News

Exadel's component framework does some of the AJAX dev work for you

• By Kathleen Richards
• March 21, 2006

Commercial tool provider Exadel is rolling out a Web component framework for building apps based on JavaServer Faces components. What's new is that the open source IDE takes some of the development work out of creating AJAX-enabled components.

The Exadel Visual Component Platform 1.0, an open-source Eclipse-based framework, is designed to "hide" the complexities of the underlying technologies, by enabling developers to add, for example, AJAX capabilities without writing JavaScript code. This functionality includes the use of pre-built, customizable theme implementations--basically plugable code--for user interfaces and pre-built "skins" that define UI schemes such as colors, fonts, corner sharpness and 3D effects. The use of this pre-built component functionality will allow developers to move to an "industrial" way of developing AJAX-enabled Web applications, asserts Fima Katz, founder, CEO and president of Exadel.

What's available now is a basic set of components, one "classic" theme, 14 pre-defined skins and "skin-enablement" for JSF standard components. Exadel plans to update the framework quarterly, releasing 25 components in June, and offering more advanced integration with Exadel Studio. Additional components are also on the roadmap for September and December. Sold as an annual subscription that includes all releases, the SRP per developer seat for EVCP is $799. Current users of the company's Exadel Studio Pro can upgrade to the component platform for $599 SRP.