Stories about: Iona Technologies

Don MacAskill calls himself a "huge fan" of open-source software in general, and the MySQL database in particular. MySQL is one of the core technologies used at SmugMug, an online photo-sharing service, where MacAskill is CEO.

When using open-source software, businesses usually choose between a free, community-supported version of an application or a fee-based enterprise version that includes support, service, updates and other features.

When Microsoft announced on Thursday that it was changing its business practices to be more open -- specifically to release documentation on its APIs and protocols -- many people reacted with disbelief. The European Commission, which has battled Microsoft for a decade over anticompetitiveness, said in very blunt terms that it didn't believe Microsoft was sincere. After all, Microsoft has made the "open" promise before but never delivered.

A group of 18 software vendors made good on their previous commitment to hand over service-oriented architecture specifications to standards bodies once those specifications, designed to make it easier for users to develop SOA-based applications, reach maturity.

The European software consortium ObjectWeb has embarked on a restructuring that will give it more independence but also raises questions about its funding in the future.

An alliance of leading software vendors have announced progress on specifications to define a language-neutral programming model for application development within SOA (service-oriented architecture) environments.

Cisco Systems, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Red Hat and five other organizations Tuesday announced they are formally backing the creation of an open standard messaging protocol aimed at helping various messaging and Web services technologies communicate with one another.

Melding the contemporary concepts of SOA and open source, Iona Technologies is announcing its participation in the Eclipse Foundation and will propose an Eclipse SOA Tools Platform project.

JBoss is upgrading three of its Java middleware products to include an early version of the EJB 3.0 specification and is also releasing a big makeover of its portal-building software, the company announced Monday.

Several vendors including Sun Microsystems and Oracle on Monday announced support for the WS-MessageDelivery specification recently submitted to the World Wide Web Consortium.

Five middleware vendors published a set of technology guidelines Monday that could prove helpful to businesses trying to orchestrate groups of online transactions using Web services.