Java™ Code Generation and Legacy Data Integration Features Set a New Industry Standard for Quality and Innovation in XML Tools

Bedford, MA, June 7, 2005 – Stylus Studio (http://www.stylusstudio.com), the leading provider of XML tools for advanced data integration, today announced the release of Stylus Studio® 6 XML Enterprise Edition, the newest edition of the award winning Stylus Studio XML IDE. Packed with powerful new tools for Java™ code generation, EDI/EDIFACT document conversion, and XQuery application development among others, Stylus Studio 6 XML Enterprise Edition is without question the world's most comprehensive tool for advanced XML data integration projects. No single tool provides so many high-quality XML productivity tools in a single, comprehensive and value-priced offering, including tools for XML mapping, XML data modeling, Web services development, and legacy data integration. The new release raises the bar for XML developer productivity, setting a new standard for quality, innovation and value in XML tools industry.

A serious challenge facing software developers and integration architects today is the lack of choice and innovation in quality XML tools, particularly for solving advanced XML data integration applications. To make matters worse, some XML tools vendors have resorted to unfair pay-per-feature pricing schemes. If you need XML mapping, they make you buy another product. If you need visual XSLT design tools, again, they make you buy another product. XML differencing, schema tools, technical support – each one requires yet another purchase! So-called package deals (3 for the price of two, 4 for the price of 3!) and other marketing gimmicks (free iPods!) just distract from what developers really need – a comprehensive high-quality XML IDE that provides everything needed to tackle serious enterprise XML development challenges, all at a single, fair price.

"Mainstream XML tools vendors have lost touch with their customers – the average XML developer simply doesn't want to pay for and install multiple tools for working with XML," said Carlo Innocenti, Stylus Studio Program Manager. "By contrast, the Stylus Studio focus has always been on rolling out the most comprehensive XML IDE to simplify XML development and data integration tasks, like our new Java code generation features for deploying XQuery and XSLT applications, innovative support for legacy data integration, and two-way EDI-to-XML document conversion. And our message is clearly resonating with XML developers worldwide, with thousands of them making the switch to Stylus Studio each week. If you're frustrated with your current XML tool set, or feel in your gut that there's got to be a better way, you really need to try Stylus Studio 6 XML Enterprise Edition."

Here are just a few of the highlights of the innovative new XML productivity tools included in Stylus Studio 6 XML Enterprise Edition:

• Java Code Generation: Now you can generate code for your XQuery and XSLT stylesheets and deploy that code to a live production server or application. Stylus Studio captures the settings specified in the XQuery and XSLT scenarios – your choice of XML processor, parameters, input/output files, and post processing options, for example – and reflects them in the generated Java code. Push-button code generation also gives you complete control over class names and whether or not generated classes are public.

• Updated W3C XQuery Compliance: Stylus Studio is the first XML IDE to fully support the W3C XQuery working draft of April 2005, taking the lead on the path of innovation to this critical emerging data integration technology.

• Loads of new XML Schema Tools: EDI/EDIFACT to XML Schema conversion -- Generate sample XML fragments from XML Schema components --Generate Java API for XML Binding (JAXB) code from XML Schema --Create XML Schema documentation with a familiar JavaDoc-like layout --XML Schema-based output validation of XSLT or XQuery transformations – these and many more usability enhancements further the Stylus Studio position as the most innovative tool for XML Schema data modeling.

• New File Explorer: The new File Explorer window provides a handy way for developers to manage their files in Stylus Studio and to perform other basic file-oriented operations (delete, copy, and rename, for example). You can also easily convert files by dragging the file you want to convert onto any user-defined built-in adapters. A new Auto-Backup feature optionally creates backup files of your documents when you save them.

• XML Diff Text View: The XML Diff Viewer has a third way to view differences in XML documents. In addition to the Split View - Tree tab and the Merged tab, you can now view two documents side-by-side in plain text on the Split View - Text tab.

• Canonical XML Converter: Render XML in its canonical form with a single mouse click – just one of the many new features in the Stylus Studio XML Editor.

• Hundreds of other performance and usability enhancements
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For complete information about the new features in Stylus Studio 6 XML Enterprise Edition,

http://www.stylusstudio.com/xml_product_new_features.html
Stylus Studio®: The Preferred Choice of Leading XML Experts Dr. Michael Kay, editor of the W3C XSLT specification, founder of Saxonica, and a world-leading authority on XML technologies, recently said on XML-DEV, a popular forum for XML developers: "I find that the easiest way to do ad-hoc validation (i.e., not integrated into an application) is to use a tool such as Stylus Studio. One of the nice things is that Stylus allows you to validate using a range of different processors - if your document is invalid, it can be helpful to get the error messages from more than one processor. By contrast, XML Spy uses its own schema processor, which is not always 100% conformant with the spec."

Pricing and Availability

Stylus Studio 6 XML Enterprise Edition is available for immediate purchase at the Stylus Studio online shop starting at $995 (USD) for a single user license, with volume discounts available. For a complete price list, visit http://www.stylusstudio.com/buy/. For a limited time, customers who purchased Stylus Studio 6 XML Professional Edition on or before June 1, 2005 are eligible for a free upgrade to Stylus Studio 6 XML Enterprise Edition. For more information about this offer, visit http://www.stylusstudio.com/update/pro-60.html. For more information about purchasing Stylus Studio, including enterprise sales inquiries, contact (781) 280-4488.
About Stylus Studio
Stylus Studio, a product from DataDirect Technologies, an operating company of Progress Software Corporation, is the industry's most innovative XML IDE, providing advanced support for XML and its related technologies: XSL, XSLT, XML Schema, DTD, SOAP, WSDL, SQL/XML, XML mapping, and XQuery. Used by leading software developers world-wide, Stylus Studio simplifies XML programming and enhances developer productivity through innovation. For more information, visit http://www.stylusstudio.com.

About DataDirect Technologies
DataDirect Technologies is the industry leader in standards-based data connectivity, enabling software developers to quickly develop and deploy business applications across all major databases and platforms. Developers worldwide at more than 250 leading independent software vendors and thousands of corporate IT departments rely on DataDirect® products to connect their applications to a wide range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC and ADO.NET. Developers also depend on DataDirect to radically simplify complex data integration projects using XML products based on the emerging XQuery and XQJ standards. DataDirect Technologies is an operating unit of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a global software industry leader. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., DataDirect Technologies can be reached at www.datadirect.com or +1-800-876-3101.
For More Information:

David Jigarjian
Business Development Manager
Stylus Studio
Telephone: (781) 280-4488
Email: stylusstudio at stylusstudio dot com


DataDirect and Stylus Studio are registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Java and all Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.