Microsoft and Texas Instruments Software Hold Repository Design Review, Release Beta Implementation to More Than 50 Software Vendors

REDMOND, Wash. and PLANO, Texas, Oct. 18, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. and Texas Instruments Software today unveiled their joint repository design at an open design preview. In conjunction with the repository review, Microsoft, Texas Instruments Software, Select Software and Rational Software Corp. also previewed a component information model, a key element of the open Microsoft ® repository. Developers will use the information model to create interoperable components, facilitating component-based development and reuse.

The design preview, part of the open process, is the next step in soliciting vendor feedback and encouraging development of complementary models. This effort will ultimately result in a tool-independent, open, extensible component-based repository. A beta version of the repository was released to more than 50 independent software vendors at the open design review.

The Microsoft repository, based on the joint design specification from Texas Instruments Software and Microsoft, is a database that stores and shares components, models, objects and relationships along with their descriptive information. It will deliver important capabilities in five key areas to desktop and server environments:

  • Reuse – facilities for cataloging and locating relevant prebuilt components

  • Tool interoperability – facilities for allowing analysts, designers, developers and administrators to move easily among tools that share components

  • Team development – facilities for managing concurrent activity on different versions and configurations of design, development and deployment components

  • Data resource management – facilities for managing global meta-data for an enterprise data warehouse or Web site, and a library of available services and components

  • Dependency tracking – facilities for establishing and querying relationships between components

“The Microsoft repository is an important enabling technology for Microsoft’s enterprise customers and developers,” said David Vaskevitch, vice president, database technology at Microsoft. “The adoption of an open, industry-standard repository will enable more collaborative and productive application development. Developers will now be able to share models, components and data, regardless of the tools with which they were built.”

“Working with Microsoft on the repository design specification has given Texas Instruments Software the opportunity to bring our enterprise repository expertise to Microsoft, and to influence the direction of products that are critical to our customers,” said John Cook, vice president of strategy and new business creation at Texas Instruments Software. “By incorporating this new repository technology into our products, we are increasing our customers
í
productivity through enhanced reuse and future-proofing their investments in our tools and the components they build by fully utilizing Microsoft specifications such as OLE, COM and ActiveX
™

The Microsoft repository will consist of an open information model, published interfaces, and a repository engine that sits on top of Microsoft SQL Server
™
. The repository’s information model is based on COM and ActiveX interfaces. The components, relationships and properties exposed by the information model are automatically mapped to Microsoft SQL Server database tables by the engine.

The technical review and demonstrations were conducted on the Microsoft campus with more than 50 software vendors participating. These vendors represent an influential cross-section of the development community, including companies working in the areas of development tools, design and modeling tools, enterprise applications, document management and version control. A beta release of the Microsoft repository implementation and accompanying tools was made available to all vendors attending the design review. Prototypes of repository-enabled products from Texas Instruments Software, Select, Rational and others were also demonstrated.

Microsoft’s open process is a framework for early technical disclosure to computer industry representatives that encourages feedback which can then be incorporated to help ensure that a technology meets customer needs and gains wide support. Information concerning the information model specification and repository is scheduled to be available at http://www.microsoft.com/repository/ on Oct. 21, 1996 .

Texas Instruments Software is a division of Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE “TXN”), a high-technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with sales or manufacturing operations in more than 30 countries. Texas Instruments Software offers client/server component-based development tools and professional services. These products and services integrate computing solutions across personal, scalable department and enterprise computing environments. For more information on Texas Instruments Software and its products, please visit the division
í
s World Wide Web site at (http://www.ti.com/software/) .

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft and ActiveX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft
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s corporate information pages.

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