Informix Offers Solutions for Web Database Connectivity; Informix Web Interface Kits, Strong Ties with Visual Web Tool Vendors Provide Ideal Solutions for Interacting With Web Data

Business Wire, Dec 4, 1995

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 1995--Informix Software, Inc., (NASDAQ: IFMX) the leading provider of parallel processing database technology, today announced its database connectivity solution for the Web, which will enable Web applications to more easily interact with Informix databases.

The solutions address two common methods for developing robust Intranet and Internet database applications and connecting databases on the Web: common gateway interface (CGI) kits, and visual Web development tools.

CGI is a method for executing programs, like an SQL query, rather than simply retrieving static documents. This allows users to retrieve information dynamically. Informix now offers two Web Interface Kits for customers who currently use INFORMIX-4GL or INFORMIX-ESQL/C or who require the ability to build Web database applications.

The Informix Web Interface Kits, which can be accessed free of charge on Informix's Web site: http://www.informix.com, will enable the creation of dynamic HTML pages by allowing customers to adapt new or existing INFORMIX-4GL and INFORMIX-ESQL applications to the Web. Each kit contains the complete source code to help write CGI programs that can interface with Informix databases. Also included in each kit are simple, self-contained examples customers can use as a starting point in their work.

The Web Interface Kits will address the needs of software professionals who use the more than 500,000 INFORMIX-4GL developer licenses in the marketplace. Already, nearly 2,000 Informix customers have downloaded the Web Interface Kits.

One such company is MCI Communications Corp. (MCI). MCI's internal Web application provides all product, pricing, customer letters and graphical reference material for customer service representatives (CSPs). The application utilizes Informix to store all information as binary large objects (BLOBS) which are retrieved by CSPs using an OS/2 browser.

"I have never seen a company provide such useful, well documented code," commented Elaine Feeney, manager, Internet Development, MCI (http://www.mci.com). "The Informix Web Interface Kit was incredibly valuable to MCI. After finding the sample code on the Informix Web site, I created the interface to retrieve and display the BLOBS within two hours."

"Informix Web Interface Kits are bringing interactivity to Web sites today," said Kim Wesselman, senior marketing manager, Internet Solutions at Informix. "Informix's database and tools technology provides customers with self-service access to information."

Partnerships in Place with Leading Visual Web Tool Vendors

The second method for building web database applications is the adoption of a visual web development tool. Informix has agreements in place with four leading visual Web database tool vendors, Bluestone, Inc.; net.Genesis, Inc.; Spider Technologies, Inc.; and VPE, Inc. The companies are members of Informix's new Web Partner Program, which has been created to provide customers with a complete Web solution, by incorporating best-in-class technologies from leading Web technology providers with Informix's OnLine Dynamic Server. (Editors, please see Web Technology Partners Program Announcement dated Dec. 4, 1995).

Bluestone, Inc., (Mountain View, Calif.; http://www.bluestone.com) a leading provider of World Wide Web application development products, will provide direct native support for OnLine Dynamic Server, through its Sapphire/Web visual development tool. "Customers are demanding Web technology to build robust internal and cross enterprise Web applications," commented Mel Baiada, president of Bluestone. "Sapphire/Web and OnLine Dynamic Server are meeting this challenge."

net.Genesis, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.; http://www.netgen.com) helps facilitate electronic business communication by providing software products and services for the Internet and the World Wide Web. "Tools to help integrate databases quickly and easily to web sites, are greatly in demand by Webmasters," said Rajat Bhargava, president and CEO of net.Genesis. "net.Form 2.0, a tool that enables interactive and bi-directional database access, coupled with Informix databases, help create a foundation to quickly and easily, build complex, data intensive applications."

Spider Technologies (Palo Alto, Calif.; http://www.w3spider.com), a leading Web tools provider, is integrating Spider, its visual Web/database application builder, with OnLine Dynamic Server. "The combination of Spider 1.5's visual development environment and high-performance deployment engine with OnLine Dynamic Server delivers the industry's most advanced scalable solution for commercial Web/database applications," said Zack Rinat, president and CEO of Spider.

VPE, Inc. (Alexandria Va.; http://www.vpe.com), a leading provider of graphical, event-driven, rules-based development tools, allows Internet application developers to automatically create Web applications for Informix through its WebConnect tool and WebBUILDER development environment. "The WebBUILDER architecture facilitates concurrent development, resulting in applications that are reliable, quickly integrated, and quickly deployed," stated Chris Douzier, vice president Sales and Marketing from VPE, Inc. "Successful deployment of these applications requires a powerful database engine. OnLine Dynamic Server is our database engine of choice."