Microsoft Corp. has released SQL Server Notification Services, a platform for developing and deploying database applications that enable users to subscribe to informational updates.
The software provides developers and customers with a programming model for generating and formatting notifications based on personal subscriptions, said Mitch Gatchalian, Microsoft product manager for SQL Server, in Redmond, Wash.
Information can be pulled from the database and forwarded to subscribers via means such as e-mail, mobile phones or devices, instant messages, or fax, according to Microsoft.
One example of an application could be a program to forward stock price information to cell phones, Gatchalian said. Applications could feature links enabling users to conduct transactions subsequent to a notification.
Built on top of Microsoft’s .Net Framework, developers can create notification applications through Microsoft programming languages such as C#, Visual Basic .Net, or Visual C# .Net.
Currently available as a separate Web-based download, SQL Server Notification Services will be included in the next major release of the database, dubbed Yukon, in 2003.