Poet Software Corp, the San Mateo-based object database company, plans to be the first company to release a Java tight binding that meets the specifications that the Object Data Management Group will probably sanction later this year. By the end of March, Poet plans to release a beta version of its software developers kit with Java bindings that will let developers write applications that transparently exchange C++ and Java objects stored in its Poet Universal Object Server. The Server already supports ActiveX controls and Visual Basic applications. Poet is looking to counter competing database vendors who already have Java interfaces, but none that meet the proposed standard, according to Poet president Dick Bartels. The Object Data Management Group, which is working on release 2.0 of the standard, isn’t expected to give its final seal of approval until the summer and Bartels admits that Poet is a little bit ahead of the curve. The company has written Java bindings on top of its current C++ kernel, used in the local client database engine. The kernel runs on Windows NT and all other versions of Windows as well as on OS/2, NetWare and various Unixes. By the end of the year, Poet hopes to get out a Java client that doesn’t need the kernel. The initial Poet Java Software Development Kit, which is already posted in a pre-beta version and will cost $500 when it’s released on June 30, includes the Poet Java 1.0 ODMG Java tight binding, Java client, C++ kernel and Poet Java loose binding.
