From: Eleanor Dowding 
To: "'lwn@lwn.net'" 
Subject: Press Release
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 14:56:15 -0000 

Eleanor Dowding
Easysoft Ltd
Phone no: +44 (0)1132220400
Fax no: +44 (0)1132220500
E-mail: eleanor.dowding@easysoft.com 
http:\\www.easysoft.com

Easysoft ODBC Middleware Opens Corporate Data to the Linux Community

Extending the benefits of ODBC to users of Linux and other non-Windows
platforms.

Leeds, England, Dec. 7, 1999 -- When an organisation turns to Linux to
enhance and expand its business systems, an essential consideration is how
legacy information can be incorporated into the new paradigm. 

Windows users are accustomed to simple, consistent access to disparate data
sources through ODBC, the SQL based data access standard, now adopted and
controlled by the Open Standards Group.

Easysoft have now extended the benefits of ODBC to users of Linux and other
non-Windows platforms with the introduction of the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC
Bridge, a new component in the Easysoft Data Access 2000 family of
enterprise data access solutions.

By extending the ODBC API to Linux, the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge allows
access to any ODBC enabled database using standard Linux development tools
and desktop applications. The Bridge is supported within Perl DBI DBD::ODBC,
C, Python, Rexx/SQL and PHP and has been fully tested with leading office
software such as Applixware and Star Office.

Although the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge can be used without a Driver Manager,
Easysoft have worked closely with the developers of unixODBC, the standard
Open Source ODBC 3.0 Driver Manager and toolset, to ensure the Bridge is
fully compatible with unixODBC.
 
Sales Director, John Kos is delighted with the early feedback from users.
"Pre-launch over 5,000 sites installed the evaluation version. As you might
imagine, the Bridge is predominately being used with Apache to web enable
legacy applications and implement e-commerce solutions where the data is
stored in Microsoft Access, SQL Server, DB2 or Oracle. Many companies have
been so satisfied with the performance that they have pushed ahead to deploy
solutions based on the Bridge way ahead of the official release."   The
Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge is a member of Easysoft Data Access 2000,a family
of software components and services for building enterprise-wide data access
solutions based on industry standards and providing heterogeneous access to
any database on any platform. Other components include the Easysoft
JDBC-ODBC Bridge and the Easysoft SQL Engine.

Easysoft -- Easysoft is a leading supplier of data access middleware
solutions based firmly on established industry standards. Easysoft products
provide an open framework to which you can add your own business logic to
create secure data access solutions that deliver consistent, blistering
performance, irrespective of client technology, server or database.   

Additional Information
Easysoft: http://www.easysoft.com/	     unixODBC:
http://www.unixodbc.org/	
Contact:Eleanor Dowding, Marketing	     Contact: Nick Gorham	
E-mail:   Eleanor.dowding@easysoft.com	       E-mail:
nick.Gorham@lurcher.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1132220400