sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sun/NC/north-carolina sunflash-Send requests, problems to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Amdahl, Ask Group, Oracle Join PWI Effort SunFLASH Vol 61 #7 January 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61.07 Amdahl, Ask Group, Oracle Join PWI Effort Several organizations have added their support of the effort to create a Public Windows Interface(PWI), an open standard API that will run Microsoft(R) Windows applications. (146 lines) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AMDAHL, ASK GROUP AND ORACLE JOIN PUBLIC WINDOWS INTERFACE EFFORT Newly-formed Specification Committee to deliver first draft specification in Spring 1994 MENLO PARK, CA --January 10, 1994--Amdahl Corporation, The ASK Group and Oracle Corporation, plus Scottish Enterprise and the Australian company Cybersource have announced their support of the effort to create a Public Windows Interface(PWI), an open standard API that will run Microsoft(R) Windows applications. They join a growing list of computer system vendors, independent software vendors (ISVs) and end users that includes American Airlines, Borland International, Corel Corporation, The Foxboro Group, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, ICL, Network Computing Devices, Inc., Norwegian Telecom, Quarterdeck Office Systems, The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc., Sun Microsystems, Inc., Tadpole Technology, Novell's UNIX Systems Group, and WordPerfect Corporation. "Cross-platform compatibility has always been a key strategy at Oracle, with our products running on everything from personal digital assistants to massively parallel computers," said Jerry Baker, Oracle's Senior Vice President, Product Line Division. "PWI will simplify cross-platform support for Microsoft Windows-based applications." An industry standard PWI will result in faster and more stable development of new applications, as well as enable the migration of Microsoft Windows applications to other operating systems and computing platforms. According to Crawford Beveridge, Scottish Enterprise's Chief Executive, "The Public Windows Interface is not about technology, it is about good business. As Europe's fastest growing software development region, we are concerned with the strategic impact of information technology on Scottish industry. Our strong commitment to open systems has made us a leader in the European Union in this important area." Scottish Enterprise is a U.K. government agency, which works to develop the economy of Scotland. In related developments, a PWI Specification Committee has been formed to create and submit the PWI specification to both North American and European standards organizations. The PWI Specification Committee includes representatives from The ASK Group, Borland International, The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc., and SunSelect, a Sun Microsystems, Inc. business. Following the Common Open Software Environment process for accelerating the adoption of standards by the open systems industry, the group has set Spring 1994 as the timeframe for submitting a first draft PWI abstract specification and a C programming language binding to X/OPEN and the European Computer Manufacturers' Association (ECMA). The goal is that one or more standards organizations will adopt the PWI specification, and maintain it in the future. GENERATING INDUSTRY CONSENSUS The PWI Specification Committee has already begun work on generating industry consensus on the contents of the PWI specification. In December, a list of PWI function calls was distributed to Microsoft Windows developers and users over the Internet and CompuServe(R). Over the coming months, the group will refine and enhance the list based on input from the Microsoft Windows community. Interested parties can download the function call list from the anonymous FTP on the Internet (sunsite.unc.edu/pub/sun-info/PWI), or from the SunSelect Forum on CompuServe (go sunselect). "We're pleased to see that the PWI Specification Committee is proceeding with such energy," said Bill Jordan, Vice President of Business Development at Borland International. "Since PWI will be an open standard, developers will be able to devote their attention to creating applications, not wrestling with API questions- and that means better products coming to market faster." ABOUT NEW PWI MEMBERS Amdahl Corporation is a major supplier of powerful mainframe computers, data storage subsystems, SPARC mid-range servers, UNIX(R) system software, applications development and production software, and a wide range of educational and consulting services, all focused on meeting the needs of enterprise data centers. With 1992 sales of more than $2 billion, Amdahl products and services are available in more than 25 countries, for use in both IBM-compatible and open systems computing environments. Amdahl is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The ASK Group, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the leading developer and integrator of strategic business software, providing corporations with technologies like its ASK OpenINGRES Intelligent Database, and the services to build, connect, manage and maintain information systems. The company employs more than 2,300 people, in 82 offices worldwide. Cybersource is a software services firm specializing in developing software for Microsoft Windows-to-UNIX integration, and providing technical expertise in managing large-scale UNIX networks. The company is headquartered in Malvern, Australia. Oracle Corporation, headquartered in Redwood Shores,California, is the world's leading supplier of information management software, with its Oracle family of software products for database management, client/server development tools, and related business applications. The company offers its products, along with related consulting, education and support services, in 93 countries around the world. ### Microsoft Corporation is not participating in the PWI effort. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Sun, SunSelect, and Sun Microsystems are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All other brand, product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. ********************************************************************** For information about SunFlash send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. 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