[ ‘DNA’ is shorthand for Microsoft’s ‘Distributed interNet
Architecture’ – LT ed. ]
“The cornerstone of Microsoft’s approach will be native
support for the Extensible Markup Language (XML) across Microsoft’s
product line as well as the ability to loosely couple XML and
messaging services. Paul Maritz, vice president of Microsoft’s
developers group, underscored that point with a comparison between
Microsoft’s vision and Sun’s Java/Jini combination. According to
Maritz, a successful Web services architecture must be open and
standards-based, and not rely on one language. Sun’s solution,
through which developers work with homogeneous objects written in
Java and interacting through Java Native Interface, is ‘technically
valid but has serious issues,’ Maritz said.”
“The overarching goal of the COM evolution and the changes to
the product line, Maritz said, is to ride the ‘tidal wave of
support’ that has already made XML a de facto standard to build
decentralized platforms consisting of clients, services, and
megaservices. That platform, of course, will be based on a
comprehensive suite of Microsoft products that will be rolled out
in a two-step process over the next two years.”
“In addition to adding native support for XML to its product
line, Maritz said Microsoft is evolving COM to provide full support
for the new Web services model. The result will be an architecture
that is open to virtually any system using XML.”
“Windows 2000, according to Microsoft, will serve as the
cornerstone for Windows DNA 2000 by offering XML support in the
form of a built-in XML parser, support for XML streaming and
persistence, and support for building XML data islands in Internet
Explorer 5.0.”
“…one thing that the Windows DNA platform could do for
Microsoft is provide an architecture in which the client still
matters. In his speech, Microsoft president Steve Ballmer
acknowledged that the rise of the Internet has sparked a shift
toward server-based computing…”