Apache recently formally announced the first release of Sling, its new Web framework that uses a Java Content Repository (JCR) to store and manage content. This is sure to be interesting news to enterprise Java developers with content management needs, as Sling is intended to simplify the development of basic applications while providing a framework for more complicated content-centric applications.

From a post on TheServerSide.com, a popular enterprise Java development site:

"Sling is intended to bring back the fun to Java developers and make the life of a web developer easier. It deals with the important task of bringing your content into the web and providing a platform to manage/update the content."

The Sling site has a quick introduction that explains how to use the framework. And to demonstrate the flexibility and speed of application creation that Apache Sling offers, Day Software's David Nuescheler presented a demo recently in which he re-created the basic functionality of TheServerSide.com in about 15 minutes. The video is about an hour long, but you can skip right to substance of the live coding demo by jumping to 20-minute mark. Day Software has been a contributor to the Sling code base, and a number of its products incorporate Apache code. It also offers a package called CRX Quickstart that bundles CRX (its implementation of Java Content Repository) and Apache Sling into a simple installer.

Also related is Day Software's Global JCR Cup 2008 Competition, which offers a first prize of a 17-inch MacBook Pro to the winner. The competition is to create any one of a number of content-driven sites, such as a blogs, wikis, or enterprise content management applications, using Day Software's CRX along with Sling. The deadline for entries is 12 a.m. PT, Sept. 30. To register or get more information, you can visit the competition home page at dev.day.com.