OASIS Member News: Arbortext continues leadership role in standards support with latest release of XML e-Content software, Epic 3.0/Adept 9.0

[Beth Ambaruch <bea@arbortext.com>]

Arbortext continues leadership role in standards support with latest
release of XML e-Content software, Epic 3.0/Adept 9.0

Epic and Adept add support for XSL, XSLT, DOM and COM, and extend their
support for Java

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 6, 1999  Arbortext, Inc., announced today that
its modular eContent software products, Epic 3.0 and Adept 9.0, now
support key Web standards aimed at easing customer and third-party
developer efforts and maintaining interoperability with other key
software platforms.

In addition to extended Java support, Epic and Adept now support
Extensible Style Language (XSL), Extensible Stylesheet Language
Transformation (XSLT), Document Object Model (DOM) and Component Object
Model (COM) standards. Combined with support for Cascading Style Sheets
(CSS) and additional scripting languages, these new standards offer Epic
and Adept users a wide new range of interoperability options for
developing XML-based e-Content.

As a founding member of the Working Group of the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) that developed the Extensible Markup Language (XML),
Arbortext has played a leadership role in the development of XML and
related standards since the beginning. Underscoring the revolutionary
importance of XML for Web applications, GartnerGroup predicted in its
Oct. 1999 “XML Reality Check” that “During 1998, [the] conjecture that
XML would have an ubiquitous presence throughout IT was substantiated by
numerous vendor announcements about retooling products to be XML-aware
as well as the introduction of products architected from the outset to
be XML compliant. By 2003, the incorporation of XML into the IT
architecture will significantly contribute to the reduced importance of
operating system-centric software development and deployment (0.7
probability).”*

Benefits of each standard

Document Object Model: The DOM defines an application programming
interface (API) that provides programmers with a way to examine and
change an XML document. With this support, Arbortext is making it easier
for Epic 3.0 and Adept 9.0 users to develop powerful document processing
routines on both Windows and UNIX platforms in languages such as C++ and
Java, and to reuse those routines with any DOM-compliant application.
Arbortext is announcing support for the DOM (Document Object Model)
Level 1, a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

In addition, Arbortext software can now run as COM servers to provide
Windows applications access to the DOM. This allows Windows programmers
to write document processing applications in Visual Basic, C, C++ and
Java.

Java: With these new releases, developers on Windows can now write
programs in Java that call, or are called by, Arbortext Command Language
(ACL) scripts. ACL is Arbortext’s cross-platform scripting language that
enables developers to customize the behavior of Epic and Adept.
Extending ACL’s capabilities to support Java will help customers more
easily locate developers who already possess the relevant skills.

Because some languages are better platforms for certain types of
application development, the ability to combine them provides a basis
for superior products. Support for Java and C++ speeds development time
by allowing developers to reuse pre-built modules for application
development.

Arbortext will provide equivalent support on UNIX platforms in a
subsequent release.

Extensible Stylesheet Language: Epic and Adept feature support for XSL
as a “technology preview.” XSL was designed for formatting XML documents
and is currently a Working Draft of the W3C. Arbortext supports the use
of XSL for composing XML documents, enabling its customers to use a
standard stylesheet language that is likely to become widely supported.
Arbortext’s preview support for XSL also includes an editing environment
for both XSL and XSLT stylesheets.

Arbortext will continue to support its customers’ existing print
stylesheets in both Epic and Adept.

Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation: XSLT support is also
provided in the new releases of Epic and Adept. XSLT, a recent W3C
Recommendation, offers the capability to transform an XML document from
one set of tags into another, a capability that will typically be used
to present XML documents on the Web as HTML. XSLT also provides powerful
support for altering the sequence of elements, suppressing elements, and
duplicating elements.

Arbortext supports XSLT for those customers who have complex electronic
publishing requirements that require the transformation of multiple
types of tag sets. For customers who want to continue to use their
existing stylesheets for their electronic publishing needs, Arbortext
will continue to support them in both Epic and Adept.

Other standards support

Cascading Style Sheets: Arbortext uses CSS in the published output for
the Web. CSS allows users to customize the display of HTML in a Web
browser without having to edit transformation stylesheets. CSS can be
used to control the look of HTML
elements such as font and paragraph styles as well as set background
colors and images.

Scripting Languages: Arbortext also announced that in upcoming releases,
it plans to support additional scripting languages such as Perl, TCL,
Python and Microsoft scripting languages. Support for these scripting
languages will provide another option to programmers who write document
processing functions, which allows them to leverage their current skill
set.
Epic is Arbortext’s XML-based e-Content software that lets companies
create, assemble and deliver their vital business information to the
Web, CD-ROM and print. Adept is Arbortext’s XML and Standard Generalized
Markup Language (SGML) authoring and page publishing software. Arbortext
also offers a new Adept companion product called Adept Editor LE (Lite
Edition), an XML/SGML editor with a simplified user interface for the
occasional e-Content contributor. Arbortext’s new modular packaging
allows Epic and Adept customers to tailor their purchase to meet their
exact needs.

Pricing and availability

Pricing for Epic 3.0 and Adept 9.0 varies, depending on number of seats
purchased, type of licensing, and number of modules. Epic 3.0 and Adept
9.0 will be available Dec. 15.

About Arbortext

Arbortext is the leading provider of XML-based e-Content software to
Global 5000 organizations. Arbortext solutions enable companies to
create, manage and deliver vital business information automatically via
the Web, CD-ROM or paper media,
speeding time-to-market while reducing costs. For more information about
Arbortext, visit the company Web site at www.arbortext.com.

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