Archives


What’s in the name “Web service”?

The path to establishment or obscurity of many of today’s leading technologies may be defined in terms of whether they are accepted under the remarkable buzzword of “Web services,” or indeed whether or not people learn to see through the buzzword.

Notes on the Grid: It’s a network problem

Editor-at-Large Jack Vaughan shares his thoughts on grid and network computing.

BI: Real time or right time?

It is difficult to debate the need for real-time analytics because the definition of real time itself can be so highly subjective, but everybody wants data “while it’s hot.” Development managers need to navigate a wide field of hyperbole to find the big picture.

Q&A: Akamai takes grid computing to the Edge

ADT’s Will Kilburn recently spoke with Bill Weihl, CTO at Akamai Technologies, about EdgeComputing, his firm’s foray into grid computing.

Heard on the street: Tales of .NET

Development teams are finding their way toward the new Microsoft platform. They are encountering decent performance, sketchy security standards and a handful of best practices.

Is UML heading for fragmentation?

In the “aught-world” of standards (2000 and beyond, that is), compliance is a moving target. Vendors are beginning to push UML 2.0 products, but some people wonder if today’s “standardization” is adequate.

An organic view to developing software: A review of “Managing Software for Growth”

Review of new book on application development management.

EII — The return of the virtual data warehouse?

Like all good information technologies, virtual data warehouses never died. It is now re-emerging under a new guise and with a slightly new mission. Its new name: Enterprise Information Integration (EII).

The contrarian view

The concept of a self-healing infrastructure is great, but how does that help the developer? Zohar Gilad maintains that the notion of on-demand or utility computing is "a more beautiful name for outsourcing."

Q&A: Integration in the offing

Sonic Software CTO Gordon Van Huizen discussed the business of integration in a recent interview with ADT Editor-at-Large Jack Vaughan.

The CORBA State of the union

Java and Web services get all the fanfare now, but CORBA was first with a host of crucial breakthroughs in distributed computing. It’s here, it works and this update tells you what’s next.

Q&A: SOAP gains traction

ADT’s Jack Vaughan spoke recently with Rebecca Dias, Microsoft product manager for advanced Web services, about the status of the technology in Redmond today and in the future.

Users judge BEA’s XQuery play

Among bigger software players outside of the database realm, none has been faster off the block to promote XQuery than BEA Systems.

Self-healing systems

IBM calls it autonomic, Microsoft calls it dynamic, Hewlett-Packard calls it adaptive -- if it works, developers may someday deploy their apps on “crashless grids” of computers.

Management Spotlight: NYC modernizes mainframe to rebuild city

The Department of Buildings updated its front end to make it easier to query information on building history or to check the status of a permit. A side benefit: reduction of long lines and better use of employee time.

What are the vendors up to?

Most major software suppliers are waiting on the XQuery standard to be finalized before they ship any related products. An update from IBM, Oracle and some smaller vendors.

XQuery percolates

The still-developing standard for querying XML documents is garnering more support from vendors. But it will likely be a while before most shops have to deal with it directly.

Oracle tools strategy: 10G signals grid direction

Oracle’s application business draws attention right now, but its evolving tools tactics are crucial to legions of developers grappling with data, Java and XML.

Analysis: Grid gets another fan

Oracle will begin a potentially big new push in Grid computing.

Reporter’s notebook: A random walk through the modeling firmament

Editor-at-Large Jack Vaughan provides readers with a unique look at modeling issues around the industry.