InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
June 22, 1998
Make The Web Work For You
continued...page 5 of 6
For development, the NetDynamics Studio generates Java server-side logic and Java, HTML, or hybrid clients. Studio is sophisticated, offering cross-component debugging features. The same wizards can be used to create either HTML forms or Java forms, and you can go back through the wizard to modify forms. Also, developers can opt to build applications with third-party development environments such as Symantec Café, or Borland J++.
NetDynamics provides platform adapter components for many commonly used enterprise systems such as those from PeopleSoft and SAP. In addition, NetDynamics includes a development kit for platform adapter components that lets developers and independent software vendors create their own links to back-end data sources.
Developers can even control page flow, restricting a user from getting to a specific page in an application unless a particular navigation sequence is followed. This feature is especially important in applications such as electronic trading.
Overall, NetDynamics provides one of the most mature servers in its class. Still, the system has a few minor drawbacks. It doesn't provide a scripting model for users who want more flexibility than a wizard provides but not the complexity of writing low-level code in Java. In addition, it provides no administration tools for deploying applications to multiple servers in a point-and-click fashion.
Netscape Application Server 2.1
Netscape, best-known for its Web servers and browser software, acquired Kiva Software in early 1997. The acquisition was strategic for Netscape, giving the company an immediate presence in the market for Web application development tools and platforms.
Netscape's Web application components are clearly designed for interenterprise applications. The system's architects have largely succeeded in creating a system that combines rapid development and deployment with high performance, reliability, availability, and scalability. In short, Netscape provides an architecture that can handle key business applications over the Web.
The system's core is the Netscape Application Server, one of the most mature application servers in its class. Its services can be used to provide transaction-oriented business applications with scalability, availability, and fault tolerance. The system can also facilitate enterprise application integration for disparate data stores and legacy systems such as CICS or enterprise resource planning systems such as those from SAP or PeopleSoft.
A key strength for the NAS is dynamic load balancing. Application logic components can reside on multiple machines, so the system can distribute processing across those machines to balance the load. In addition, the system can prioritize certain transactions or applications based on their importance to the organization.
As for development, the Netscape Application Builder lets developers design applications graphically. The tool is very functional and easy to use, and it provides helpful wizards for building application logic components. The tool's query designer generates SQL-like code that communicates with Netscape's APIs to directly access the data sources. On the downside, the NAB tool allows developers only to build HTML front ends and provides limited debugging and source-control capabilities.
Fortunately, developers aren't limited to using the NAB; Netscape supports applications built using popular development environments such as Visual Basic. Developers can even choose to build programs manually in C++. This client-independent programming model was a unique attribute of the NAS. The system can compile server-side code in either C++ or Java.
The system also includes the Netscape Extension Builder, which lets developers create extensions to legacy applications or back-end systems. Netscape provides some packaged extensions, such as a Netscape Extension for Tuxedo for transaction monitoring.
SilverStream Application Server
SilverStream Software was founded by alumni of companies such as Powersoft, Lotus Development, and Watermark Software. The company's product line displays a keen understanding not only of development environments, but also of managing and collaborating with unstructured data.
continued...page 6
return to page 1, 2, 3, 4
Back to Labs
Send Us Your Feedback
Top of the Page
Featured Microsite
