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"cross-platform interoperability," which refers to the capability of software installed on one development platform to communicate, interact, and exchange data and information with software installed on a distinct development platform.

Ok I am following you so far..

Microsoft .NET's Common Language Runtime, its OLE DB data provider technology, and its top-of-the-line XML and XML Web Services capabilities give it the ability to run applications that can interact with many other types of applications installed almost anywhere else.

So does perl, php, and Java. Things built with a UNIX philsophy can interact with any other applicaion. This is not something invented (or even done best) by MS.

". . . So does perl, php, and Java. Things built with a UNIX philsophy can interact with any other applicaion. This is not something invented (or even done best) by MS"

But can a perl app on a UNIX server interact (two-way) with a COBOL or RPG app on an OS/400 server without going through an Application Server constructed to handle the interaction?

Can a Java app on a UNIX server interact (two way) with an SPSS app on a mainframe?

Can a php app on a UNIX server call any procedural code (RPG, COBOL, etc.) on a second, remote server (other than the one on which the php app is installed) in which Java is not enabled?

Give me answers to all three questions.

After you answer those questions I'll give you a rundown of how .NET can handle all of this.