Everhart, Glenn From: hoffman@xdelta.enet.dec.nospam Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 1998 4:59 PM To: Info-VAX@Mvb.Saic.Com Subject: Announcing OpenVMS V7.2 Field Test SDK... -- The OpenVMS Software Developer's Kit (SDK) will be available in June 1998. The first SDK kit contains external field test two (EFT2) of the next major OpenVMS release, V7.2, as well as the associated copies of DECwindows and various DIGITAL network products. The field test three (EFT3) SDK is expected in September 1998. All necessary product license PAKs are included with the SDK kit. (These PAKs are valid for use with the SDK, and for the duration of the particular SDK.) OpenVMS V7.2 contains a wide variety of new features you've asked for, and this SDK will be your opportunity to see and to work with the new release, both to test your existing code with the release, and to design and debug new code using the new V7.2 features of OpenVMS. The EFT2 SDK contains features including the following: o OpenVMS Galaxy. You've heard about it, now you can try it. You can use your AlphaServer 8400 (only) to operate multiple instances with the included console firmware, and you can use the SDK to develop OpenVMS Galaxy-aware applications on any other OpenVMS Alpha system (in a single-instance configuration). (But no changes to existing software applications are required!) Remember to start your tour with the _OpenVMS Alpha Galaxy Guide_. o Heterogeneous File Support (HFS). You wanted deeper directories, longer file names, and a much wider variety of characters within file names. The SDK includes RMS, MOUNT, DCL, DECnet, and XQP support for HFS on OpenVMS Alpha. (HFS provides the ODS-5 on-disk format, a linear descendant of the existing ODS-2 format.) o JAVA Development Kit (JDK). Boot up and smell the coffee. OpenVMS Alpha (only) now includes the JDK, for developing Java applications on OpenVMS Alpha. o OpenVMS Management Tools (OMT). You can use Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 95 to easily manage your OpenVMS systems using an intuitive graphical interface; simply install the OMT toolkit on your Microsoft Windows system. o DECamds. You can already manage your OpenVMS system or your network of VMScluster systems from any X Windows system using DECamds, now get the latest update. o Year 2000 support. It's integrated. Who needs an ECO kit? o Improved Windows NT Connectivity (Affinity). Support for Registry, Events, and Security in support of Microsoft DCOM is included. (Full Windows NT connectivity and fully-integrated DCOM support is expected to be included in the V7.2-EFT3 SDK.) o On-going performance enhancements. We have continued our on-going work to improve your system and your VMScluster performance. o New networking options. OpenVMS Alpha now includes support for new networking adapters. o Per-threads security. You wanted the ability to split a single application across multiple parallel threads of execution, with each thread running on a seperate processor in an SMP system, and to have a seperate security context for each thread. o Smaller disk cluster factors. You wanted smaller disk cluster factors on your bigger disk volumes and your bigger RAID arrays -- to make better use of your available disk storage -- and now you have it. o And DECnet Phase IV continues to be available... What's in the SDK CD-ROM for DIGITAL and for OpenVMS Engineering? We get wider exposure of the OpenVMS V7.2 release than we receive through our directed field test sites. And we get information and feedback and discussions going directly among a variety of folks like you -- our SDK customers. The discussion of the SDK, and any reports of any problems found while using the SDK, should be made to OpenVMS Engineering via the newsgroup: vmsnet.sdk.openvms.fieldtest And as with general newsgroup practice, any security-relevent problems should be forwarded directly to DIGITAL, and not posted to a newsgroup. We expect to be releasing the V7.2-EFT3 SDK in September 1998. EFT3 will include fully-integrated DCOM, including security and PATHWORKS support. EFT3 is also expected to include support for Fibre Channel as a storage interconnect. How do you get the SDK? When the SDK kits are made available in June 1998, the CD-ROMs can be ordered by calling 1-800-DIGITAL, or can be ordered via the web at http://www.businesslink.digital.com/. The SDK (EFT2 and EFT3) CD-ROMs will use the part number QA-MT3AD-H8, and a nominal charge of US$40 (each) will be applied. Additional ordering information, as well as the current SDK shipment status, will be made available around the end of May 1998, via the OpenVMS Web Page: http://www.openvms.digital.com/ Also: we are looking for suggestions and requests for features that you want to see included in our next major OpenVMS release past V7.2. You can post these, or forward them via email. -------------------------- pure personal opinion --------------------------- Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoffman@xdelta.ZZenet.dec.com note to those folks not contributing spam -- there is no ZZ in my address