Aestiva's new developer tools extend HTML/OS, a multi-platform software engine that runs on Unix, Windows and Macintosh Web servers. The tools include copy-protection software, tools to create demonstration packages, an installation builder and a package for issuing unlock keys.
Until now, the HTML/OS engine has been most popular among those wishing to build advanced sites without CGI programming. Unlike CGI programming, HTML/OS designers control interactivity by placing tags inside HTML documents. Tags provide high-speed on-the-fly word-processing, spreadsheet, database and programming capabilities. Unlike middleware products, HTML/OS does not require the purchase or installation of additional databases or programming tools.
The HTML/OS engine is one of a few products available that can be installed on standard hosting accounts as well as dedicated servers. And products developed with HTML/OS are installed on top of the HTML/OS engine in the same way database applications are routinely installed on top of database engines. The HTML/OS developers are screened from the particulars of the underlying server. This makes HTML/OS particularly attractive to developers of commercial web-based software.
Aestiva's new developer tools are expected to be well received by existing HTML/OS users as well as new users interested into tapping the multi-billion dollar internet software market.
Aestiva HTML/OS is available for Linux (on Intel, Cobalt and Dec Alpha), Sun (on Sparc and Intel), BSDI, FreeBSD, SGI, Windows 95/98/NT, MacOS and Mac OS X platforms.