New York City online transaction processing integrator Tangent International Inc has created a Java-enabled version of its Distributed Computing Integrator front-end development tool called Interspace, which IBM Corp and Sun Microsystems Inc will sell packaged with other middleware tools following their cross- licensing deal on MQSeries, CICS and Java. In fact IBM and Sun are part-funding the development of Interspace through a new Tangent unit called Planetworks that will carry the company’s Java product lines. They’re effectively turning Java front-end application development for their shared middleware components over to Tangent. DCI is a PowerBuilder extension for creating CICS, MQSeries, Tuxedo and Top End applications that has been built in conjunction with Powersoft Corp, IBM, Novell, and AT&T Corp. It has been extended to support Netscape Inc, Visual Basic, SQLWindows front-ends and now Java via Interspace. Developers can use their Java programming tools of choice with Interspace, including Symantec or Borland; Interspace plugs the middleware services into the application. IBM, Sun and Planetworks will ship an Interspace bundle by year-end that will include Sun’s Java development software; Interspace; CICS and MQSeries clients for multiple platforms; CICS and MQSeries server software for Solaris; and the CICS Gateway for Java. A two-user license starts at $5,000 on Solaris, AIX and NT. IBM MQSeries architect Robert Drew says that without Interspace developers have to write a server component in C, develop Java applications and create CICS and MQSeries class libraries or write others that can access CICS and MQSeries from C on the Web server. Planetworks thinks that between them the companies can ship 30,000 copies of Interspace in nine months. Planetworks will create a version of Interspace for use with Microsoft’s Falcon message queuing system. Level 8 Systems Inc is now beta testing its Falcon-to-MQSeries gateway.
