News

Borland Announces Kylix Open Edition

• By John K. Waters
• July 30, 2001

Essentially, Kylix is Delphi for Linux. It was named for the two-handled cup from which the Delphic Oracle imbibed. Launched at last January's LinuxWorld Conference, it was the first RAD tool for Linux. Like Delphi, Kylix is a two-way, object-oriented, component-based development tool. The components are part of the CLX framework, which stands for "component library for cross-platform" development.

Kylix Open Edition is the version of the tool specifically designed for development of applications that are distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), the open-source license under which Linux apps are developed and distributed. The company is including FreeCLX, the open-source, GPL-licensed version of the component library, with the Open Edition. FreeCLX includes more than 100 reusable, customizable and extensible components for open-source Linux applications.

"The open-source community is extremely important because they are shaping the future of application development," said Bill Claybrook, research director for Linux and Open Source Software at the Aberdeen Group. "Borland is bringing its FreeCLX component library and framework for developing applications to the community. This will allow open-source developers to create virtually hundreds of CLX cross-platform components and bring them to market quickly."

The company also offers its customers what it calls the Borland No-Nonsense License. This is a proprietary agreement granting a developer the right to distribute an application royalty-free, with or without source code, under any license agreement the developer chooses and has the right to use. The Kylix Desktop Developer Edition and Kylix Server Developer Edition both ship with dual-licensed CLX libraries, which allows developers to choose either the GPL or the No-Nonsense license. Kylix Open Edition, however, ships only the GPL-licensed CLX libraries and does not grant a developer the option of distributing an application under any other license terms.

In a media release, Simon Thornhill, vice president and general manager of the RAD business unit at Borland, said, "Kylix Open Edition reinforces our commitment to the open-source community and provides freedom of choice for rapid application development."

Borland Kylix is available in a Server Developer Edition, a Desktop Developer Edition and the new Open Edition. For more information about Kylix, please visit the Borland Web site at http://www.borland.com/kylix.

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