“There have been a number of changes in the enterprise
development tools area since last year. Indeed, the very title of
the product category has changed from Java tools to reflect that
most vendors now bundle their tools with Web application servers or
enterprise application suites. … New products in this category
extend to the Linux OS, which has become a popular environment for
developers. And existing vendors are combining tools with business
intelligence products to strengthen their products’ e-commerce
capabilities.”
“IBM’s objectives, according to Olague, include rapid
development, tight integration with the run-time environment, and a
broad partnership strategy. IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., provides
specific interfaces with partner applications, such as Rational
Software’s ClearQuest. The tools are delivered on multiple
platforms, including NT, Windows 2000 and Linux. And, from
IBM’s standpoint, Linux seems to be attracting attention. “There is
much growth and huge partner interest in Linux,” Olague
says.”
“Like IBM, Oracle is seeing increased development activity
around Linux, Magee says. “There is huge interest in Linux
from the developer community,” he explains. “In our Oracle
Technology Network, we make all our software available for free,
and Linux is very popular.”