New Micro Focus Product Offerings Promote Open Client/Server Framework 

Cross-Platform GUI Builder and Program-to-Program Connectivity Ease
Client/Server Application Development

Palo Alto, Calif. April 19, 1993 -- Effective immediately, Micro Focus is
shipping two new products as part of its client/server offering: Micro
Focus Application-to-Application Interface (AAI) version 2.0 and Micro
Focus Dialog System' version 2.2. These two new releases are key
components of the Micro Focus Client/Server Solution that provides a
complete Solution or an architecturally open framework which allows
developers to plug in technology that fits an organization's needs without
relying on proprietary products. The Micro Focus client/server development
environment is cost effective and takes advantage of existing skills,
corporate-wide data and mission-critical applications. The Micro Focus
Client/Server Solution offers robust communications facilities including
remote procedure calls (RPCs) which provide unprecedented connectivity
without complexity; tools to quickly develop and implement user
interfaces; distributed data management for the widest range of file types
and databases in the industry; and a completely modem, portable, high
performance COBOL compiler that enables productive client/server
development.

Open Architecture

Developers can plug and play with Micro Focus' open, scalable architecture.
The Micro Focus client/server environment includes Dialog System 2.2 for
user interface design and development, Micro Focus COBOL' for the business
logic, built in access to existing data stores, and Micro Focus AAI for
program-to-program communications. Alternately, a developer can plug in
the graphical user interface (GUI) builder or database of choice. When
used within the Micro Focus graphical Workbench development environment,
the Micro Focus client/server Solution offers unmatched tools for
development and testing of client programs and backend server programs.
Client/server computing systems can be tailored to the needs of individual
businesses.

Graphical Development on UNIX Motif and New Support for Thin Clients

Micro Focus Dialog System version 2.2 enables the development of
client/server graphical front ends for multiple platforms and brings
portability and productivity to human interface development using a "what
you see is what you get" graphical development environment. Dialog System
allows programmers to leverage their COBOL expertise when developing both
GUIs for Microsoft Windows, OS/2 Presentation Manager, DOS and now UNIX
Motif and character-based environments. Create the interface once in one
of these environments and run it in the others. There is no need to
regenerate or recompile code, simply move and execute. Dialog System now
provides support for executing programs directly through the new CALLOUT
function. The CALLOUT is integrated with Micro Focus AAI technology,
providing an easy way to build remote thin clients making cross-platform
calls to a server process. Other new release highlights of Dialog System
include:

* Cross-Platform Font and Color
* Full Import/Export Facility
* Notebook Control
* Platform Portability Prompting

In addition, the new release includes enhanced query and maintenance
facilities for user interface development and maintenance in a team
environment.

Program-to-Program Communications Made Simpler, Enhanced 

Micro Focus AAI offers a language independent, high-level programming
interface which makes all calls for communications services transparent to
both the program and programmer, allowing client/server applications to be
written by programmers with no knowledge of communications coding. AAI
supports all major LAN and communications protocols including NetBIOS,
Novell IPX, Named Pipes, TCP/IP and LU6.2/APPC. Micro Focus AAL which
provides communications for COBOL, C, RPG, Assembler, and many 4GLs, has
the widest variety of client and server platforms supported including:

* CICS/MVS
* MVS VTAM (Batch and TSO)
* RS/6000
* OS/2
* UNIX
* CICS VSE 
* IMS/DC 
* AS/400
* Windows DOS (client only)

AAI plugs into existing systems and gives developers the ability to call
and execute programs on other platforms exactly as if they were local. AAI
supports synchronous remote procedure calls as well as asynchronous
message passing along with message queue processing. AAI provides both
connectivity and management of applications distributed throughout the
enterprise. The 2.0 release includes support for new platforms and
enhanced application network administration.

New Preprocessor and UNIX Connectivity Included with AAI under DOS, OS/2
and Windows is a pre-processor that will assist in re-engineering an
application to enable its called sub-programs to reside on other
platforms. This pre-processor, based upon user request, replaces CALL
statements with AAI RPCs.

Micro Focus plans to release AAI on the UNIX platforms currently supported
by its COBOL product line. Micro Focus COBOL is available on over 500 UNIX
platforms. Initial releases will be on SUN Solaris and HP-UX. Additional
platforms will be made available in a sequence determined by customer
demand.

Access to Corporate Data 

Micro Focus COBOL has always allowed host-based batch processing to be
offloaded to other less expensive platforms. Client/server computing
brings together the flexibility and usability of PCs and networks while
leveraging the power of enterprise systems and the value of corporate
data. Micro Focus' client/server offerings provide performance,
cross-platform accessibility and data integrity on a wide variety of
platforms and support all major databases including DBM, DB2, DBV2, DVl,
Oracle, Sybase, Gupta, Informix, Ingres and XDB through embedded SQL, SQL
preprocessors and/or remote access.

Leveraging Existing Skills 

The Micro Focus Client/Server Solution bridges existing skills with new
technology. The reusability of application code, programming skills and
existing data stores eliminates the need to learn new languages, complex
communications protocols and new GUI APIs. In this way, Micro Focus
delivers integrated solutions that improve productivity, maximizes the use
of corporate information assets and thus provides information systems
organizations a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Micro Focus enables enterprises that use information systems to benefit
from adopting new hardware and software technologies while leveraging
available skills and system resources. We do this by providing
state-of-the-art programming tools to empower application developers;
coupled with software technology to enable them to create new
industrial-strength applications; and bridging software to access and
enhance the value of existing systems. Micro Focus is located at 2465 East
Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, California 94303. Telephone:415-856-4161.

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