IT units have a slew of options for Java-enabling legacy COBOL applications;
the choice is a difficult one, but the result can dramatically improve ease
of use.
Over the next few years, many companies will have the unenviable task of completely
rebuilding their data warehousing systems. Why?
Many misconceptions about .NET revolve around the issue of Web services. It is worth the effort to clear things up, says David Chappell.
Software developers rush to transform Web services from concept to solution.
A look at the strategies of key IT suppliers.
Tony Baer: "In development organizations, the intensity of vendor competition tends to
politicize technology decisions. Today, choosing between Java and Microsoft technologies often equates to picking
sides in a gang war."
IT needs CICS, IMS, Tuxedo and the rest to be joined with the so-called "new
middleware" -- J2EE, .NET and Component Transaction Monitors -- to get Web-based
transaction processing where customers want it.
Editor at Large Jack Vaughan talks with Brett McLaughlin, an Enhydra
strategist at Lutris Technologies and the author of "Java & XML, Second Edition"
from O'Reilly. In this Q&A session, Brett offers his views on how well Java and XML work together. <br>
Emerging tools focus new features on the needs of corporate developers; as the
market matures and splinters, the integration of process and project management
tools finally begins.
James Rumbaugh jointly developed UML with Grady Booch and Ivar Jacobson. Rumbaugh recently discussed the future of UML with ADT.
Customized content is slow to catch on due to complex software, scattered data and cost issues. But there are bright spots looming on the horizon as suppliers learn from mistakes.
Hard economic times and a drive toward Web services pushes IT to deliver on the promise of reusability; but for many, the Holy Grail of component development remains very difficult to find.
IT builds myriad apps for a multifaceted mobile workforce ranging from execs downloading e-mail to retail stock checkers to field technicians; but multiple operating systems and a lack of standards could cause short-term problems, experts say.
Microsoft has always targeted its technologies at a wide audience of developers. Now, .NET tools are coming into view that may match or surpass tools and methods long used by the competing Java developer community.
Microsoft's unveiling of .NET this month promises to shake up the Windows development world. The new environment requires a long learning curve for developers, but Microsoft promises that the effort will reap huge benefits.
Hard economic times and a drive toward Web services pushes IT to deliver on the promise of reusability; but for many, the Holy Grail of component development remains very difficult to find.
Uche Ogbuji notes rapid turn over in development in the wake of XML. But the Wild West atmosphere is a sign of problems.