Newsbits

By Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief

Apple & Symantec announce Bedrock!

NEW YORK-June 23, 1992-Symantec Corporation and Apple Computer, Inc. today announced a development and marketing agreement to provide a cross-platform application framework for Apple® Macintosh® computers and Microsoft® Windows®-based PCs. The agreement is designed to aid commercial and corporate software developers in quickly creating new applications for multiple desktop computing platforms.

Symantec will provide the cross-platform application framework-known as the Bedrock™ framework-that it is currently using internally to develop applications for Apple Macintosh computers and Microsoft Windows. Symantec will leverage Apple engineering resources and Apple’s current object-oriented framework technology, MacApp®. Both Apple and Symantec will use the Bedrock framework technology internally, and work together to support the developer community’s transition to the Bedrock framework.

The bedrock technology will be available commercially in the first half of 1993 on Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, with future versions supporting other desktop platforms such as IBM OS/2, UNIX and Microsoft NT. The product will be available internationally through both Apple and Symantec distribution channels.

Information on Symantec Corporation and its products can be obtained by calling: (800) 441-7234 or (408) 252-3570.

[See the Editor’s Page for more on this topic. - Ed.]

New Inside Macintosh!

and Addison Wesley’s Round of Updates

It’s no secret that Addison-Wesley has been working on the New Inside Macintosh Series for some time. The series will be completely reorganized, designed to be easily updated, and will include much more information than the current edition. The first three titles, Files, Memory and Processes, will be available in time for MacWorld Boston in August.

Macintosh C Programming Primer, Volume I has now entered its second edition. This is the excellent book by Dave Mark, the MacTutor Regular Contributing Author of our Getting Started column. The second edition now covers System 7, THINK C 5.0, and ResEdit. Suggested retail is $26.95. If you are a C programmer on the Macintosh, this book is a must!

Programmer’s Guide to MPW, Volume II is the newest book in the Macintosh Inside Out series. This book is the companion to Volume I. Volume II examines the tools and programming languages designed to be used with MPW and discusses object-oriented tools and techniques. The tools described in depth include the MPW Pascal and C compilers, the MPW assembler, and the SADE and MacsBug debuggers. Four chapters are devoted entirely to object-oriented programming and cover MPW Object Pascal, MPW C++, and MacApp.

For more information on all of these books, contact Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867, 617/944-3700.

Assembly Language Book

D.C. Heath and Company is now shipping Assembly Language and Systems Programming for the M68000 Family. This second edition by William Ford and William Topp discuss the heart of the Macintosh, the Motorola 68000 processor at its native level. This book addresses the M68000 on all levels from the processor as a CPU to a peripheral control chip.

For more information, conact D.C. Heath and Company at 125 Spring Street, Lexington, MA 02173, 800/428-8071.

FaceWare announces CommControl

The CommControl module from FaceWare has been upgraded to version 2.1. CommControl supports instant, plug-in communications controls (i.e., terminal views) in ViewIt windows (ViewIt is an advanced window designer and manager from FaceWare). CommControl provides a remarkably simple interface to the services provided by Apple’s Macintosh Communications Toolbox and the Basic Connectivity Set of communications tools (included with CommControl). Both program-based and user-oriented tool selection and configuration is supported, as well as direct commands for input/output. Version 2.1 supports use of Connection and File Transfer tools without a Terminal tool so that I/O can be directed to any window.

For more information, contact FaceWare, 1310 N. Broadway, Urbana, IL 61801, 217/328-5842, AppleLink: D1323.

GCS Compressor Engine Gets You Compressed!

Puyallup, Washington - June 24, 1992: Glen Canyon Software, Inc. today released GCS Compressor Engine, a new compression API and library for Macintosh developers to include advanced compression technology in any Mac application. This compliments, GCS Compressor, the premier compression mechanism for Apple’s Installer utility, that has been available to developers for the past year.

GCS Compressor technology beats all competing technologies for compression. Its multiple-algorithm approach allows developers to optimize file compression for speed, or for space, as required on individual files and in developer-specified length buffers.

GCS Compressor Engine gives developers a flexible, scalable means to incorporate compression into applications in whatever manner is appropriate under their circumstances. No longer does compression have to be tied to the Resource Manager, or specific environments. GCS Compressor Engine empowers developers to bring data compression into everyday applications.

GCS Compressor Engine licenses are available for $3750. This includes a year’s free updates, and 24-hour technical support. This license allows a developer to incorporate compression in any number of applications and for unlimited distribution. The only restriction is that compression cannot be made available to customers other than through the developer’s application. Interfaces are provided in MPW and Think C and Pascal. Other interfaces will be available soon.

For more information, contact Glen Canyon Software, Inc., P.O.Box 73044, Puyallup, Washington 98373, 800-477-6947, 206-845-8299, or 206-841-7694/Fax, AppleLink: GLENCANYON.

C++ and Object-Oriented CASE Tool

If you are already taking advantage of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), you may want to consider our CASE tools, especially ObjectModeler™. ObjectModeler supports object-oriented analysis (OOA), object-oriented design (OOD) and OOP. It has full multi-user capability, providing concurrent network access to the data repository. The OOA method developed by Peter Coad and Ed Yourdon is supported. Class and object diagrams for OOD are supported with method developed by Grady Booch. In addition OOP support is provided with integrated C++ and other language sensitive editors. It's multi-user capability enables concurrent repository access with collision detection, access controls down to the individual dictionary entry and powerful global functions across the network.

ObjectModeler is just one of ten Iconix CASE PowerTools™ modules. The ten modules are used to support a wide range of development methodologies; structured, real-time, data driven, hybrid O-O and fully OO.

For more information, contact Iconix Software Engineering, Inc., 2800 28th St., Suite #320, Santa Monica, CA 90405, Phone: 310-458-0092, Fax: 310-396-3454, AppleLink: D0463

4D Client-Server Development Tool

Metropolis Software, Inc. is now shipping MSI Access for 4th Dimension version 1.5. This tool enables the development of extremely fast multi-user applications with clients written in 4th Dimension, HyperCard, ProGraph, Pascal or C.

MSI Access helps 4th Dimension developers take advantage of the speed and flexibility of the client-server database architecture. It is perfect for use with AppleTalk Remote Access since only the data that is being requested is transferred over the network. It is now possible to build client applications that access remotely from a 20,000 record database. Even at 2400 baud it takes only a few seconds to retrieve a record.

MSI Access also allows applications created in other development environments to access 4D data. This includes applications written in HyperCard, ProGraph, MPW Pascal, MPW C, THINK Pascal, and THINK C.

For more information, contact Metropolis Software, Inc. at 505 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 305, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Phone: 415/322-2001, Fax: 415/327-5579, AppleLink: METROPOLIS, Internet: metropolis.com, CompuServe: 76074,2724.