Microsoft Ships Windows Libraries for OS/2: Applications Developers Support Both Platforms Easily

REDMOND, WA. -- February 4, 1991 -- Microsoft Corporation today released version 0.9 of the new Microsoft® Windows™ Libraries for OS/2® Development Kit, making it easier for software vendors to offer both Microsoft Windows graphical environment and OS/2 operating system versions of their products. With the new development kit, which is an extension of the Windows Software Development Kit, software developers can convert their Microsoft Windows applications to OS/2 operating system applications faster than they can by writing a native OS/2 application. The OS/2 applications can run on version 1.21, 1.3 and 2.0.

"This provides a very efficient way for developers who are targeting the Windows environment to also address the OS/2 market without rewriting their applications," said Steve Ballmer, senior vice president of systems software for Microsoft. "The software in the kit does that for them. By writing to a single set of APIs, developers can create both Windows and OS/2-based applications. And they can add OS/2-specific features to their converted OS/2 applications if they have the time and the desire."

Kit Includes Conversion Tools, Tips for Writing Portable Applications

The new kit includes all the tools necessary to convert a Windows version 3.0 or later application to run on the OS/2 operating system. The converted applications interact with native OS/2 applications as well as other converted applications as if they were all native OS/2 Presentation Manager™ applications. In addition to software dynamic link libraries that map Windows APIs to OS/2 Presentation Manager APIs, the kit includes tools for converting a Windows program icon into an OS/2 Presentation Manager program icon, and Windows fonts into OS/2 fonts. The kit also includes a converted copy of the Windows Help Engine.

Additionally, a checklist of supported Windows programming practices helps all Windows applications programmers learn how to write more portable applications.

Software Vendors Hail the Kit for Ease and Application Speed

The new version of the Windows Libraries for OS/2 development kit is a significant enhancement of early alpha test releases and may be used by vendors to ship converted applications. Independent software vendors (ISVs) have already successfully and quickly ported their Windows version 3.0 applications with early test versions of the new kit.

Future Soft Engineering announced today the availability of its OS/2 version of DynaComm®. DynaComm Synchronous and Asynchronous Editions are full-featured communications packages.

"The Microsoft kit allowed us to take DynaComm for Windows version 3.0 and, with very little effort, move it over to OS/2," said Tim Farrell, president of Future Soft Engineering. "The process has been simple, and our OS/2 Presentation Manager product is available right now to meet our customers' needs. The kit more than meets our expectations."

Other vendors working with the kit are pleased with it and expect to ship products soon.

"Not only have we found the conversion process painless," said Daniel P. Browning, president of Precision Software, "we're pleased with the performance of our converted application, too. The Windows Libraries for OS/2 team at Microsoft has demonstrated total commitment to releasing a quality product in a timely manner." Precision manufactures the successful Superbase relational database management system for Microsoft Windows, and expects to release an OS/2 version in the near future.

"As a leading CASE [computer-aided software engineering] vendor, our ability to rapidly and reliably offer an OS/2 version of Systems Architect with minimal additional effort provides important benefits to both our company and our clients," said Ronald Scherma, president of Popkin Software and Systems, Inc. "Systems Architect is a computer-aided software engineering package supporting a variety of methodologies including Yourdon, information engineering and object-oriented design."

"The kit has come a long way during its test period," said Earl Stahl, Director of Engineering at Gupta Technologies. "We expect this 0.9 version to allow SQLWindows to be up and running on OS/2 Presentation Manager in the next few weeks. Our customers will be able to create mission critical SQLWindows applications and run them side by side on both Windows and OS/2 Presentation Manager LAN client systems."

Pricing and Availability

The Windows Libraries for OS/2 Development Kit is available now from Microsoft for $150. The product can be ordered by calling Microsoft at 800/227-6444. Those who acquire version 0.9 will receive version 1.0 free of charge when it ships later this year.

Thirteen hundred developers participating in the alpha testing of the kit will receive the new version in the next two weeks.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ "MSFT") develops, markets and supports a wide range of software for business and professional use, including operating systems, network products, languages and application programs, as well as books, hardware and CD-ROM products for the microcomputer marketplace.

NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS:

In addition to creating English versions, Microsoft Windows Libraries for OS/2 Development Kit can be used to develop OS/2 applications in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian. ISVs will find in the kit all the tools they need to create localized versions of converted Windows applications.

All prices in this press release are for the U.S. only. Outside the U.S., the product can be ordered through Microsoft subsidiaries.

####

Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

OS/2 is a registered trademark and Presentation Manager is a trademark licensed to Microsoft Corporation.

DynaComm is a registered trademark of Future Soft Engineering, Inc.