VISIONWeb Press Release

Unify VISION 3.0 and VISION/Web

For Immediate Release

Contacts

 Letty Ledbetter
PR Manager
Unify Corporation
(408) 467-4552
letty@unify.com

UNIFY DEMONSTRATES VISION/WEB; FIRST ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT TO GENERATE JAVA FOR HIGH-END CLIENT/SERVER WEB APPLICATIONS

Sun's JavaSoft lauds availability of high-end client/server environment for Java; Single VISION application runs on both Web and non-Web clients and servers

VISION 3.0 adds superior partitioning, integrated application management, and flexible transition to object oriented programming through graphical class browser
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 1, 1996 Unify Corporation (NASDAQ:UNFY) today introduced release 3.0 of its flagship product, Unify VISION™, and a new companion product, Unify VISION/Web™. VISION and VISION/Web generate Java™ code, without the need for Java programming, and enable developers to build high-end transactional applications that run on both Web and non-Web clients and servers.

While other vendors of high-end application development tools have announced HTML/CGI products capable of supporting only simple forms and document-centric applications over the Web, VISION together with VISION/Web's Java generation are designed to allow developers to rapidly build complex, transactional Web applications. VISION's built-in features for rapid development and deployment of high-end client/server Web applications include:

"Unify has recognized the critical necessity of using Java to deliver scalable, secure, transaction-based client/server business applications over the Web without compromise," said Lew Tucker, Director of Corporate and ISV Marketing for Sun Microsystem's JavaSoft business unit. "VISION treats Web browsers as simply another client platform, letting developers create a single application that serves the entire enterprise -- including intranets and internets -- without an ounce of additional programming. We have many large corporate customers interested in deploying Java who are anxious to get their hands on a high-end development environment that hides the complexities of 3GLs and internet programming while producing robust, scalable, high-end client/server applications. Unify VISION provides this capability today."
One development environment, one application for Web and non-Web clients and servers
VISION/Web enables VISION applications to run in the Web environment without modification. While VISION automatically generates support for all standard enterprise client and server platforms (Windows 95, NT, Windows 3.1, Macintosh, Unix, OS/2), VISION/Web generates Java code which can be downloaded and run through "universal" Web browsers. VISION's Web clients have the same look-and-feel and functionality as non-Web client platforms. In addition to Java, VISION/Web clients use a CORBA-compliant IIOP protocol, not simply HTTP network protocols, to enable multi-step client/server transactions with substantially-reduced network traffic and far superior end-user response times.

"With VISION/Web, VISION continues to give us the multi-platform support we need in order to standardize on a single, rapid development environment for all of our applications - whether enterprise scale or departmental, whether Internet-based or LAN-based," said Leigh Williams, Director, Information Services, Temple-Inland Forest Products Corporation. "That can't be said for any of the other high-end environments. VISION provides the most advanced client/server capabilities without compromising on the flexibility we need to meet all of our application requirements. Moreover, the VISION-VISION/Web combination is the first solution we've seen that provides the functionality we need for business-critical, Web-based applications," Williams concluded.
Partitioning capabilities that are technically superior and more flexible
VISION 3.0 provides enhanced application partitioning capabilities that are fully supportive of Web-based applications. Moreover, unlike other high-end tools, VISION gives developers the flexibility of choosing not to invoke partitioning, which simplifies the deployment and management of applications in smaller-scale configurations.

The advanced partitioning capabilities include replicated application services, which greatly improve performance by enabling parallel operations on the same or different machines. VISION delivers high-availability by providing automatic load balancing and failover (i.e., automatic fault tolerance) for mission-critical applications. In addition, new proactive event notification features (also known as "publish and subscribe") support client-to-client and server-to-client messaging -- a critical feature when, for example, traders on a stock exchange floor need immediate notification that a stock price has reached a certain level. Finally, VISION partitions may now be managed graphically with the VISION Console, which displays where partition objects are running, and lets administrators drag-and-drop application partitions on clients and servers at both development and runtime.

"If Forte Software set the standard for application partitioning features, Unify's VISION 3.0 either meets or exceeds those standards with very strong partition failover performance management and partition administration," said John Rymer, Vice President at Giga Information Group. Unify has also strengthened its competitive position by integrating its innovative AppMan management technology in VISION 3.0."
Class browser-based development environment eases transition to OO
VISION 3.0 extends OO programming capabilities (i.e., encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism) to VISION 4GL and it is the only high-end tool that gives programmers the flexibility to choose between procedural and OO programming methods, and to transition seamlessly from one to the other. VISION is the industry's only high-end development environment centered around a graphical class browser. This provides a visual and highly intuitive approach to OO and is easily usable by procedurally trained programmers who are not OO-literate. The combination of the browser's integrated script editing and VISION's support for code objects that are either OO or procedural enables programmers to migrate easily from procedural to OO programming at their own pace.

"It's the closest thing we've seen to instant OO,'" said Alan Mayfield, President, AM Associates, consultants to GTE Directories. "A major obstacle to enterprise-level OO development has been the steep learning curve experienced by developers. VISION 3.0 provides the richness and flexibility to dramatically accelerate the productivity curve."
AppMan™ and low-cost console added to VISION
VISION provides the industry's leading application management capabilities for high-end applications. VISION applications automatically generate 400 important events and 140 performance metrics, allowing administrators to centrally manage distributed applications without any effort on the part of developers. In addition, VISION now incorporates Unify's highly lauded AppMan for VISION with built-in agents to automatically connect to system management products from BMC, HP, Microsoft and Tivoli. For customers that do not have a system management infrastructure in place, Unify offers a new, inexpensive console that will let them take full advantage of VISION's application management capabilities.
Support for OLE, new platforms, DB2 on multiple platforms and year 2000 support
VISION 3.0 also adds support for:
Availability
VISION 3.0, currently in Beta, is scheduled to begin shipping in August 1996. Developers can immediately begin building high-end client/server Web applications, then generate Java for deployment in VISION/Web. VISION/Web is scheduled for volume shipment in November 1996.
About Unify Corporation
Unify Corporation develops, markets and supports advanced application development environments for the development, deployment and management of high-end, scalable, client/server applications. The Company's flagship product, Unify VISION, combines a powerful and scalable client/server architecture with a flexible and easy-to-use rapid application development technology. VISION is designed to enable organizations to develop, deploy and manage business critical applications with increased return on investment by providing the benefits of low cost of entry, rapid time-to-market and low cost of ownership.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Unify has direct sales offices throughout North America, Europe and Japan, with a network of distributors, VARs, OEMs, and systems integrators worldwide. Unify has over 350,000 users worldwide, including leaders in telecommunications, financial services, commercial industries and government. Unify product and service information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.unify.com

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Unify, Unify VISION, VISION/Web, AppMan and the Unify logo are trademarks of Unify Corporation. Java and other Java-based names and logos are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. and refer to Sun's Java Technologies. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
VISIONWeb Press Release
Page Last Modified: Bill Bonney, 1-Jul-1996
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