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Comprehensive AJAX Platform Released As Open Source

The First Visual Dev Environment for Building Internet Apps With AJAX Now Includes Open Source Runtime

"ClearNova has helped bridge the gap between AJAX benefits and J2EE complexity -- and added a significant RAD benefit to the process with the release of its ThinkCAPJX dev framework", says Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions. "The ThinkCAP JX release recognizes the RAD benefits of reducing handcrafting and scripting. While many applications are being AJAX-ified with a bevy of open source tools, frameworks, and home-grown customizations, there have been few options for bringing an automation level to the process that helps Visual Basic and PowerBuilder types enter the practice."

The ThinkCAP JX Framework integrates almost 25 open source frameworks and engines including Struts and Hibernate and provides a seamless framework that ties them all together. It also adds value to open source through ThinkCAP Workbench, a highly visual design environment.

At the core of ThinkCAP's AJAX framework are two popular open source AJAX projects: prototype and script.aculo.us. These libraries were chosen because they provide excellent base functionality but also because they are the two projects driving the AJAX functionality of the Ruby-On-Rails project and therefore are being frequently updated.

Other open source and standards-based projects in ThinkCAP's core architecture are OpenRico, JUnit, log4J, JFreeChart, Apache Axis, Apache Commons (Validator, BeanUtils, Collections, Digester, and Logging), Castor, JEP, Jakarta (Oro, POI, and Regexp), Apache (Lucene, Batik, and Bcel), JavaTidy, and Xerces.

ThinkCAP JX runs on any operating system and Java application servers such as IBM WebSphere, BEA Weblogic, Oracle 10g, Sybase EA Server, JBoss, Tomcat, Jetty, and Resin.


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JDJ News Desk monitors the world of Java to present IT professionals with updates on technology advances, business trends, new products and standards in the Java and i-technology space.

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Most Recent Comments
GK 01/19/06 11:05:24 PM EST

What an underhanded use of the "free open source" tag. Go to their site and they state you can download and use the framework for free if you don't distribute your application to third parties. The catch...In order to use the framework, you have to use their Visual Workbench which requires a 499.00 subscription fee. But it includes documentation and tech support. Whoopie! This is probably only the beginning of cheesy vendors trying to jump on the AJAX bandwagon. I think I'll pass.

GK 01/19/06 10:58:36 PM EST

What an underhanded use of the "free open source" tag. Go to their site and they state you can download and use the framework for free if you don't distribute your application to third parties. The catch...In order to use the framework, you have to use their Visual Workbench which requires a 499.00 subscription fee. But it includes documentation and tech support. Whoopie! This is probably only the beginning of cheesy vendors trying to jump on the AJAX bandwagon. I think I'll pass.

Antonio 01/19/06 08:17:00 AM EST

Can't get www.thinkcap.org.
At www.clearnova.com is available only a demo version of ThinkcapJX.
Any mistake?

Thanks

jdj news desk 01/11/06 12:22:30 AM EST

Developers now have a fast, efficient and cost-effective way to create AJAX-enabled rich Internet applications with the release of ClearNova's, ThinkCAP JX -- the first rapid application development (RAD) platform to be offered as open source, and the first visual development environment for building rich Internet applications. ThinkCAP JX combines the power of AJAX, Java EE and open source to enable organizations and their developers to build the web-based applications that run their businesses.