Why Develop to NetWare 5? Part 2
Articles and Tips: article
01 Feb 1999
Part two in a series of articles designed to show you the benefits associated with developing to NetWare 5. Includes information on Novell's strategic developer partnerships and Novell's developer initiatives (including the Novell Developer Kit, the Novell Dynamic Link Library Loader, hardware development and DeverloperNet).
Introduction
With the release of NetWare 5, Novell has strengthened its position as the world's largest provider of network software and has also made it far easier to produce applications for the world's network users. NetWare 5 allows Java, ActiveX, C/C++, database, and scripting developers to tap into NetWare, Windows NT, and UNIX servers with manageable, directory-based applications and solutions.
The purpose of this two-part article is to show you the many benefits associated with developing to NetWare 5. Part 1 of this article, published in the January 1999 issue of Novell Developer Notes, covered such topics as the following:
NetWare 5 features
NDS for developers
The Java environment for NetWare
Accessing databases on NetWare
Rapid application development
CORBA
Novell Open Solutions Architecture
This installment deals with the following areas:
Novell's strategic developer partnerships (including database, Web, and Java)
Novell's developer initiatives (including the Novell Developer Kit, the Novell Dynamic Link Library Loader, hardware development, and DeveloperNet)
Novell's Strategic Developer Partnerships
Novell's strategic developer partnerships fall into the following categories:
Database
The explosion of Web technologies, fueled by developers, creates a significant requirement for database connectivity on the NetWare platform. As the Internet continues to expand, so does the requirement for innovative and powerful database connectivity technologies that can extract anything from flat-file documents to "sound bytes" to full-length movies.
Oracle8. Oracle has long been a leader in the relational and now object-oriented database market, and their products are well-known for their reliability and scalability. Oracle's long-standing relationship with Novell as a database partner continues with the release of Oracle8, which has been fully tested and approved for use with NetWare 5, NetWare 4.11, and NetWare for Small Business 4.11. As a result, a five-user version of Oracle 8 is being bundled with versions of NetWare 4.11 and above.
Out of the box, NetWare and Oracle 8 provide developers with a powerful application platform for immediately developing and deploying networked solutions to streamline customer business processes. Oracle8's advanced features, complemented by the performance of the NetWare operating system and integration with NDS, provide a winning database combination. Oracle8 is a scalable database management system that can hold more data than ever before and deliver that data reliably and securely to many users. In addition, Oracle8 provides a single sign-on and a single point of administration for both the Oracle database and the NDS database.
Oracle8 for NetWare brings the latest in database technology, such as large tables, partitioning, and some object-oriented functions, to the NetWare platform. Not only is Oracle8 a superior product on its own, but Oracle8 for NetWare provides users with easier access to the data they need. Oracle8 also provides network administrators with the luxury of managing the database from a central location using NDS and the NWADMIN utility.
Oracle and Novell have enabled Java in their respective technologies so that developers can easily build intelligent network computing applications in a multi-tier environment, and so that their current applications will run seamlessly on this robust, integrated platform.
SQL Integrator. Novell is committed to meeting the challenge of providing a database connectivity framework for instant access to any type of information residing in a database, even when it is to be accessed through multiple tiers and on disparate platforms. Based on technology licensed from B2 Systems, the Novell SQL Integrator for NetWare will allow applications to access information stored in multiple databases on different platforms across the network simultaneously. With SQL Integrator, developers can access data across multiple systems with a single operation. Novell SQL Integrator for NetWare works with databases on SQL, ODBC or JDBC standards, including products from Oracle, Informix, Microsoft, and Sybase.
Btrieve. The Btrieve key-indexed record management system is designed for high-performance data handling and improved programming productivity. Btrieve allows an application to retrieve, insert, update, or delete records either by key value or by sequential or random access methods.
Web
Netscape FastTrack Server. NetWare 5 will include Netscape's award-winning FastTrack Server, the easy-to-use software for creating, publishing and serving Web documents. This Netscape Web server uses code specifically adapted for maximum performance on NetWare 5 and integration with NDS. This integration with NDS makes the Web server easier to administer, and more secure by restricting who can administer the Web server and what content users can publish.
Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare 5 includes Perl and JavaScript as standard features and enables you to continue and run applications even if they are written on other Web servers. In addition, FastTrack Server supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.0, the widely accepted Internet security standard that encrypts the information flow between server and client.
