Hewlett-Packard Co has launched a version of its OpenODB object-oriented database to run on Sun Microsystems Inc workstations, and says it has enhanced OpenODB’s ability to access all information from older systems, making it easier for companies to pull together distributed information. OpenODB is split into client and server portions, so multiple systems can be used as clients to an OpenODB database, and after the Sun version, Windows and IBM Corp RS/6000 OpenODB clients are planned. The external-functions feature, available from both the client and server end, is designed to enable companies to retain and continue using all existing sources of information – flat files, custom databases and commercial databases, and OpenODB presents the data in the form most relevant to users’ needs or responsibilities – Hewlett suggests oil and gas information can be represented on-screen as oil well icons to an oil production staff member and financial-assets reports to a controller. Integration of OpenODB’s external functions with Information Builder Inc’s Enterprise Data Access/SQL tool, users gain transparent access to more than 50 commonly used commercial databases stored on up to 35 different types of system. The 50 databases include IMS, Model 204, DB2, Image/SQL and all other relational databases. Smalltalk and C++ interface libraries, HP Distributed Smalltalk and Focus can all be used to develop applications that access objects in OpenODB directly. It also announced new user-based pricing, with the entry price per concurrent user of OpenODB from $1,500 to $5,000, and a three-month evaluators bundle for $5,000.
