REDMOND, Wash., July 16, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that more than 60 software vendors plan to attend a design preview of new Microsoft® Repository features Thursday in Redmond. Microsoft will preview a new repository Open Information Model that provides a common way for development tools to work together across the software development life cycle.
The new repository features will enhance large teams’ ability to easily share software components between tools specializing in different development tasks. This ability offers customers the benefit of being able to select the best tool for each task and have all the tools work together.
The participating vendors represent a diverse spectrum of the software development community, including application modeling, application development, testing, debugging, diagramming, performance testing, defect tracking and application deployment. This event provides an opportunity for the vendors to offer input on the design specifications for future repository features. Over 30 of these vendors have development projects that will utilize the repository.
In addition, Microsoft announced that a widespread licensing program of Microsoft Repository has begun, and that over 25 vendors have signed licensing agreements already, enabling them to embed the software in their products.
“The broad acceptance of a common repository means I can count on analysts and designers to be able to share models with our product,” said Jan Popkin of Popkin Software and Systems Inc. “Developer productivity improves because the repository enables products such as System Architect to automate many more development tasks when sharing model information.”
“PowerDesigner’s support for Microsoft Repository provides database designers with an open, flexible solution for storing and sharing modeling information,” said Steve Clark, vice president and general manager of PowerSoft design tools at Sybase Inc.
Repository Features Open Information Model, Unified Modeling Language Model, Database Schema Model
Microsoft Repository includes an Open Information Model providing a common format for tools to share information that describes objects, components and modules across the application development life cycle. Significant additions to the Open Information Model include Microsoft’s support for the unified modeling language (UML) and database schema models.
The UML model enables interoperability between a broad class of analysis and design tools including Microsoft Visual Modeler. UML is a proposed Object Management Group (OMG) standard developed with Logic Works Inc., Popkin Software and Systems, Rational Software Corp., SELECT Software Tools Inc. and Sterling Software Inc., demonstrating Microsoft’s commitment to incorporate important industry standards into the repository. By relying on stored design information, many of these vendors’ products can now automate large portions of the development process.
The addition of a new database schema model, being previewed, will enable development tools to automatically target multiple databases without rewriting application code. Based on design input from Business Objects SA, Cognos, Informatica Corp., Logic Works, PLATINUM technology inc. , Popkin Software and Systems, PowerSoft Corp., Prism Solutions Inc. and Sterling Software, the new database schema model will meet the requirements to easily share schema information between multiple vendors’ data warehousing and database design tools. Future versions of Microsoft Repository will extend functionality to include advanced features for large workgroups and usage across the full application development life cycle.
About Microsoft Repository
Microsoft Repository was designed to be used by multiple products from various vendors. The repository, based on a joint design specification from Sterling Software and Microsoft, is a database that stores and shares software components along with their descriptive information. More than a database, however, the repository creates and manages the relationships between the items it contains. It delivers important capabilities to desktop and server environments in five key areas: reuse, tool interoperability, team development, data resource management and dependency tracking. Microsoft Repository consists of the Open Information Model, a set of published COM interfaces, and an engine that sits on top of a relational database such as Microsoft SQL Server
™
.
Industry Support
The following 26 vendors have announced their intent to license the repository, providing them the rights to embed it directly into their products:
In addition, many companies including those that follow are currently shipping or developing products that enable component sharing and interoperability with Microsoft Repository:
Separately today, Microsoft also announced an agreement with PLATINUM technology to collaborate on repository development and design of advanced enterprise capabilities, and to provide PLATINUM with porting rights for MVS, AS/400, and major UNIX platforms.
Availability
Microsoft Repository is available with the Professional and Enterprise editions of the Microsoft Visual Basic® programming system version 5.0 and the Microsoft Visual Studio
™97 development system. It will also be included in future versions of third-party products as well as other Microsoft tool and server products, including the Microsoft Visual C++® development system and the Microsoft BackOffice® family. For more information on Microsoft Repository, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/repository/ .
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