In the first of what will probably turn out to be a long list, Popkin Software and Systems Inc of New York says it will replace its proprietary repository with the Microsoft Repository, once Release 2.0 comes onto the market some time next year. Popkin, which claims ten years of experience using a repository with its System Architect suite of business and systems modeling tools, says the time has come to ride the Microsoft wave. Product previews of System Architect working with the Microsoft Repository are scheduled for the Spring of next year, although Microsoft itself has not yet committed to a release date. Popkin says it’s making the change because it believes the Micosoft Repository will become an industry standard for component reuse, and should result in better robustness, version control and configuration management, along with increased access to third party tools. It will also enable Popkin to offer an escape route from its current underlying dBase database over to the Microsoft SQL Server and Access/Jet databases. Microsoft’s Repository has had a checkered history: it began back in 1994 as a joint venture with Texas Instruments Software back in 1994, and finally came to market in March 1997, to less than enthusiastic reviews. TI sold off its software division to Sterling Software, and Platinum Technology Inc superseded it as Microsoft’s primary partner. But by bundling the Repository with Visual Studio and Visual Basic, Microsoft has effectively seeded the market with millions of copies. Other software tools vendors, such as Platinum and Rational Software Inc, are expected to follow Popkin’s move. Others – such as Synon Inc – intended to modify their existing repositories to enable import and export of data to and from the Repository.
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