Waltham, MA Ð Archteype released in July a beta version of its much-discussed Document Engine (DE), an object-oriented development tool that embodies one of the cornerstone technologies in NeXT's new publishing strategy.
The DE Developer Kit, including a beta version of the DE and sample DE-based applications for NeXT computers, is priced at $995. Archetype President Paul Trevithick said he expects it will take six to nine months to fine-tune the beta version.
Archetype's DE was introduced at Seybold Seminars '92 in March along with the NeXT Publishing Environment, NeXT's strategy for capitalizing on NeXTSTEP's ability to create modular, expandable applications. The DE provides a tool kit of ready-to-use objects, including a Document Architecture and a library of compatible subobjects, that can be linked to form full-featured publishing software, including page-layout, word- processing, and database-publishing appplications.
The objects managed by the DE are polygons, circles, Bezier curves, pages, groups, rules, and pictures. Archetype said that developers can add objects to the DE to extend its capability at run time.
Any application created using the DE will be compatible with other DE-based applications.
In order to run DE-based applications, users must purchase the DE from Archetype, which currently has plans to sell it for $150 per engine. Trevithick said he also envisions that third-party developers who create DE-based application will bundle the DE along with their software.
Archetype can be reached at 617/890-7544.