Update: Borland adds to C#, integration

Borland Software on Tuesday will unveil four products, including a C# development environment and middleware for integrating systems without requiring Web services wrappers.

The third product is an application server for smaller companies and departments within large enterprises.

Borland C#Builder for the Microsoft .Net Framework is a standards-based integrated development environment for the C# programming language, according to Borland. Part of Borland’s application life cycle management strategy for .Net, C#Builder features design-driven development through integration with Borland Together and the C# Builder Enterprise Core Objects Builder platform.

The product also enables connectivity to other applications.

“What we’re finding is that companies today are very eager to start incorporating .Net into their solutions, but they’re finding they need to connect to a variety of vendors’ technologies,” such as Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and IBM, said Michael Swindell, director of products and technology at Borland, in Scotts Valley, Calif.

Janeva, Borland’s new middleware for linking applications without using Web services wrappers, is included within C#Builder. It enables connectivity from .Net to J2EE and CORBA applications, according to Borland officials. Janeva also will be made available as a standalone technology as well.

With Janeva, a customer, for example, could link an existing ERP system with a sales management system built in .Net, Swindell said.

While Janeva presents an alternative to Web services, C#Builder does support Web services, Swindell said. But Janeva provides for easier connectivity in that it reduces the number of steps developers must take, according to Swindell.

Janeva is based on CORBA IIOP, .Net, and J2EE but not on Web services protocols such as SOAP.

Also featured in C#Builder are debugging, visual tools, ADO .Net and ASP .Net functionality. Microsoft Visual Studio source and project compatability also is featured.

Applications built in C#Builder can be integrated with databases from companies such as IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft. The product includes application/class designer and integration with UML design tools such as Together and Rational Rose.

C# has been described by Microsoft as a modern, object-oriented programming language, featuring garbage collection to save memory and single approaches for specific tasks.

An analyst said Borland with its C#Builder is giving users an alternative to Microsoft tools. “It’s nice to have more than one vendor to go to for .Net development,” said analyst Tom Murphy, senior program director at Meta Group.

“I think this will be good for the market as whole,” Murphy said

Borland C#Builder ships this summer in several implementations. C#Builder Architect, for .Net IT team developers using design-driven development, is priced at $2,499, while C#Builder Enterprise, for IT team developers, costs $1,799. C#Builder Professional, for independent .Net developers, costs $999, and C#Builder Personal, for learning C# and .Net development, costs $69.

Borland on Tuesday also will introduce JBuilder 9, a Java development product that includes the Optimizeit Suite 5.5 performance management system in the Enterprise version of JBuilder. JBuilder 9 Developer, a tool to give developers more control over code, also is featured in the announcement.

JBuilder 9 also offers integration of technology acquired from StarBase.  Inclusion of the Borland StarTeam client provides version control and configuration management capabilities for team collaboration, according to Borland.

JBuilder 9 features Web services support, including Web services Wizards for easier construction of Enterprise Java-Beans with Web-based front ends. JBuilder 9 Developer and Enterprise include a solution for building mobile Java applications for MIDP devices from Nokia, Siemens, Sprint, Sony Ericsson and others, the company said.

The Borland Enterprise Server, Team Edition, is a J2EE application server for small and midsized businesses with revenues from $20 million to $499 million. Departments in larger enterprises also are potential users.

“If you are a smaller enterprise and you have requirements for building applications that don’t require a large demand on the product but you need J2EE functionality, the product’s geared to you,” said J.T. Sison, senior director of business development and product marketing for enterprise business unit at Borland.

The application server also supports Janeva connectivity.

The product will be available in early-June for $1,995 per CPU. It is limited to use 25 concurrent users and does not support clustering.