FastTrack Server delivers high performance and reliability in its core Web engine through optimized caching, advanced use of kernel threads, HTTP 1.1 support, and sophisticated memory management. It enables individuals and workgroups to establish a Web presence and deploy intranet solutions quickly. FastTrack Server's rich cross-platform environment supports building or deploying a variety of Web and database applications.
NetWare 5's version of FastTrack server supports the following Web-enhancing technologies: NDS, LDAP, Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Perl, and NetBasic.
Java
WebLogic Tengah Application Server. In partnership, WebLogic and Novell have implemented WebLogic's Tengah Java Server on NetWare. Working with the NetWare JVM, Tengah will provide application server technology, supporting Enterprise Java Beans, servlets and distributed application protocols, including Remote Method Invocation (RMI, Sun's Java-to-Java interprocess communication protocol), and the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) developed by the OMG for CORBA.
C/NLM
MetroWerks' CodeWarrior for NetWare. Working closely with a major tool supplier such as Metrowerks is an integral part of our strategy to make life easier for developers, and to keep NetWare the world's leading and most manageable network server environment. Metrowerks' CodeWarrior for NetWare, featuring full Windows 95, Windows NT and Java toolsets, delivering one of the most comprehensive packages of tools available. CodeWarrior allows all types of developers to quickly and easily develop solutions for the Novell platform.
Metrowerks' CodeWarrior for NetWare is a version of the company's development tool set designed for the NetWare environment. CodeWarrior for NetWare includes the CodeWarrior integrated development environment (IDE) with compilers for C and C++, Novell's NetWare source-level debugger and Novell's NetWare-based libraries and linkers.
Inprise C++Builder 3. Inprise (formerly Borland) delivers a complete enterprise development solution that gives you a feature-rich and fully integrated C++ compiler and development environment. With complete access to Visibroker Event Services and Visibroker Naming Service, C++Builder 3 allows you to build business applications with integrated database development tools. Support for federated name spaces, persistent name associations and naming contexts, enables creation of Web-enabled database applications, and turning corporate data into actionable information.
Watcom. Sybase's Watcom C/C++ provides a comprehensive development environment with the tools, SDKs and libraries you need to create 16- and 32-bit applications for NetWare 5 and popular PC platforms. Combining an integrated development environment and a comprehensive set of tools with state-of-the-art compiler technology, Watcom C/C++ delivers productivity and performance.
Watcom C/C++ uses incremental linking and improved pre-compiled header support to achieve faster builds. Sophisticated optimization techniques and precise compiler diagnostics help you create robust, reliable, high-performance applications. Watcom C/C++ now supports namespaces and Run-Time Type Identification (RTTI), providing a new level of comprehensive and consistent C++ language implementation on all supported platforms. Other new C++ language features include the mutable keyword, bool type, explicit attribute, and C++ cast notation.
Novell's Developer Initiatives
Novell has launched a variety of initiatives to make information and technology more accessible. Instead of developers and APIs "being an afterthought," the company has made developing and releasing APIs before products ship a priority. In addition, the company is adopting a new philosophy of "when in doubt, provide it to developers at no cost."
The Novell Developer Kit
Novell has created a single set of NetWare APIs and development guidelines, providing one easy-to-use SDK instead of the many different SDKs the company has traditionally provided. Most of the tools and resources cited in this paper are available from a single source, Novell's new developer kit. The Novell Developer Kit, along with scripting examples and source code, is available for free on Novell's DeveloperNet Web site (http://developer.novell.com/) and available soon in CD format.
In addition, the company will make a wide variety of information free to developers that had been previously hard to obtain, including: NDS schema documentation (see http://developer.novell.com/nds/schema.htm); the complete NDS API (DSAPI); and the source code to the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) client (see http://developer.novell.com/download/new).
Novell will also post other resources for free download to developers including the Telephony Services Application Program Interface (TSAPI, including source code and unlimited redistribution rights); APIs for speech recognition; and the NetWare DLL loader.
NetWare DLL Loader
The NetWare DLL loader allows developers to use their existing environment to build a module that can be loaded on a NetWare server. A NetWare DLL is basically an NLM in DLL (Dynamic Link Library) clothing, with a few exceptions. It uses the PE (Portable Executable) binary format as its container. It is built using special stub libraries instead of Import files, and it uses a resource file instead of extensive linker options. The DLLSDK provides all pieces necessary to allow you to build a NetWare DLL using your existing environment (A development environment that will build a DLL, such as Borland C++ v5.02 or Microsoft Visual C++ v5.0), including sample source, necessary header and library files, and startup code.
