Collaborative SpreadSheet server Javabean, free
Roedy Green
Athena makes a multi-user Spreadsheet enterprise JavaBean server engine.
They are looking for people who would be willing to use it and develop web
based apps around it. It return for web exposure and feedback, you would
get a free copy which is normally quite expensive.
It has ties to JDBC and online data feeds. It is very multithreaded. It
is pure Java. On some benchmarks it is faster than Excel.
It is also possible to run the engine in the client, but the download time
for the engine to a client over the web for the applet would be prohibitive
without T1 access.
If you are interested, give David Pollack at Athena a shout. You can reach
him at <d...@athena.com> . You can get an idea of what it can do by
visiting their web site <www.athena.com>.
I can see this having three main uses:
1. quick and dirty web based collaborative applications. Any legacy Excel
or Lotus spreadsheet automatically becomes a collaborative web-based app.
2. customised spreadsheet programs integrating standard Java logic with
spreadsheet logic and graphing Javebeans from various sources.
3. business "bean counting" programs where some of the logic, e.g.
calculating sales commissions is handled by the spreadsheet engine. This
way end users can modify that logic themselves using familiar Excel
notation.
My connection is I consult for them writing documentation.
For the JAVA GLOSSARY and the CMP Utilities: <http://oberon.ark.com/~roedy>
--
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products
Sponsored by: www.athena.com, makers of Integer, a multiuser
spreadsheet JavaBean. Opinions expressed are not necessarily
those of Athena Design.
-30-
David Pollak
Folks,
I feel a bit like a net version of Tom Sawyer. I am asking folks to do
something that may seem like white-washing my fence. Let me explain what we're
up to and get feedback from the net.
Athena Design has a long history of delivering spreadsheet technology. Folks
from the NextStep and OS/2 markets may know our Mesa spreadsheet application
and spreadsheet objects. Athena Design also has a long history of choosing
good technology that turns into small markets (NextStep, OS/2, OpenDoc, etc.)
However, we have learned a lot about spreadsheets and object technology over
the years.
When we sat down last year and looked at the Java market, we said, "Gee, here's
a great language, a great set of object technology, and a real marketplace."
We set out to architect a third generation of our spreadsheet technology.
We're pretty please with the result.
We shipped version 1.0 of our Integer spreadsheet components for Java on March
23rd. Integer is a spreadsheet JavaBean that provides over 350 formula
functions, Excel and 1-2-3 import/export, real time data feeds, JDBC database
access, and more.
Most importantly, through the magic of Java's distributed objects, we split the
spreadsheet "engine" from the user interface "grid." The spreadsheet engine
can live on a server and be accessed by multiple clients at the same time
(actually, the engine can live in a client and be accessed by other clients as
well, it's a true distributed object.) This allows multiple people to
collaborate on the same spreadsheet and see the updates that others are making,
all in real time. The "grid" can be our user interface object or can be a
JTable grid, or anything else that implements a 4 method interface.
We are marketing Integer to corporate software developers, especially in the
financial services market. This is going very well. We have a number of
customers signed up including Salomon Brothers.
However, one of the big pieces of feedback we're getting is that Integer is not
an application. You have to be a programmer to use it. Why is this?
Well, for a number of reasons.
First, Excel is a terrific product. There's no way a twelve person software
company could keep up with Microsoft.
Secondly, given the issues that Corel and Lotus have had with introducing Java
application suites, we wanted to avoid that market.
Thirdly, we think that Java is better as a component technology than as a
monolithic application technology.
So, what are we to do? We want to listen to our customers. At the same time,
we don't want to get bogged down in chasing Excel -- a chase that would require
hundreds of programmers. Our internal spreadsheet engine is fast and
powerful. It's built with years of spreadsheet expertise. How do we leverage
our spreadsheet engine into a world beating application?
We have been floating the idea internally of putting together the first pass of
a spreadsheet application built on top of our spreadsheet objects and then
NPL'ing the application, but not the underlying spreadsheet objects (our
venture capitalists won't let us do that.) Here's what it means:
1 - Athena Design would provide our Integer spreadsheet component API's in the
form of interface files. These API's would be considered "open" in that others
could write a calculation engine to these API's with our legal blessing. These
API's would be covered by a Netscape Public License style license.
2 - Athena Design would provide the first cut of an application wrapper for the
Integer objects. The wrapper would be a functional Java application/applet.
This would be covered by a Netscape Public License style license.
3 - Athena Design would invite people to contribute code to the application
such that it would grow and become a powerful wrapper around the core Integer
objects.
4 - Athena Design would provide archives for various "applications" that
wrappered the Integer objects. These would be distributed in both source and
object code form.
5 - Athena Design would ship the source and object code versions of a "best of"
application wrapper along with the normal Integer distribution.
6 - Athena Design would give a free copy of Integer Plus to anybody who
contributed code that made it into the "best of" distribution or any other
"material contribution" of code.
7 - Athena Design is currently putting together offers to folks in education,
non-profit organizations, and user groups to provide them with free copies of
Integer.
8 - Anyone can download a version of Integer that is limited to 20 columns and
40 rows and this distribution would also include the "best of" application
wrapper.
So, here's why I feel like Tom Sawyer:
1 - We are not making the core objects "free". Athena Design's implementation
of the Integer spreadsheet API's would be distributed as object code only.
2 - We are asking people to make contributions to our product that will enhance
the value and usability of the whole Integer package, and thus would benefit us
monetarily.
On the other hand:
1 - People will be able to build the spreadsheet application that they've
always wanted without having to wait for big software companies to listen to
them.
2 - The cost to people on the net for the application and objects will be low
or zero and the people who will pay for the software are the people who will
save money by including Integer in their trading floor applications or customer
service applications.
So, what I'm asking is, "What do you folks think?" How many of you would work
with us? How many of you think that Athena Design's mixed motives are too
oriented toward Athena Design's gains?
Your input will help us do the "right thing" in terms of balancing our ability
to deliver an application version of our spreadsheet objects and our ability to
grow Athena Design so that it can deliver more quality code.
Thanks for your input and feedback,
David
Roedy Green wrote:
--
David Pollak, President
Athena Design, Inc. http://www.athena.com
Integer: the real-time collaborative spreadsheet component
415.512.3870x41 -- 415.680.2437 (fax)
Vladimir Alexiev
> So, what I'm asking is, "What do you folks think?"
I think it's fair enough.
> How many of you think that Athena Design's mixed motives are too
> oriented toward Athena Design's gains?
The whole arrangement is a bit convoluted, but I guess this simply
demontrates that one needs to jump through hoops to somehow compete
with MS.