Oracle Offers App Server Peek

Oracle9i Application Server Release 2 Version 9.0.4 will offer better integration of B2B and Web services capabilities, Oracle executives said at Oracle World here. It will include a full-fledged integration broker and business-process monitor, said Thomas Kurian, senior vice president of application servers.

"I really like the Oracle [integration story, because it's a complete integration platform that comes bundled with 9iAS, resulting in a much lower price point than the independent integration server vendors," said Marc Hebert, executive vice president of marketing and alliances at Sierra Atlantic, a Fremont, Calif.-based Oracle partner.

The update also will offer wireless and voice enhancements with J2ME support. It will incorporate the emerging xHTML Web design language, as well as Xforms, technology aimed at easing creation of pages that display well on many screen sizes. The new Web server also integrates capabilities from Toplink,a tool that maps between Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) and databases,into its own stack, according to Oracle's Web site. Oracle acquired Toplink last June from WebGain.

The new application server is slated to ship in the first half of next year, said John Magee, vice president of Oracle9i marketing.

Oracle's stated game plan has been to build more middleware into its core products. That contrasts with IBM's strategy, which is to group a number of offerings under the WebSphere brand.