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<HTML>
<head>
<TITLE>About Exoplex</TITLE>
</head>
<body BACKGROUND="<XO RelativePath="{_Library}:System/exobgrd2.jpg">">
<center><h2><img align=middle src="<XO RelativePath="{_Library}:System\exologo.jpg">"> <XO Tag="{_Library}:"></h2>
<a href="Index.htm">Return to Home Page</a></center>
<h3>About Exoplex</h3>
Exoplex was founded in 1996 to develop workgroup applications in support
of high value and strategic projects such as outsourcing sales efforts
and due diligence studies for corporate acquisitions. While such
projects are associated with a disproportionate share of sales,
revenue, and business risk, few (if any) effective software products
have been designed to support such non-repetitive activities.
To support this mission, Exoplex has developed a new framework
that provides a unified approach for the development of
intranet groupware applications. This new Exoplex Framework satisfies
the following basic business needs:
<ul>
<li>A minimal learning curve for sales professionals and consultants.
<li>Minimal implementation costs.
<li>Minimal ongoing maintenance costs.
<li>Automated distribution of project documentation.
<li>Automated distribution of updates to project documentation.
<li>The ability to locate and re-use archived project documentation.
<li>Automated distribution of corporate documentation.
<li>Automated distribution of updates to corporate documentation.
<li>The ability to integrate project and corporate documentation.
<li>Automated distribution of custom applications.
<li>Automated distribution of updates to custom applications.
</ul>
Project documentation, corporate documentation, and custom applications
may each be defined as logical collections of files (called "Topics").
These files may include compound files, databases, text files, HTML
files, applets, executable files (*.exe), or dynamic link libraries
(*.dll). The problem is that modern operating systems (including
Microsoft's Windows 95/NT, and UNIX) do not provide any consistent
method for managing the distribution of Topics. This limitation of the
modern operating system will become increasingly acute as "network centric"
systems continue to force applications and documents to be broken down
into large collections of small components (including HTML pages and
applets).
<p>
To support the development of workgroup applications for short duration
and non-repetitive business processes, Exoplex defined the new Exoplex
Framework to overcome the limitation of modern operating systems
with respect to the distribution and integration of Topics. The Exoplex
Framework is based on the definition of a new global addressing
standard (called the "Quantum Networks Identifier (QNID)") defined by pairs
of globally unique identifiers. The first globally unique identifier
("Library ID") identifies a Library of Topics. The second globally unique
identifier ("Topic ID") identifies a specific Topic. Each Library may
contain at most one instance of each defined Topic. By combining the
Library ID and the Topic ID, the QNID identifies an instance of a Topic
in a specific Library.
<p>
In effect, the Exoplex Framework transforms the modern operating system
into a library of plug-in components that are each identified by a globally
unique Topic ID. Each instance of a Topic represents an encapsulated
workspace controlled by the author of the Topic. The various instances of
a Topic on different Libraries can work together to form a distributed
application (such as a workgroup forum, customer database, or image archive).
Security firewalls can be implemented to protect Topics from the malicious
activities of other Topics within the same Library or network. In contrast
to the modern operating system that implements few (if any) internal
firewalls, the Exoplex Framework allows authors (or vendors) to "own"
an encapsulated workspace on the customer's system.
<p>
By using a consistent Topic ID, The QNID also allows for the identity of
Topics to be retained as they are copied from one system to another.
The ability to recognise how information has been distributed across a
network will dramatically reduce the complexity of network maintenance
activities such as software distribution and inventory control. The
Exoplex Framework will also allow for the development of a new class of
applications that mutate in useful ways as they are distributed.
<h3>The Exoplex Intranet Publisher</h3>
The "Exoplex Intranet Publisher" is based on an innovative multivendor
groupware framework, and includes an Exoplex Browser and a network of
Exoplex Libraries designed for Microsoft's Windows 95 and Windows NT
platforms.
<p>
The basic idea behind the Exoplex Intranet Publisher is that the
business requirements for a corporate Intranet are fundamentally different
from the business requirements for an Internet. The Internet is basically
an advertising and distribution medium. Companies spend a great deal of
time and money to create Internet sites that attract and hold the attention
of prospective customers. In contrast, an Intranet should be another
corporate tool that improves individual productivity. An Intranet
should provide for the efficient (cost effective)
organisation of large amounts of corporate information so that it can
be identified, shared, kept up-to-date, and re-used effectively.
<p>
The Exoplex Intranet Publisher provides a structured environment for the
members of a workgroup to share and re-use information. An Exoplex Topic
has a globally unique identifier so that it may be distributed without
losing its identity. An individual may produce a Topic on their
private workstation, and then publish that Topic to a shared server.
Other members of the workgroup can then browse through the Topics on
the shared server (using a traditional web browser or the Exoplex Browser).
<p>
If an individual finds a useful Topic on a shared server, they may
publish that Topic to their private workstation and then copy the Topic
so that the underlying information may be re-used. Since this new Topic
has its own unique identifier, it can also be published back to another
shared server.
<p>
Because Topic identifiers are globally unique, there is no need to identify
the members of a workgroup in advance. In fact, an individual could produce
Topics related to any number of workgoups. It would even be possible for
such workgroups to span departmental or corporate boundaries.
<h3>Exoplex Libraries</h3>
Exoplex Libraries store logical collections of files called
"Topics". Libraries also implement a set of object oriented methods
(functions) that allow Topics to be copied, moved, published, routed,
and deleted. Intranet (HTML) documents are generated for each Topic
so that traditional Internet/Intranet Browsers may be used to browse
through individual libraries.
