Further to the seeding of the binary framework and SDK as announced on this list last year, Business Objects is pleased to announce that the Open Quark Framework for Java has now been released as open source under a BSD-style license. The Open Quark Framework for Java includes a language, CAL, similar in many respects to Haskell, which is compiled to efficient byte code on the Java platform. The purpose of Open Quark began, and remains, the ability to conveniently mix logic expressed in a natural functional style with 'regular' Java code. Business Objects' interest in the functional paradigm is that much of the logic to model complex data semantics and to express data transformation is elegantly and reusably represented as pure functions. This contrasts with the corpus of application logic that represents workflow, UI, communications and storage, which is predominantly coded directly in OO languages such as Java but with which the data logic must interoperate. Despite the original motivations for the Quark Framework, CAL is a completely general purpose non-strict functional language and suitable for a broad range of applications. We have made available a suite of documentation, included in the software packages and separately downloadable. These documents should inform those with both a casual interest in the project (and its similarities/differences to Haskell) as well as those who wish to explore the language, SDK and tools in more detail. Open Quark can be downloaded, with or without sources from: http://labs.businessobjects.com/cal Unlike the previous 'seeding' regime, no registration is required to obtain Open Quark. Business Objects remains very active on the project and intends to set up the necessary mechanisms to allow the community to contribute easily to the project. While these arrangements will take a little longer, we are already very happy to receive any/all comments, suggestions and contributions. A discussion forum is already available for such activity (see the main web page). A major priority for the immediate future is to deepen the Eclipse integration in order to improve the convenience for developers using CAL. Luke Evans Chief Scientist, VP Research, Business Objects