SEAGULL Introduces Host Wrappering
Following closely on the heels of its acquisition of ObjectShare's PARTS for Java technology, SEAGULL has announced it is building tools to "wrapper" AS/400 and mainframe programs into reusable XML and Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) components. Also part of the initiative -- code-named "Williamsburg" -- SEAGULL (Atlanta) will develop server software to connect those components to host applications.
Williamsburg is expected to provide component-based access to host applications through CORBA, IIOP, XML and EJB support.
“The whole point of Williamsburg is to enable fast development of flexible mid-tier business logic to support E-business initiatives,” says Andre den Haan, SEAGULL director of product strategy. “Once you wrapper host programs to create industry-standard Java and XML business components, you can combine them with new components or components from other host systems to assemble brand new composite applications. The fact that you are not starting from scratch speeds time-to-market, and dramatically increases quality because you are reusing proven and tested code. You also inherit the built-in scalability of the host, which is a big benefit for high volume E-business applications.”
The Williamsburg project is expected to result in wizard-like tools for wrappering CICS, MQSeries, 3270 and 5250 programs; and extensions to SEAGULL’s current presentation server that will handle connections to host applications.
“Williamsburg will help customers build transportable components for heterogeneous integration,” den Haan says. “Combined with SEAGULL’s focus on separating the presentation layer from business logic, customers have a really flexible and adaptable framework for responding to emerging business needs.”
--L. Greenemeier