IAB Studio: Rich GUI technology for J2EE

The Java community is about the implementation of business ideas with less efforts and better end-user experience.

At 1:47 PM on May 17, 2005, Ramiz Aliev DeveloperZone Top 100

User interface is one the most heavy duty work in the software development process. A variety of available tools provide very nice features for desktop applications making them look attractive and useful. The user interface for J2EE, however, is still in its onset stage.

To address this issue, I would like to introduce IAB Studio, a “new” Rich GUI technology for J2EE.

IAB Studio has been created by a small software firm from Ontario, Canada. IAB (Internet Application Builder) technology is implementing Rich Client technology using Java on the server side and Java Script based controls (widgets) on the client side. No Applets and no plug-ins are required to implement Rich Graphical User Interface with IAB.

When using IAB Studio, you are able to create complex applications within hours, unlike other products that take weeks or even months to produce similar functionality. Using IAB Studio, you may save up to 80% of the development efforts.

IAB Studio is available for download from http://www.worcsnet.com and it is affordable and FREE for non-commercial use.

IAB Studio is an in-browser IDE and includes a few embedded modules and suites such as an Application Builder, Data Management/Reporting and Workflow Suite. Other than that IAB Studio also has Charting Solution, Project Organizer, Personal Organizer, Instant Messenger, News Manager as well as a wide range of features for system and database management and administration.

The core framework of IAB Studio includes many powerful and unique controls such as Data Entry Wizard (DEW), Grid (DPC), Treeview, Tabs, Toolbar, RTF-Editor, iFrame, ComboBox, Media and many others. Real-time application builder will help you to build web pages in WYSIWYG mode. Data Management/Reporting and Workflow Suites are designated to provide your business needs with unprecedented abilities. Easily built desktop quality reports may be instantly transformed to various formats like PDF, XML, CVS, Tab. You can easily design, test, run, and monitor business processes using a wide range of Workflow functions.

IAB Studio is an independent product. It also may be integrated with other development environments such as WebLogic Workshop or WebSphere. The current integration is implemented with TagLibs; however, the IAB controls may be embedded into their toolbars as a part of products that provide RIA functionality. IAB runs on application servers like JBoss, WebLogic and WebSphere. IAB Studio can work with multiple data sources and is compatible with major databases such as Oracle, MS SQL Server, iAnywhere, MySQL and operating systems like Windows and UNIX (Linux, AIX, BSD).

IAB Studio effectively works in the enterprise environments as an ASP. Completed projects may be easily deployed on another server or run in the same one. This IDE can also be used on local computer without connection to the Internet and then the ready projects would be exported to the server.

IAB is a very powerful technology that provides outstanding user experience. On the same web page you can place a few controls, for example: data entry form (DEW), free style report with a diagram, multi branches treeview, and images; you can also add instant messenger and a calendar with an appointment scheduler. All of these controls may communicate with each other and dynamically change data, diagram and images without refreshing the whole page. Moreover, once the data is loaded from your data sources, you can disconnect your PC from the Internet and manipulate the data locally until you need a new feed or send the data to the databases.

More information about IAB Studio is available at http://www.worcsnet.com.

References:

EclipseZone.com