Apple Computer Inc is clearing the decks for the PowerPC launch and offloading a bit of surplus baggage: it is handing responsibility for its Data Access Language, DAL, over to Independence Technologies Inc and its SNAps product for linking Macs to IBM Corp SNA mainframes to Wall Data Inc. In the deal with Fremont, California-based Independence, Apple is licensing its SQL-based Data Access Language to the company, and taking a minority stake in return. The Data Access Language consists of a client for Mac or Windows, and a DAL Server that runs on most widely-used proprietary and Unix hosts. Independence will market the language under its own name, and provide all support to existing customers. The Apple Programmers and Developers Association will continue reselling DAL worldwide, except in Europe where Apple will sell it directly until Independence can negotiate country-by-country agreements with resellers and systems integrators to provide a comprehensive network for European customers. It will deliver the Data Access Language upgrades and extensions previously announced by Apple, notably DAL 2.0, which will appear later this year, and will include enhanced application development between DAL and Open Database Connectivity. In the Wall Data pact, Apple will license its SNAps product line and technology to the Redmond, Washington company, and Wall Data will assume primary development, sales, marketing and support for Apple SNA software with the SNAps family supported by both Apple and Wall Data. The companies will exchange royalties on SNAps sales. But going the other way, Apple has terminated its joint development agreement with Symantec Corp on the Bedrock cross-system application technology and has bought the rights to it. It says it plans to enhance Bedrock to provide developers with a framework to build parts for the OpenDoc compound document architecture it has developed.
