Abstracts of Magazine FUJITSU 1999-5 (VOL.50, NO.3)

Special Issue : Middleware

• Application Server: INTERSTAGE

The application server has recently attracted public attention as a new corporate-system platform using Java and CORBA. INTERSTAGE is a Fujitsu application server that will form the core of SOLUTIONVISION, which is a new solution architecture Fujitsu has released for the age of network computing.
This article discusses the relationship between future trends of corporate systems and the required information technologies. It also outlines the functions of INTERSTAGE.

• Integrated EDI Package: TRADEMASTER

Electronic data interchange （EDI） has become much more important for companies that exchange data related to logistics and commerce via a computer network using a standard protocol.
In addition to the conventional EDI system for exchanging data with a specific company via a legacy network, various other types of EDI systems have become available. These new types include a low-cost EDI system that uses the Internet or another network and allows a company to exchange business data with many unspecified business partners. Fujitsu recognizes the importance of providing support for these new formats of EDI. There is a strong demand for a multi-purpose EDI package that can support general business operations such as retrieval and extraction of ordering, order reception, and estimate data and transaction history management. By drawing on its long experience and technical skill in this field, Fujitsu has developed an integrated EDI package named “TRADEMASTER” to meet this demand and provide the means to quickly construct an EDI system.
This article explains the functions and technologies embodied in TRADEMASTER.

• Integrated Development Environment: APWORKS

Network computing is drawing public attention as an effective way to improve the overall performance and availability of a computer system that consists of computers that have different environments and load distributions. Also, rapid progress is being made with industry-standard network-computing languages such as Java and CORBA and with standard component technologies, including ActiveX, JavaBeans, and Enterprise JavaBeans. Use of these technologies for network computing systems （e.g., electronic commerce systems and groupware-based collaboration systems） requires a new integrated development environment that enables quick-incorporation, open-standard technologies independently of platforms, products, and languages.
This article looks at the trends in integrated development environments and Fujitsu’s study of these environments. It also describes the outline and features of the APWORKS integrated development environment and future enhancements of APWORKS.

• Next-generation Data Warehouse: Business Intelligence

Because of the rapidly changing economic environment of today, most organizations are finding it more and more difficult to win a competitive advantage or even simply maintain the status quo.
However, some pioneering organizations have already started to redefine their long-cherished conventional wisdom for strategic planning and implementation by embracing the new information technology known as business intelligence （BI）.
This paper describes how Fujitsu can help build smarter business applications like Customer Relationship Management （CRM） systems with revolutionary IT innovations such as concept extraction, text mining, and knowledge synthesis.

• Parallel Data Warehouse Server

Fujitsu’s SymfoWARE Parallel Server forms the core of a central data warehouse system that helps companies cope with the radically changing business environment by making more effective use of strategic business information.
The Parallel Data Warehouse Server is a parallel database system that can operate 100 times faster than conventional database systems, process tera-bytes of data, and run on general-purpose hardware.
This article explains the strict system requirements imposed on a central data warehouse and the superior parallel architecture of the SymfoWARE Parallel Server.

• Jasmine: Multimedia Object Database for the Web

This article explains the basic technologies of the Jasmine multimedia object database, some of which have rarely been mentioned before in Japanese articles on Jasmine. The subjects covered include the features of Jasmine, the integration of the object-oriented paradigm with database technology, the reason why an object-oriented DBMS is well suited to multimedia data management, and methods of building Web-centric applications on Jasmine. This article also describes the linkage with various ISV technologies and the Jasmine Studio, which are the technological keys for enhancing the productivity of multimedia application development on Jasmine.

• Solutions with Jasmine

Jasmine is an object-oriented database engine that provides solutions for efficient use of multimedia and Internet systems. Jasmine is widely accepted because computer applications have recently been oriented toward the Internet and the multimedia platform is becoming highly valued as a versatile way to present information. Against this background, new applications must be able to handle structured data （e.g., multimedia data）, support quick development of Web-centric applications, keep up with quickly changing trends, and share and reuse computer resources.
Jasmine’s functions answer these demands and offer a basis for future expansion. This article describes several Jasmine applications and explains how Jasmine has been used to extend solutions.

• Internet Technology in Groupware Products

Groupware rapidly gained popularity as a client-server data-type system in the early1990s. Since the appearance of the World Wide Web （WWW）, Internet technology has drawn public attention and has been applied to groupware products. Companies and other organizations have built new intranet information systems, and it is important that groupware products are incorporated into these new intranets.
This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet technology used in groupware products as compared with client-server data-type systems and looks at way to solve existing problems that require a groupware solutions. It also explains how Fujitsu has incorporated Internet technology into TeamWARE Office, which is a Fujitsu groupware product.

• Internet Workflow

Many companies are facing problems regarding the efficiency of daily work. For example, some typical problems regarding the approval of paper documents are wasted time due to an absent approver, lost documents, unnecessary processing because of unclear rules, and difficulties in understanding the flow and status of work. In general, it is now very important for companies to greatly increase the efficiency, productivity, and speed of work that involves multiple divisions or groups.
In addition, there has been a rapid spread of Internet and intranet applications and companies have more and more requirements regarding the use of information systems via a web browser.
Internet Workflow is attracting attention as an effective way to solve these problems. This article explains the trends in workflows and Fujitsu’s workflow management system and application development environment for Internet Workflow.

• Digital Document Processing System: Meridio

To enhance their creativity and productivity, an increasing number of companies are building document-based business systems that take advantage of the recent spread of personal computers and networks.
XML, established in 1998, is a promising document format that facilitates document exchange between organizations and enables automatic processing by programs. XML will typically be used for electronic information disclosure systems in companies and technical document management systems in research and development departments.
The authors of this article are developing a new digital document processing system that will form the infrastructure for document-based business systems. The new system called “Meridio” has advanced features such as management of a large amount of documents, XML processing capability, ActiveX components for easy development of applications, and an integrated full-text search engine that can process large amounts of documents at high speed. This paper introduces Meridio.

• Knowledge Management System

Industries are being forced to adapt to the recent changes in industrial structures. For example, some must change from a structured industry to an intellectual industry or from a smokestack industry to an urban intensive-type industry. Companies will need an effective information strategy so they can meet these changes and survive the international competition of the 21st century.
In other words, a company’s growth will be greatly determined by how far it can improve its performance and how effectively it can manage and use strategic information.
This article explains a new document information retrieval system called “IntelligentSearch” that Fujitsu has developed. This highly scalable system can manage, retrieve, share, and use document information, which account for the bulk of corporate information, at high speed.

• Pattern-centric Application Development

This article introduces pattern-centric application development, which enables effective collection and reuse of technical know-how obtained during object-oriented application development, increased development efficiency, and increased extensibility and maintainability of applications. Patterns are techniques for explicitly defining and sharing technical know-how and several pattern catalogs have already been published.
Pattern-centric application development is an approach that emphasizes the importance of collecting and reusing the patterns that are specific to individual development projects rather than using published patterns. Systematic implementations of this approach in the development of package software have shown that it enables us to not only increase development efficiency but also develop easy-to-understand, extensible, and maintainable applications.