Sun Microsystems has announced the availability of the much anticipated Sun Java Studio Creator 2 application development tool, providing developers a comprehensive and easy to use environment for visually developing and deploying Web applications.

Building on the overwhelming success of the original Java Studio Creator software, this version based on the latest NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) provides ground-breaking enhancements that will help ease development of 100% Java standards-based applications with minimal learning curve for developers using existing visual Web development tools. Included in these enhancements are a drag-and-drop environment for Web application and portlet development, the ability to reduce development time by promoting code reuse using a more comprehensive set of JavaServer Faces technology components, and simplified access to heterogeneous data types. Also included in the latest edition are sample applications which will promote quality through best practices and a new component library that offers support for emerging technologies and architectures including AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).

"As we enter the Participation Age, the requirement for developers to provide richer Web experiences to attract increasingly Web savvy audiences only continues to grow. And today's 4.5 million Java developers are increasingly looking for more advanced development tools to make that process easier without locking them in to proprietary technologies," said John Loiacono, Executive Vice President, Software, Sun Microsystems. "With today's announcement, Sun is further demonstrating our commitment to this community by delivering Java Studio Creator 2, the leader in building standard Java applications with advanced features like AJAX-enabled components, while still maintaining an incredible level of ease-of-use."