News

New Kendo UI Framework for Java Developers

• By John K. Waters
• November 16, 2012

Developer tools and solutions provider Telerik has released a new version of its framework for building applications and Web sites with HTML5 and JavaScript that supports Java.

This version, the third release of the framework, introduces Java server-side wrappers, which make it possible for devs to use their existing JavaServer Pages (JSP) coding skills.

Telerik introduced server wrappers in its second release last summer. "Server wrappers address the reality that, as more and more businesses come into the HTML5 and JavaScript space, a lot of the developers will have built up years -- decades -- of skills in server-side languages, like .NET and Java," said Todd Anglin, vice president of Telerik's HTML5 Web and Mobile Tools group. "They want to adopt the power of HTML5 and JavaScript, but they want to use the skills and familiar tools that make them productive."

Developers simply write their code using the tools and languages they know, Anglin told ADTmag, and the wrappers automatically generate the necessary HTML5 and spit out all the related Kendo UI JavaScript.

Telerik's first foray into server side wrappers produced the ASP.NET MVC wrappers. The new Java JSP wrappers are now in beta. The company plans to offer a General Availability version of its Java wrappers in early 2013. The company also plans to release server wrappers for PHP sometime next year.

The Kendo UI framework was introduced almost exactly a year ago with a promise to deliver everything developers need to build traditional Web sites and mobile apps. The framework is built on top of the jQuery cross-browser JavaScript library, and it's designed to leverage the CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript web standards. It supports all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, and the mobile browsers on iOS and Android.

Kendo was originally available in three packages: Kendo UI Web, which includes a library of widgets and a JavaScript templating engine; and Kendo UI DataViz, a dedicated suite of HTML5-powered data visualization widgets. In March, the company introduced Kendo UI Mobile, which added the ability to build mobile apps using HTML5 and JavaScript that deliver experiences that "feel native" on various popular devices.

This third release of the framework is something of a milestone for the company, Anglin said. He called it "the enterprise-ready release." In addition to the new support for Java developers, it comes with a new, highly interactive HTML5-based financial charts feature (in the DataViz edition). It's an enterprise-focused capability, he said, that "enables developers to present complex financial data in interactive charts that users can easily zoom, pan, and manipulate on both desktop computers and mobile devices." Real-time zooming and panning has been added to all existing Kendo UI DataViz chart types, he added.

This release also provides new accessibility features, including out-of-the-box support for such W3C accessibility standards as WAI-ARIA, high-contrast themes that exceed the WCAG 2.0 contrast ratios, and extensive keyboard support for all the Kendo widgets (users never have to touch a mouse).

Go here for more information about the Kendo UI.. The Kendo UI for JSP beta is available for download here.