Visual Café for Java 2.5 delivers development flexibility

San Mateo (02/20/98) — Organizations with strategic plans that include Java development should definitely evaluate Visual Café for Java 2.5, which will be generally available in March. This latest version of Symantec’s Java development environment steps ahead of its competition — including Borland International’s JBuilder — by offering developers greater flexibility and openness in a highly productive working environment not yet seen in similar tools.

When I evaluated Version 2.0 of Visual Café, I found it to be on par with its competition — even surpassing them in some areas, such as native-code compilation. However, I thought Visual Café 2.0’s interface was cluttered compared with JBuilder’s interface for the same projects.

Now the Visual Café for Java 2.5 beta version I tested sports terrific interface improvements and flexible options that let developers customize the environment to their liking.

Both the Professional Edition and the Database Development Edition of Visual Café 2.5 allow developers to switch between multiple document interface (MDI) and single document interface. I tried both modes and preferred the MDI for my purposes.

In MDI mode, developers can dock as many as 10 windows, which I thought greatly eased accessibility. MDI mode also lets developers use a tabbed metaphor, which is reminiscent of Borland’s JBuilder, to jump between docked windows. For greater control, developers can use the View menu to turn the tabs on and off.

Symantec has also added the Cascade, Tile Horizontally, and Tile Vertically options to the Window menu in Visual Café 2.5. I found these options useful.

Symantec has also enhanced Visual Café’s development flexibility by letting developers work in either visual or source-code editing modes. There is an on-the-fly option to switch to “RAD on” mode, which enables forms-based rapid application development (RAD) with automatic code generation.

Those developers who prefer to work directly in source-code mode without automatic code generation will appreciate the “RAD off” option. I tried both methods and found that I personally preferred the “RAD off” mode, although both methods work well.

In addition to the flexible development interface options, this version of Visual Café also includes APIs for developers to create and integrate applications and tools with the environment.

For example, a large enterprise with multiple project teams covering multiple company divisions might use the included Project Template API to create a company-specific project wizard.

Developers using the Visual Café Database Development Edition will appreciate that this version now supports unlimited database connections. The previous version’s 25-user limit has been lifted. And native support remains for Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and Microsoft SQL databases, as well as ODBC support.

This latest beta version of Visual Café for Java 2.5 shows promise for giving developers lots of flexibility — creating stiff competition in the development tools market. For those evaluating Java tools for corporate application development, Visual Café 2.5 is well worth checking out.

Professional Development Edition key features:

• Customizable development environment
• Rapid application development (RAD) or non-RAD modes
• Open APIs for developer integration with Visual Café

Database Development Edition key features:

• All Professional Edition features
• Local relational database
• Middleware server with unlimited database connectivity

The bottom line

This solid beta version of Symantec’s Java development environment ups the ante for rival products, such as Borland’s JBuilder. This version offers a much-improved interface for developers to highly customize their working environment.

Pros

Can go from graphical or source-code editing modes on the fly; single and multiple document interface modes; window docking and tabbed-access features in multiple document mode for fast navigation; improved integration via open API accessibility; native-code compilation; unlimited database connectivity option (Database Development Edition); enhanced just-in-time compiler, Version 3.0.

Cons

None significant.

• Price: Database Development Edition is 99 and Professional Development Edition is 99; limited free upgrade for Version 2.0 and 2.1 users.
• Development platforms: Windows 95, Windows NT, Macintosh.
• Production platforms: Any platform that supports a Java virtual machine.
• Ship date: March.