LUTRIS(TM) DELIVERS XML COMPILER TO LEADING OPEN SOURCE APPLICATION SERVER

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Editorial Contact:
Allison Niday
Impact Communications
(831) 439-0977
allison@impactcommpr.com

LUTRIS(TM) DELIVERS XML COMPILER TO LEADING OPEN SOURCE APPLICATION SERVER

Enhydra(TM) XMLC(TM) Leapfrogs Sun Server Pages and Microsoft Active Server Pages

Santa Cruz, Calif., - July 6, 1999 - Fueling the rapid adoption of its Open Source application server, Lutris Technologies today released Enhydra 2.1. Enhydra 2.1 is a /XML application server with new developer tools leveraging the popular Internet standard eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Enhydra XML Compiler (XMLC) is a new XML technology that eliminates the shortcomings of embedding code in HTML found in Sun's Server Pages (JSP) and Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP). Merging W3C consortium standards XML and the Document Object Model (DOM), Enhydra now supports a new, more efficient approach for interface designers and programmers to co-develop Web applications using to generate dynamic HTML.

Lutris developed a technology similar to JSP and ASP over two years ago. Since then, the limitations of this approach have become obvious during the course of many consulting engagements. These limitations include: HTML editor incompatibility, wasteful designer/engineer interdependence, needless manual source file editing, and difficult application maintenance. Enhydra XMLC overcomes these limitations. With XMLC, applications are:
- easily developed with clean separation between engineer and designer,
- compatible with all HTML editors and tools,
- built with truly reusable HTML templates,
- less error prone, and
- vastly more maintainable.

"From the start, Enhydra was built to address real world IT issues, including platform independence and evolutionary application architectures," said Paul Morgan, CTO and co-founder of Lutris Technologies. "Now, with the addition of Enhydra XMLC, we've removed the need for 'hybrid glue' when integrating HTML and . With Enhydra 2.1, there is finally a framework to build Web applications that can be easily maintained and promotes the best design and development processes. Web developers now have access to XML capabilities that go beyond even commercial application server products."

Enhydra XMLC helps lay the foundation for the next generation of Internet application design and development tools. XMLC converts HTML documents into classes represented as DOM objects. The W3C standard DOM defines a way to represent XML documents as a object tree. This process lets developers easily isolate data application logic from interface design, improving collaboration between the developer and the interface designer. The inclusion of simple id tags in an HTML document means that HTML templates can be created with any HTML editor, and then be modified and re-used with no impact on the underlying application.

Speaking of Enhydra XMLC's value, Lisa Zenner, Senior Producer at Mondo Media, said, "Our collaboration with Lutris on a significant new portal has been a successful and exciting one. The technology they use allows us, as an art house, the freedom to be dynamic in our interface design because we're isolated from the application development process."

"Enhydra is enhancing our development of highly specialized e-commerce solutions, resulting in code that's easily maintainable," stated Martin Apel, project manager of Opus5, an Internet consultancy in Frankfurt, Germany. "XMLC and its capability to cleanly separate HTML and application logic fits perfectly within our teamwork concept: designers and programmers work hand in hand on a project. XMLC allows each group to concentrate on their respective tasks and strengths and even to implement major changes without delaying or breaking the other groups' work."

About Enhydra
Enhydra is the leading Open Source /XML application server. Since its introduction on January 15th, 1999, www.enhydra.org, has been visited by over 30,000 users resulting in more than 4,000 downloads. Hundreds of independent developers are actively contributing to Enhydra. Projects leveraging Enhydra are underway worldwide by IT departments, Internet consultants, and start-up companies. Enhydra is a servlet-based architecture of common services supporting business, presentation and data logic. Services include user and session management, as well as database connection sessions. Enhydra is the only application server (Open Source or commercial) to feature XML technology to simplify the interactive relationship of graphic designers and developers during the development of dynamic HTML presentations.

Additional Enhydra development tools include an XML parser for access to XML data sources. Enhydra Data Object Design Studio (DODS) is a graphical tool for mapping data objects to relational databases. Enhydra Multiserver is included for an enhanced servlet running environment featuring embedded servlet management, monitoring and debugging. Enhydra supports Unix, Linux, Windows and NT, as well as industry-dominant Web servers including Apache, Netscape Enterprise Server and Microsoft IIS. The only platform requirement is the presence of Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.1.6 or higher.

Availability
Available now, Enhydra 2.1 runtime and source code is free and may be downloaded from www.enhydra.org. On-line demonstrations, documentation, and FAQs are provided for quick evaluation.

About Lutris Technologies
Lutris Technologies is an Internet consulting company to forward-thinking businesses and corporate IT organizations. As a firm dedicated to helping clients develop and implement successful Internet strategies, Lutris partners with our clients to apply focused teams to develop and deploy Internet projects. Lutris provides eBusiness consulting, Internet technology, and creative design and branding. In 1999 Lutris began Enhydra.org, an open organization dedicated to serving the Enhydra /XML application server and its growing Open Source developer community. Founded in 1995, Lutris is a privately held company based in Santa Cruz, Calif. For additional information email info@lutris.com or visit www.lutris.com.

Lutris, Enhydra, and XMLC are trademarks of Lutris Technologies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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