News

Visual MainWin a mainstay for Java, .NET integration

A new version of Mainsoft’s Visual MainWin for J2EE, Portal Edition provides end users with the ability to intermingle ASP.NET and Java apps within Web portals. The software, launched a decade ago, lets Windows apps run on IBM mainframes and UNIX servers.

The San Jose, Calif. company teamed with IBM, The TamGroup (specializing in integration, management of info via Portals) and Prolifics (a provider of WebSphere, Portal, SOA and integration products). The partners can recompile ASP.NET apps into Java portlets at a fixed cost and a fixed speed of 5,000 lines of code per day. And Mainsoft transfers the cross-platform tools necessary for .NET developers to maintain ASP.NET apps on WebSphere.

“In partnership with IBM and industry-leading systems integrators…Mainsoft is taking .NET-WebSphere integration to the next level, offering end users an unprecedented level of personalized access to both .NET and Java portlets,” said Yaacoy Cohen, Mainsoft’s president and CEO. “At the same time, IT organizations can make significant reductions in software licensing fees, operational expenses and TCO.”

Thanks to tool use of Novell’s open source Mono software and an integrated experience, end users are able to use features with a single sign-on, consistent branding across a portal and click-to-action support between ASP.NET and Java portlets, Workplace People Awareness for ASP.NET apps and integration into WebSphere Portal navigation.

The Portal edition is expected to expedite the deployment process for apps running on WebSphere. The software allows code sharing and debugging across C#, Visual Basic .NET and Java. MainWin, first released in 2004, also surpasses the standards-based approach to integrating ASP.NET apps with J2EE portals. Developers can consolidate enterprise .NET apps on WebSphere simply by running them on any IBM eServer platform.

Reps at Mainsoft—which deploys more than $1 billion worth of software annually—forecasts larger firms in banking, insurance and retail industries using its Portal edition of Visual MainWin, which is certified to run on WebSphere Portal on all IBM hardware. Visual MainWin for J2EE, Portal edition is available now and Mainsoft plans to release its support for Visual Studio 2005 next year.