Sybase has released the latest version of its
application development tool, called PowerBuilder 10, and outlined
plans for an upgrade to its database software, Adaptive Server
Enterprise, which will go into beta at the end of this month and is
due for release next year.
The announcements were made at Sybase's annual user conference
in Orlando, where the company is also previewing a system for
managing RFID (radio frequency identification) data that is planned
for release later this year.
Through its iAnywhere Solutions subsidiary, Sybase has spent
much of the last year releasing products for building and deploying
applications for mobile workers. At its user show this week it will
focus on investments it has made in its core product families, said
Kathleen Schaub, Sybase vice-president of marketing.
PowerBuilder 10 aims to provide better support for developers
working in mixed platform environments that include Microsoft's
.net software. It adds a plug-in for PowerDesigner, Sybase's
modelling tool for extending existing applications or
reverse-engineering them for different architectures.
The upgrade also adds Unicode support, allowing developers to
build applications once and deploy them in multiple languages,
including those with double-byte characters. Pricing is $2,995
(£1,630), or $645 for an upgrade subscription plan.
Version 15 of Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) is scheduled for
final release in mid-2005, said Tom Traubitz, a Sybase senior
product marketing manager. It will store larger amounts of data and
run more complex queries than the existing ASE, he said. Customers
will also be able to partition the database into areas that can be
managed and operated separately, reducing maintenance costs,
Traubitz said.
Other areas of focus include easing the development of
applications, partly through XML indexing and improving security
through native data encryption.
Sybase will also preview a system for tracking RFID data that
draws upon existing Sybase products as well as new technologies the
company is developing or has acquired, Schaub said. She declined to
describe the component parts in more detail.
The system involves a partnership with AeroScout, which makes
products for tracking the location of RFID tags. Sybase will
provide middleware and data management components, helping
customers make sense of the vast amounts of data that RFID systems
can generate.
"RFID is definitely a communications and security problem, but
it's also a data management problem because it explodes the amount
of data coming into an organisation," Schaub said.
James Niccolai writes for IDG News Service