<p>
Hierarchical structures (similar to directory structures) are used to
organise the Topics within each Library. Since these
structures are not used to identify individual Topics, each Library
may be organised (and re-organised) to best suit its user
community without breaking the links defined between Topics. A private
library would be organised to suit the needs of an individual while
a shared server would be organised to suit the needs of a workgroup.
<h3>The Exoplex Browser</h3>
The Exoplex Browser is a graphical application used to browse through
a network of Exoplex Libraries and to initiate Topic methods as required.
Once a specific Topic has been selected, the files contained within the
Topic may be edited directly or an Internet/Intranet Browser may be
loaded to view the contents of the Topic.
<h3>Topics vs. Files</h3>
Most modern systems (including the internet) identify files according to
their location. For example, a recent book by Orfali and Harkey titled
"Client/Server Programming with JAVA and CORBA" included the
statement: "You should be able to connect to a Shippable
Place via its URL and then download it just like any ordinary Web page".
This shows that even for a the relatively advanced concept of a Shippable
Place, we persist is equating an object's identity with its location.
<p>
As long as we identify units of information by location, the internet
will remain a relatively static information resource. Once a unit of
information is published on the internet, it must remain in its original
location or all of the related links will become invalid. Over time the
internet will become more and more difficult to manage as more and more
information is glued in place.
<p>
The architecture of the internet (or intranets) is ideal for providing
large user communities access to centralised information. However, it
is not well suited to managing distributed information. The idea behind
the Exoplex Topic is that the architecture of the Internet (or intranets)
needs to be extended to explicitly handle distributed information.
<p>
An Exoplex Topic is essentially a form of compound document that has a
globally unique identifier instead of a filename, and that defines
a set of object oriented methods to control its own replication and
distribution. As each Topic is distributed, it creates a logical
workspace that spans multiple workstations and servers. This logical
workspace may contain any number of constructs, including: a published
document, a distributed database, a software component, an application,
or a distributed application.
<h3>Topics vs. Roaming Agents</h3>
A roaming agent is an object that moves around a network and performs
various services at each location it visits. Topics do not move around
a network, but instead create a distributed workspace
by deploying instances of themselves across a network.
In this regard, a Topic may be serve as a distributed agent.
<p>
To illustrate this difference, we could develop a Topic that defined
an operating environment for a set of roaming agents. This Topic could
be installed initially on a specific shared server, and then published
to other servers or to any number of private workstations. The
distributed instances of this Topic would then define the virtual world
in which the agents roamed. Individual agents would roam across
the network by jumping from one instance of the Topic to another.
<h3>Topics vs. Mobile Code</h3>
Systems that manage mobile code (including Safe-Tcl, Colusa's Omniware,
and General Magic's Telescript) allow developers to install their
applications on central servers, and then distribute the applications
to clients in small components (HTML, Applet, Scripts, ...) as needed.
The primary advantage of these systems is that they allow a developer
to write and manage code that is executed within the client's
operating environment. By distributing execution, the impact of the
application on capacity constrained servers and networks is minimised.
In addition, Mobile code may gain access to private resources within
the client's operating environment that would not otherwise be available
across the network.
<p>
The primary difference between Topics and mobile code is that traditional
systems that manage mobile code deal exclusively with code (either scripts
or byte code) while a Topic forms a distributed workspace that may include
code. It will be important to incorporate many of the features of mobile
code into the Exoplex Framework so that Topics may be distributed across
heterogenous networks. This may be accomplished by using a mobile code
system (JavaBeans, ...) to build the Exoplex Framework.
<p>
One of the problems with traditional mobile code systems is that they
tend to break-up applications into large numbers of small components that
may be easily distributed across a network on demand. Over time, it will
become increasingly difficult to manage such unstructured collections.
The Exoplex Framework allows logical collections of files (including
mobile code) to be organised into Topics. In addition to the various
components of an application, a Topic could contain user/design
documents, meta data or even promotional materials (a license agreement,
registration instructions, www and email links, ...). In this regard,
a Topic may become a complete resource for constructing, using, re-using
and maintaining mobile code.
<h3>Future Directions</h3>
The Exoplex Intranet Publisher is designed around a unified framework
(called the "Exoplex Framework") for managing the production and
distribution of information. Because the first version of the Exoplex
Intranet Publisher is built as a layer on top of Microsoft's Windows 95
(or Windows NT) operating system, many features of the new framework
could not be implemented. For example, the Exoplex Framework allows for
firewalls to be built around Topics to minimise the potential damage
caused by malicious programs (viruses). Using this approach, the Exoplex
Framework could implement effective security, without the severe
functional limitations associated with traditional security methodologies.
<p>
The Exoplex Framework is the subject of one or more patent applications.
In the short term, Exoplex will concentrate on the completion, marketing,
and distribution of the Exoplex Intranet Publisher. This initial product
will act as a test bed for the continued development of the Exoplex
Framework, and will be used to demonstrate the value of the new framework.
As a secondary focus, Exoplex will begin the development of other
applications for the Intranet Publisher such as a workgroup
forum, and an image archive.
<p>
Exoplex is a registered business name and a trademark of the Australian
company Quantum Networks Pty. Ltd (A.C.N 075 467 622). Windows,
Windows 95 and Windows NT are registered trademarks or trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
<hr>
Author: <XO Tag="+Author"><br>
Company: <XO Tag="+Company"><br>
Address: <XO Tag="+Address"><br>
<address>Email: <a href="mailto:<XO Tag="+Email">"><XO Tag="+Email"> </a></address>
</body>
</HTML>
