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W. Knox Richardson
Ashton-Tate Corporation
213-538-6220
Craig Mitchell
Digital Equipment Corporation
603-884-0753
ASHTON-TATE AND DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION
SIGN dBASE DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING AGREEMENT
Pact Calls for VAX Systems & Workstation dBASE Products
Under VAX/VMS, ULTRIX; PC dBASE Connectivity Product; All Integrated
With Digital's Network Application Support Computing Services
BOSTON, Mass. -- October 24, 1988 -- Digital Equipment Corporation
(NYSE: DEC) and Ashton-Tate Corporation (NASDAQ: TATE) today
announced an agreement where Ashton-Tate will develop, and Digital
will market and support, versions of Ashton-Tate's dBASE database
management and applications development software for Digital's
computing environment.
The move marks the first time that dBASE, the world's best
selling database management system, will be offered for use on
multi-user computers and graphics-oriented 32-bit workstations.
The marketing of dBASE is part of Digital's strategy to offer
industry-leading applications across its desktop platforms and its
entire VAX family of systems integrated with VAX Rdb/VMS, Digital's
strategic relational database management product.
The agreement calls for development of character-based dBASE
products for VAX users with VT terminals, and graphics-based dBASE
products for DECwindows/XUI workstations. DECwindows/XUI is
Digital's User Interface Development Environment implementation of
the X-Window industry standard. Plans call for these products to
run under Digital's VAX/VMS and ULTRIX operating systems, and to
provide local and remote transparent data access and sharing with
Digital VAX Rdb/VMS, or native dBASE, databases. A PC-to-VAX
database connectivity link is included in the agreement to allow PC
dBASE applications, running on networked PC's or PC's connected to
Digital's new PCLAN/Server 2000, to transparently access data in
remote Digital VAX Rdb/VMS databases. Transparent, read-only access
to mainframe databases from dBASE is also part of the plan,
including connections to IBM's DB2 and Cullinet's IDMS/R systems.
This access is achieved through Digital's VIDA and DECnet/OSI SNA
Gateways to IBM networks.
"This key agreement will provide a leadership solution that
meets the needs of our users," said Kenneth H. Olsen, President of
Digital Equipment Corporation. "dBASE on VT terminals will meet the
simple day-to-day needs of office users. dBASE on DECwindows/XUI
workstations will meet the sophisticated needs of users and
application developers. Our customer's MIS managers will also be
able to integrate dBASE applications, on ten to ten-thousand
stand-alone PC systems, into effective workgroup or enterprise-wide
information network solutions."
"Together dBASE and Digital's single-system architecture provide
an ideal client/server computing environment," said Edward M. Esber,
Jr., Chairman and CEO of Ashton-Tate. "Ashton-Tate recognizes
Digital's leadership in distributed office services, open systems,
and industry standards, and we are pleased to announce our support
for their workstation, relational database and DECwindows/XUI
products."
"All applications written using dBASE/III+ or dBASE IV will be
compatible with dBASE products running under either VAX/VMS or
ULTRIX," Esber added. "The dBASE/SQL language and Digital's Network
Applications Support computing services will provide the
interconnecting platform from which developers can design
applications for any desktop device, which can transparently access
data anywhere on the network: on VAX systems, VAX database servers
or IBM systems -- anywhere."
No timetable for the products nor financial details of the
agreement was announced by either company.
Digital said that product development will use its single-system
hardware, software, networking and applications integration
architecture. The products will take advantage of Digital's VAX SQL
Services, announced as part of Network Applications Support Data
Access Services, which is based on the ANSI and ISO SQL standards.
This architecture allows users to easily integrate their dBASE
applications into a single, enterprise-wide information solution
using industry standards.
"By splitting the processing between the desktop device and
high-performance database servers, Data Access Services extends the
power of Digital's SQL-based relational database server architecture
to desktop applications," said Henry Ancona, Vice President of
Digital's Business and Office Information Systems group.
"Client/server technology will enable user interactions to be
handled locally on the PC or workstation while the data intensive
activities are handled by the VAX Rdb/VMS database servers."
With this implementation, dBASE applications can use VAX Rdb/VMS
data, native dBASE data (".dbf"), or Digital's Document Interchange
Format (DDIF) to perform data sharing with non-dBASE applications,
without requiring users to reformat or manipulate the data. DDIF is
a component of Digital's Compound Document Architecture (CDA) which
allows text, graphics and applications to be merged into revisable
documents that can be moved anywhere across the network.
"This agreement is a key endorsement of Digital's Network
Applications Support computing services which provide extensive
database and network services for users of various types of desktop
devices across DECnet/OSI enterprise networks," said Eric Kim,
Ashton-Tate's Database Business Unit Manager. "We will provide a
consistent dBASE environment across all desktop devices networked to
Digital's computing environment; transparent access to corporate
information; integration of PC-DOS dBASE users and the PCLAN/Server
2000 with Digital's SQL-based VAX Rdb/VMS database servers; and
dBASE application portability and compatibility across Digital's
systems. This protects customer investments, reduces the cost of
applications development and maintenance, and increases user
productivity."
Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard,
Massachusetts, is the world's largest manufacturer of networked
computer systems and associated peripheral equipment and the leader
in systems integration with its networks, communications, software
and services.
Ashton-Tate Corporation, based in Torrance, California, is one
of the largest developers and marketers of business applications
software. Its products cover six applications areas including
database management systems, word processing, business graphics,
integrated decision support systems, spreadsheets and desktop
publishing.
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dBASE and Ashton-Tate are registered trademarks of Ashton-Tate
Corporation.
CDA, DDIF, DECnet/OSI, DECwindows, PCLAN/Server 2000, ULTRIX, VAX,
VAX Rdb/VMS, VIDA, VT and VMS are trademarks of Digital Equipment
Corporation.
IDMS/R is a trademark of Cullinet Software, Inc.
DB2 and SNA are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Some of the product names used herein have been used for
identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their
respective companies.
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