BEA Systems has unveiled an event server that aims to replace C and C++ tools with Java-based versions. 

Event servers offer real-time data analysis, processing a high volume of messages or events and applying them to a large set of predefined rules.

BEA's event server processes up to 50,000 events per second and can apply 10,000 rules against that information.

The software could allow airlines to anticipate weather related delays, for example, and reroute passengers and their luggage automatically as well as assign pilots and cabin crews to equipment.

An event server can also be used to monitor a corporate computer network, assigning and removing application resources such as memory and processor power depending on demand.

The alternative is periodical data analysis, which provides a snapshot of the data by analysing information stored in a database.

Guy Churchward, vice president of WebLogic at BEA, compared the value of data produced by event servers to sushi in that both lose their value if they are not fresh.

"Instead of taking data, putting it in a database and 'at rest' taking a look at it in a retrospective fashion, you are harnessing the value of 'now data' allowing you to make competitive decisions," Churchward told vnunet.com in an interview.

An event server works on the premise that data is valuable sometimes, but can be ignored at other times, and sends out alerts only in specific circumstances.

By contrast, regular applications allow users to deal with predictable processes that happen on a regular basis.