A NetWare DLL does have a few limitations that must be examined before deciding to use the DLL format for your product. Not meant to be a replacement for NLMs, the NetWare DLL loader is simply another valuable option available to NetWare module developers. If you want to build a loadable module for NetWare, you are not forced to obtain and learn a new development environment. Simply use the existing compiler you already have, provided that it can build a DLL.
RDebug. RDebug provides a powerful test and development tool for the NetWare server. RDebug can be used for NetWare Loadable Module software development, debugging, and integration. RDebug supports a Java human interface, source-level debugging, watch expressions, breakpoints, stepping, register access, memory access, symbolic support, and N809.
Hardware Development
Working together through NetWare Peripheral Architecture (NWPA), NetWare 5 and I2O-based LAN cards increase the speed of the server operating system by shifting disk and LAN requests from the main CPU onto a dedicated I/O processor located on the LAN board. Intelligent I/O is not ubiquitous yet, but it offers such substantial benefits in server I/O that many manufacturers are adopting the technology quickly. Similarly, NetWare's support for hot-swappable PCI boards will let administrators replace faulty boards without bringing the server down. In addition, NetWare 5 supports ATAPI tape drives, and Ultra DMA hard drives.
When customers upgrade, they don't have to buy new hardware, because NetWare 5 supports everything that has been supported and market proven in NetWare 4.11.
DeveloperNet
DeveloperNet, Novell's premier developer program, is the gateway to leveraging NetWare 5, NDS and all of Novell's products and technologies. This standards-based program provides the tools, expertise, resources and support, testing and certification assistance to help you prosper in the open computing arena with development to NetWare 5 and NDS. In addition to accessing state-of-the-developer's-art technical resources, DeveloperNet is the source of significant marketing opportunity for your solutions, with many initiatives to assist you:
The Novell Developers' Contest
The Novell Partner Products and Services search
Novell Ventures
Through the Novell Developers' Contest, Novell is making it easy, and potentially very lucrative, for you to explore the NetWare 5 platform and NDS. And the Novell Partner Products and Services search is where millions of Novell customers are turning for third-party solutions to their networking needs.
In addition, Novell is eager to support new Java-based network applications that exploit the NetWare 5 platform. Through DeveloperNet and Novell Ventures, Novell is investing millions in developers that who exploit Novell's NetWare 5 network server operating system and NDS. The capital comes from Novell's Internet Equity Fund, a $50 million fund set up last year. About half of the fund is earmarked for companies developing applications, tools and utilities that take advantage of NDS. The fund targets start-ups in their first or second rounds of financing. In exchange, Novell receives a minority interest in the companies.
Conclusion
With NetWare 5 Novell delivers on its vision to provide the industry's fastest, most reliable platform for developers to deploy state-of-the-art intelligent networked applications.
Because it is open and standards-based, it provides the best network and networked application development foundation for the future. NetWare 5 enhances network and desktop management, consolidates protocols and operating systems, runs next-generation distributed applications, and delivers reliable networking services all on your customer's existing network infrastructure.
NetWare 5 offers the highest total value network, delivering the greatest number of business benefits at the lowest cost of ownership. NetWare 5 will support the enterprise as it changes. It will grow with your customers reliably and efficiently providing networking services to their entire organization, fueling business growth and development. It will protect their business and your applications from common problems associated with networking, including administration costs, security problems and downtime, reducing your application's cost of ownership while providing with all the benefits of a connected environment.
Should you leverage the enormous groundswell of interest in NetWare 5, and the upgrade cycle of millions of NetWare 3 and 4 customers, with your hip new solution? NetWare beta developers sensing the opportunity to deliver new and updated NetWare applications didn't waste any time. With over 200 Novell-certified applications ready before the public release of the platform, Java, C/C++ and scripting developers to NDS and NetWare 5 seem to be catching on quick. More than ever, the network is Novell.
For more information, please contact your local Novell Authorized Reseller or system house. Or visit us at http://developer.novell.com today. You may also call Novell at:
1-888-321-4272 (U.S. and Canada) 1-801-228-4272 (outside the U. S.) Fax: 1-801-228-5376
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
Disclaimer
The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. While Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information, Novell does not make explicit or implied claims to its validity.