New tools line up for intranet tasks
As intranet development begins to loom large in companies' long-range plans, a pack of development tool makers rushes to deliver Web-enabled tools.
Upstart Wallop Software will on Monday announce Built-It, a tool for managing all elements involved in building a Web site. Built-It doesn't recreate HTML, code generation, or database development tools, but instead acts as an umbrella application that gives developers a single environment in which to access those tools and to manage code and Web site elements, such as GIF files.
Built-It, which runs on Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT, is priced at $2,495 per seat, and will ship in November. A beta test version of the tool is downloadable from the Wallop's Web site.
Powersoft plans to next week release a set of components for its popular PowerBuilder tool that will make it easier for IS developers to put a Web face on client-server applications.
The PowerBuilder Internet Developer Toolkit, priced at $99, includes a version of PowerBuilder's DataWindow database access tool as both a plug-in for Netscape Communications' Navigator and as an ActiveX Control; Web.pb, a middleware tool for linking PowerBuilder applications to Web servers; a set of class libraries for generating HTML pages from database query results; the PowerBuilder Window Plug-In that lets developers run PowerBuilder applications in Web browsers; and a copy of O'Rielly & Associates' WebSite personal Web server.
Next earlier this week announced WebObjects Enterprise 3.0, a new version of the company's object-based development tool for constructing multitiered applications with a Web front end.
The tool will generate either HTML forms or Web-based applets as the client portion of applications. Most development can be done through a drag and drop interface, and the tool automatically generates Structured Query Language (SQL) for accessing relational databases.
WebObjects 3.0 costs $4,999 per developer. It runs on Windows NT, and develops applications for deployment on Windows 95, NT, Solaris, and Next's OpenStep software.
Also earlier this week, Intelligent Environments launched Amazon, a toolset aimed at IS developers attempting to bring so-called legacy applications, such as mainframe and client-server programs, onto the Web.
Amazon builds on the company's expertise in mainframes, development, and data access. Its unique feature is the ability to generate entire applications--client, middleware, server, and database access portions--though a programming language that uses plain English to define rules.
Amazon runs on Windows NT and is priced at $2,495 per seat. The company also offers a consulting program that provides 30 days of usage for the software, five days of online consulting, and a guarantee that a finished application will be up and running on day five, or consultants will work for free until it does. The program costs $8,000.