Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) has announced the immediate availability of Developer/2000 Web Cartridge (version 1.4W), the first application development technology that enables software developers to develop applications once and run them anywhere-either on a client/server system or the Web. Additionally, this upgrade to Developer/2000 will allow developers to re-deploy existing Developer/2000 applications on intranets and the Internet without manual code changes. Now at large corporate beta sites, Developer/2000's thin-client 100% Pure Java user interface makes millions of Developer/2000 applications instantly available for network computers, such as the NC and Sun's JavaStation, and for existing PCs or workstations with Java-enabled browsers.

Developer/2000 Web Cartridge provides the first means ever for easily and instantly porting proven applications to network-based architectures such as intranets, freeing corporations from expensive fat-client environments to save billions of dollars annually in application distribution and administration. Developer/2000 is the first open Web tool developed and available on NT. It gives all NT customers Web access to workgroup and enterprise level data.

"We eagerly anticipate, based upon pre-production benchmarks, that Developer/2000 Web Cartridge will significantly increase our developers' productivity and substantially reduced our IT spending," said Scott Fabian, GUI Applications Development manager, Burlington Coat Factory. "We were able to test our Order Entry application on the Web in a matter of hours and days, not weeks or months. Developer/2000 makes thin client and network computer-based architectures a reality."

"Oracle technology is an important component of our company's value proposition, and Developer/2000 has proven an indispensable tool for building scalable, reliable applications on NT systems at our customer sites," said John Vaughan, executive vice president, Port Consulting, Miami, Fla.

"With Developer/2000 Web Cartridge, organizations immediately can move all their mission critical applications to a thin client architecture, taking full advantage of network computing," said Sohaib Abbasi, senior vice president of Oracle's Tools and Groupware Division. "Users no longer need to administer software on thousands of fat clients, delivering on the network computing promise of cost savings for hardware and software administration. The life of inexpensive PCs can be extended, breaking the 'upgrade cycle,' or organizations can introduce even lower cost network computers for greater savings."

Maintains Familiar Interface with No Recoding

Client/server applications will have the same look-and-feel when they are re-deployed on the Web using Developer/2000 Web Cartridge. Using Java, the Web applications will overcome the limitations of HTML, and embody the same productive multi-tasking, GUI-rich interface that end-users have come to expect.

Using Developer/2000 Web Cartridge, the bulk of the application logic executes on the application server in a three-tier environment. A certified 100% Pure Java applet is downloaded from the application server, establishing a direct, secure and persistent connection between the client, the application server and the back-end database. Developer/2000 Web Cartridge builds on the database access intelligence of client/server applications by providing a scalable transaction processing architecture for the Web.

The technology allows Windows NT and UNIX developers to build new applications for the Web using the same Developer/2000 environment with which they are familiar -- they do not have to be trained to use new development environments or programming languages.

Furthermore, Developer/2000 Web Cartridge delivers timely application development support for Oracle's Network Computing Architecture(TM), a common set of technologies that allow all PCs, network computers and other clients to work with all Web servers, database servers and application servers over any network. Cartridges are highly manageable objects that, through an open API, plug into the client or application server or even the database.

Pricing & Availability

Developer/2000 Web Cartridge is immediately available for Windows NT. A UNIX version will be available in the next quarter. For more information, see (URL) http://www.oracle.com/tools.

Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest software company. With annual revenues exceeding $5.2 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education and support services, in more than 145 countries around the world. For more information about Oracle, please call 415/506-7000.