NCR began talking up its Top End transaction request broker software as an Internet technology a few months ago (CI No 2,932) – it used to be termed a plain old transaction processing monitor. Yesterday it introduced enhancements it claimed would offer developers virtually instant programming over networks. The company has added an ActiveX client that, along with its existing Java client, will allow links to be established between existing applications or business objects over the Internet, intranet or any other corporate network. Objects registered in the new Service Interface Repository (SIR) can be clicked on so that they connect the object to a Java or ActiveX application, such as Microsoft Excel, making it possible for applications written in Java or ActiveX to have requests securely brokered to business objects over the Internet. There are also two new interfaces for tools vendors to help with integration. Java and Common Gateway Interface (CGI) capability, and certification of Top End clients and servers running across the Internet, were introduced to Top End back in June. It’s a technology that will be particularly applicable to electronic commerce, transaction processing applications and scalable data warehouses, thinks NCR. Top End still lags behind NCR former parent AT&T Co’s Tuxedo TP monitor in terms of market share, but at SCO Forum, a plot was hatched to boost shipments by about 50,000 over the next year. NCR said it would be supplying a copy with every unit of SCO’s next release of the UnixWare operating system sold, including it on SCO’s ToolWare CD from November onwards. NCR has been working with Bridgewater, New Jersey-based EnterSoft Systems Corp on the UnixWare version, along with ports to other platforms (CI No 2,864), and says it should be completed by October. And a trial kit, including business objects for banking, hotel, inventory and ordering, database access and horizontal application access, will be available free for download from the Web, also from October.
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