Version 2.0 of NeXT Software Inc’s WebObjects server-based development environment line is now shipping, 90 days after the first version (CI No 2,845). The main difference between this and the previous version, which Steve Jobs’ company claimed would cut the time needed to create Web pages to a tenth of what it was, is the inclusion of a pre-release version of WebObjects Builder, code-named Tsunami (CI No 2,911). A production release of WebObjects Builder is set for this quarter. Product manager John Landwehr said the company thought it better to build a rock-solid back-end, and then do a user interface tool, rather than the other way round. He said Java support for the server will be added by the next release, set for around September , so Java applications running on the client could talk to the server. JavaScript and VB Script support will also be added at the same time. Some have suggested NeXT’s future looks uncertain, given the rise of Java, but Landwehr insisted the company had a future because of, rather than in spite of Java. Sun Microsystems Inc has already said that Java will be its primary target for object offerings, and all other technologies, including OpenStep/NeXTstep should be considered transitional (CI No 2,890). Landwehr said the company was always fond of Objective C, and Java is pretty similar to that. But somewhat strangely, he predicted that users will never be allowed database access from the Internet: it will mean accessing their Oracle database through the firewall. But that is already starting to happen now. There are two versions of WebObjects. WebObjects Pro enables developers to incorporate C, C++ and Objective C code into Web-based applications and access Object Linking & Embedding data types stored in Windows applications. WebObjects Enterprise is intended for organizations that want to encapsulate data from existing applications into their Web sites and develop both internal and external Web sites. Existing customers of either WebObject Pro of WebObjects Enterprise will get their version 2.0 free, otherwise it is 25% of the WebObjects purchase price: $3,000 for Pro and from $25,000 for Enterprise. In the meantime, the company’s Portable Distributed Objects 4.0 began shipping last week.
