The server-side of the JackBe development process runs in a Java servlet container. You install it by dropping in a WAR (Web
Application Archive) file and then starting up the IDE by entering the URL for the file into IE.
Return to special report
JackBe NQ Suite 4.0
JackBe, jackbe.com
|
 Very Good 8.3 |
|
| criteria |
score |
weight |
| Capability |
9 |
30% |
 |
| Ease-of-use |
8 |
30% |
|
| Documentation |
7 |
15% |
|
| Performance |
8 |
15% |
|
| Value |
9 |
10% |
|
|
|
Cost:
Starts at $50,000; site licenses available
Platforms:
Server-side requires a Java servlet container. Development IDE client can only run on IE 5.5 and later. Applications can run
on IE 5.5 and later, Firefox, and other current browsers.
Bottom Line:
A full-featured IDE, JackBe NQ Suite 4.0 provides developers with an excellent way to build client applications that don't
need to be installed. The tightly coded JavaScript libraries are short and allow you to add a full GUI to any HTML page. But
some wizards lack polish and are incomplete, and the IDE's graphical opportunities are limited.
|
|
About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology
|
|
|
|
The IDE itself must run in IE, but the tools it creates are cross-browser compliant. You can rip out the JavaScript code and
use it alone, but the current development environment works best when you’re integrating it with J2EE applications.
The IDE is impressive. I’ve never seen anything do this with JavaScript in a browser. The JackBe-produced applications have
close to a real client feel. When you save a form, for instance, there’s little indication the form is being turned into a
URL and posted to the server. It feels like you’re saving something directly to disk.
There are some rough spots, however, where the code hung for a few seconds. This could be the fault of the browser platform,
not of JackBe, but it’s difficult to know. Unfortunately, the AJAX platform is still rough and imperfect. But when the system
ran smoothly, which it did most of the time, the applications I saw were as nice as the best client code.
The IDE contains many of the standard widgets found in most development environments, including menus, scroll bars, buttons,
text input sections, and most of the standard elements. These can be grouped together into panes and stitched together with
tabs. If necessary, you can extend them fairly easily with your own JavaScript.
Room to Grow
JackBe’s greatest competition may come from other packages of JavaScript libraries and open source compilations, such as SAJAX
(Simple AJAX). JackBe, however, offers more widgets with deeper interfaces than any other library I’ve seen. The package is
also surprisingly fast, something I’m reminded of every time I visit a Web site with badly coded JavaScript.
Nonetheless, I found the package incomplete in a few small ways. The project creation wizard, for instance, requires you to
fill in many paths for files instead of doing it for you. This led me to mangle part of my Tomcat servlet container when I
put in a wrong path.
This was easy to fix — I just deleted a few directories — but it hints that the tool isn’t ready for the average Web designer;
a programmer needs to be in the loop. The tool may be ready one day for a nonprogrammer, though.
JackBe’s roughness is due to the company’s youth. The system isn’t available as a shrink-wrapped download; you must consume
the training classes and technical support the company offers. I predict JackBe will eventually reach the point where the
documentation and the polish are strong enough to carry a newcomer.
Until then, the company understands it must teach its customers a few new tricks. The snappiness of the JavaScript-enabled
Web pages makes that effort worthwhile.
E-mail
Printer Friendly
Reprints
(InfoWorld) - In the litigious world we live in, deploying a unified communications platform in your enterprise could...
