Greenbelt, Maryland -- September 19, 1995 -- Empress Software Inc., announces the introduction and immediate availability of the EMPRESS HTML Toolkit, a freeware package of software modules designed to help developers link their World Wide Web applications to the EMPRESS RDBMS and other dynamic SQL-compatible databases. Developers can use their current authoring systems to build interactive Web page applications, then use the Empress HTML Toolkit to hyperlink those applications to multiple databases and tables. This enables Web clients or browsers (such as Netscape or Mosaic) to access data wherever it resides and to re-query the links based on new criteria or on the existing query.
The EMPRESS HTML Toolkit can be downloaded from the Empress home page (http://www.empress.com/). Customers can view on-line demonstrations of the Toolkit's capabilities by selecting either "Guest Book" or "HTML Demo System."
There is no limit to the applications developers can create with the database links and operations provided in the Empress HTML Toolkit. Inventory tracking and control, help desk systems, document and correspondence databases, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) databases, on-line catalogs, and automated request fulfillment are just a few of the powerful and flexible graphical applications that can combine the visual appeal of the World Wide Web and the multimedia data handling capabilities of EMPRESS RDBMS Version 6.6.
"We're excited to be increasing our role, participation, and presence in the rapidly expanding global on-line community," said Empress Software president John Kornatowski. "Our customers have always viewed the EMPRESS RDBMS as an enabling technology for interactive, multimedia applications. EMPRESS and the graphical environment of the Web were practically made for each other. Now, with the EMPRESS HTML Toolkit, developers can more easily combine images, video, and sound -- as well as text and unstructured data -- in their Web pages. Plus, Empress staff is always available to provide consulting and application development assistance."
The Empress HTML Toolkit is easy to use and requires no special scripting language, an advantage over the tools provided by some other RDBMS vendors. Developers need only be familiar with HTML forms and tables, SQL, and the basic underlying RDBMS table structure (such as database, table and attribute names and locations). Besides continuing to use their favorite authoring systems, developers maintain creative freedom and flexibility. That is because the EMPRESS HTML Toolkit adds database access capabilities without dictating the look, feel or specific functions of the Web page or application. However, the Toolkit improves application performance by controlling the flow of retrieved data. For example, if a query returned 1,000 records, only a portion of those would be across the network to the client at any one time. The user could then more efficiently page through retrieved records.
All of the tools conform to the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Version 3 specification. They operate at the server level and interact with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) via the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). By maintaining functionality at the server, all the HTML-compliant documents created by the toolkit can be read by standard Internet browsers. On the client side, dynamic SQL is used to perform standard database operations such as insert, update, and select. Use of Dynamic SQL facilitates accessing third-party databases through their respective Dynamic SQL interfaces.
EMPRESS was designed in Toronto by John Kornatowski and Ivor Ladd. Applications developed with EMPRESS include mapping, weather forecasting, voice messaging, multimedia, image processing, medical systems, CAD/CAM, as well as traditional RDBMS and 4GL solutions. Empress' sales and marketing offices are in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Greenbelt, Maryland, and in San Jose, California. Markham, Canada, is the site of the company's research and development center, as well as international sales and marketing.
For more information, contact Empress Software, 6401 Golden Triangle Drive, Suite 220, Greenbelt, MD 20770. Call 301-220-1919. Fax 301-220-1997. For Canadian and international inquiries, call 905-513-8888. Canadian and international fax 905-513-1668.