Canoo Releases New Version of Java Library for RIA Development

May 22, 2006; 06:39 AM
Canoo Engineering announces that it has released version 6.1 of UltraLightClient, a pure Java library for Rich Internet Application (RIA) development. Today’s major release focuses on an enhanced extension API to ease the development of extensions for UltraLightClient, and an extendable encoding/decoding mechanism to marshal arbitrary objects between client and server.

“The new enhanced extension API makes the addition of GUI widgets and third party libraries much faster and easier,” commented Dr. Elisabeth Maier, Canoo’s Product Manager for UltraLightClient. “Adding new widgets, or customizing existing widgets is now much simpler. This release marks a key milestone for Java-based RIA technologies and will appeal to all Java developers looking for a robust and reliable alternative to AJAX and Flex.”

Further changes in 6.1 include a new user manual describing how to write extensions for UltraLightClient, improved JavaDoc for client-side and server-side classes of the application and extension API, and improved support for blocking events.

Pure Java RIA

UltraLightClient enables the development of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) based entirely on Java standards. It uses Swing on the client, standard communication protocols set by the J2EE container, and standard lifecycle management on the server. In contrast to other more proprietary platforms, UltraLightClient is an add-on library for Swing and J2EE and can be easily integrated into existing web platforms. The principal design of UltraLightClient is based on the half-object and protocol design pattern. Applied to Swing, this pattern is used to offer the Swing API in a server-side programming model, providing rich user interfaces in a web architecture. UltraLightClient-based applications can be deployed in any J2EE container, as a portlet, or even stand-alone without changing the code. On the client, a standard JRE from 1.4.2 or later is all that is required.

Proven in Large Applications

Numerous applications have been successfully deployed in various industries such as banking, insurance, supply chain management, government, health care, manufacturing and retail. UltraLightClient is a favourite for both large corporations and Independent Software Vendors like Navis LLC, who migrated their flagship product, SPARCS N4, to UltraLightClient. Servicing more than 170 deep-sea ports in 50 countries, SPARCS is the leading Terminal Operating System on the market that handles 25% of the world’s container volume. See Case Studies to find out more about successful UltraLightClient applications.

No Runtime Licenses

UltraLightClient is available for purchase at http://www.canoo.com/ulc/. A developer license costs US$ 1499 and includes free runtime distribution on any number of servers. A free evaluation license may be obtained for 30 days.

JavaOne 2006, Booth #1508

Canoo is presenting UltraLightClient at JavaOne 2006, booth #1508 from May 16 to May 18 in San Francisco.

About Canoo Engineering

Canoo is a leader in Web front-end application development and delivers Java-based software consulting services and products. The Basel-based company is privately held, and is participating in the Eclipse Visual Editor project. Besides UltraLightClient, the Canoo product range includes WMTrans, a software library for language analysis and generation, and Webtest, an open-source, XP-style, Java-based functional testing tool for web applications.