Lotus Announces LotusScript 3.0

Showcases Powerful Programmability Enhancements for Notes Release 4.0

NEW YORK, June 20, 1995 -- Lotus Development Corp. today announced
LotusScript 3.0, a cross-platform, BASIC compatible, object-oriented
programming language that will be embedded in the native application
development environment of the forthcoming Lotus Notes Release 4.0. During
a demonstration at PC Expo, Lotus also showcased significant Notes Release
4.0 programmability enhancements, including Navigators and Agents, which
will offer developers a richer set of development tools.

LotusScript 3.0 will give our community of Notes developers critical new
capabilities to help them accelerate the deployment of Notes applications
that automate strategic business processes, said Jeff Papows, vice
president of the Lotus Communications Business Group. LotusScript 3.0
offers our corporate developers and Lotus Business Partners robust,
object-oriented programming. And, with LotusScript to be delivered in the
next releases of all our desktop products, Lotus will have an unrivaled
offering for cross-product Team Computing solutions.

LotusScript in Notes Release 4.0 significantly enhances client/server
application development by offering:

* Programming capabilities based on a standard, structured language
(BASIC), enabling richer, more customized applications within the Notes
environment

* A new method to access and manipulate Notes system objects, which will
accelerate application development and leverage Notes' unique replication
model as well as Notes' integrated messaging and groupware infrastructure

* A reduced learning curve for Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual Basic for
Applications programmers, offering cross-platform client/server
development options and easy access to the Notes application development
environment

* Integration with relational and transaction systems via the LotusScript
Data Object, allowing easy access to, and integration with corporate
legacy information

Rapid Application Development and Customization

LotusScript 3.0 builds on the Notes Release 4.0 application development
environment by providing a consistent, easy-to-use, structured programming
language in addition to the existing Notes macro language. Structured
programming languages, with their support for control structures, looping
mechanisms, and data structure management, enable the development of more
powerful customized solutions. A superset of BASIC, and a cross-platform
language, LotusScript 3.0 will run on all Notes platforms, including IBM
OS/2 Warp, Apple Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Windows NT, and UNIX
platforms including IBM AIX, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and SCO OpenServer.

LotusScript 3.0 provides developers with an object framework that makes it
easier to access and drive Notes data structures and services. Accessing
and manipulating Notes objects such as databases and documents will appear
logical and intuitive to developers who are experienced in object-oriented
programming techniques. Coupled with the Notes distributed object store,
developers can divide applications into components that can be collected,
maintained, processed, reused and distributed, as well as reported on,
using Notes' messaging and replication services.

Accelerating Application Development

With the introduction of LotusScript 3.0, Notes developers will gain, for
the first time, a robust debugging environment for developing and testing
Notes applications. Breakpoints, object inspection, flow tracing and
syntax-checking capabilities will vastly improve developer productivity in
the Notes environment.

LotusScript 3.0 also includes an Object Browser, which provides instant
access to Notes classes and functions, variables and LotusScript language
elements via drop down lists. In addition, LotusScript 3.0 provides
developers with enhanced features such as the ability to call out to
custom applications and libraries written in C.

Easy Access to Relational and Legacy Databases

The LotusScript Data Object (LS:DO) provides Notes access to relational and
legacy databases via ODBC. Using LS:DO, developers can link Notes with
relational databases and transaction systems directly within the Notes
object framework. Because the LS:DO provides both read and write access to
back-end databases, developers can build advanced Notes applications that
link to external databases.

Notes Release 4.0 Offers More Application Development Flexibility

LotusScript 3.0 is one of many enhancements to the Notes Release 4.0
application development environment. Advanced programming tools include:

* Agents: Agents are Notes application logic (written in LotusScript, the
Notes macro language or created from Simple Actions). They allow
developers or end users to automate tasks such as data handling,
replication, and messaging services.

* Navigators: Navigators provide a customizable visual interface through
which developers can guide users of Notes applications. Navigators consist
of graphicalelements combined with hotspots that allow developers to
control Notes application flow. For example, a Navigator could be created
to display a map of a sales territory. When the user double clicks on a
city within the map, the developer can display the appropriate Notes
Document and/or View for that city.

* API Enhancements: The Notes Extension Manager will support more than 60
notification events. Developers can hook these events, and pass control to
an external process. This capability will offer system developers an
unprecedented opportunity tointegrate external utilities and applications
with their Notes solutions, and further emphasizes Lotus' commitment to
making Notes an open platform for all developers.

Improved Flexibility and Choice for Developers

Visual Basic developers will find LotusScript 3.0 easy to use since it is
compatible with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Lotus Notes HiTest
developers will welcome the common Notes Object Model, consistent with the
object model in the Notes HiTest Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
for C and BASIC. Additionally, since LotusScript 3.0 will be included in
Lotus' communications and forthcoming desktop applications, developers
will be able to program across different applications with ease. Lotus
Notes developers also can choose from a wide range of third party Lotus
Business Partner programmability tools.

For more information on Lotus Notes in North America, contact Lotus at
1-800-346-1305.

Lotus Notes is the leading client-server platform for developing and
deploying strategic groupware applications that help organizations
communicate, collaborate and coordinate strategic business processes
within and beyond their organizational boundaries to achieve improved
business results. More than 5,500 companies and 1.57 million people use
Notes to improve key business processes such as customer service, sales
and account management, and product development. Lotus Notes supports all
major operating systems including IBM OS/2 Warp, Apple Mac OS, Microsoft
Windows and Windows NT, and UNIX platforms including IBM AIX, Sun Solaris,
HP-UX, and SCO OpenServer.Notes is also available as a NetWare loadable
module for the Novell environment

Lotus Development Corp. (NASDAQ: LOTS), founded in 1982, offers high
quality software products and support services that reflect the company's
unique understanding of the new ways in which individuals and businesses
must work together to achieve success. Lotus' innovative approach is
evident in a new class of applications that allows information to be
accessed and communicated in ways never before possible, both within and
beyond organizational boundaries. The company now markets its products in
more than 80 countries worldwide and provides numerous support services,
both from its consulting division and its award-winning 24-hour support
center.

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