to successfully apply ORB technology.
Integration of SOM technology in ORBitize takes it one step further by
simplifying the edit-load-generate cycle of ORB-based development ."

"NetLinks has developed a very innovative CORBA distributed object
development environment that will help realize the power of OO and
distributed computing within our customer's IS organization", said Cliff
Reeves, Director of IBM's object technology products organization in
Austin, TX. "We are very pleased that NetLinks Technology will be
providing integrated SOM/DSOM capabilities in their ORBitize product."

For developers just getting started with CORBA, ORBitize shortens the
learning curve by letting them create CORBA IDL definitions without being
bogged down with the syntax and semantics of the language. The extensive
on-line help quickly answers questions about IDL usage and the CORBA
model. The MDI user interface lets developers work with multiple
definitions concurrently so they can quickly understand the distributed
object interfaces of large projects. Reuse is facilitated by making it
easier to understand interfaces to objects that are already available in
interface repositories or in IDL files.

ORBitize works on multiple platforms and is compatible with most available
ORBs. Initially, ORBitize supports SOMObjects, IONA's Orbix, and DEC's
ObjectBroker on Windows, NT, Solaris, and OS/2. ORBitize will be generally
available in the third quarter of this year.

ORBworkshop is an intensive introduction to ORB application design and
development issues, available ORB products, and the CORBA specification.
ORBworkshop is aimed at software designers and developers, systems
integrators, consultants, and project leaders that are applying or
exploring distributed object computing using CORBA-compliant ORBs. After
completing ORBworkshop, attendees should understand how to develop ORB
applications, be familiar with available ORB products, and understand the
current CORBA specification and its future direction. The DSOM version of
ORBworkshop provides hands-on lab exercises in which developers produce
IDL and create client and server applications using DSOM.

NetLinks Technology, Inc., Nashua, New Hampshire, is a leading
ORB-independent supplier of distributed object computing tools and
services. NetLinks' consultants and developers have extensive distributed
object computing experience including development of the industry's first
commercially available ORB. In addition to ORBworkshop, NetLinks' services
include design reviews, ORB selection and evaluation, mentoring, and
application development. 

NetLinks Technology Inc
PO Box 7437
Nashua, NH 03060-7437
tel/fax: 603-891-4177
Email: info@netlinks.com

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