Oracle Corp has begun the process of unveiling details of the next major release of its core relational database product, in an attempt to counteract Microsoft Corp’s publicity for SQL Server 7.0. Oracle 8.1, codenamed Emerald, includes an embedded Java virtual machine for executing Java applets in the database server, and will beta in August, shipping in time for the company’s annual user conferrence in November. It includes enhancements for data warehousing, high-availability, internet, messaging plus a new management console. An integrated object request broker from Inprise Inc’s Visigenic Software will enable 8.1 to respond to requests from Corba IIOP environments. What developers have now is the long-promised Object Database Designer modeling tool for generating application and server code for use with the object and extended data type features of the object-relational database (CI No 3,363). In a surprise move, Oracle decided to incorporate ODD, originally intended to have been launched as a separate product this month, into the most recent 2.1 release of its Designer application modeling toolset. But it didn’t bother telling anyone as much. Why? Because Oracle is not good at marketing these kinds of things separately, it said. It was too cheaply priced. So it hasn’t been buried? Of course not, it works as intended. ODD will incorporate the first incarnation of a new shared multi-user repository that will eventually support all of the company’s developer tools. Reports say 8.1 won’t include support for a key object-oriented programming feature known as object inheritance. The promised bridge to Microsoft Corp’s Component Object Model will be released in August along with the 4.0 cut of Oracle Application server. Online directory and transaction services will be available in November. Oracle says it will continue to sell a workgroup version of the database for NT. It claims to have a bundling deal in hand which will see one of the top hardware vendors begin to sell systems pre-configured with Oracle 8, just like NT and Windows 95. More details, see Barbed Wire.
