Tools wrap: NextApp, Compuware to unveil products

NextApp  and Compuware  next week are set to boost offerings for application development in the areas of AJAX (Asynchronous Java plus XML) and application quality management, respectively.

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For NextApp, the company's EchoStudio2 visual development tool gives Eclipse developers another option for using AJAX on the Eclipse open source tools platform. Part of the Echo2 platform for building Web-based applications, EchoStudio plugs into the Eclipse 3.1 IDE.

"You can develop high-end AJAX applications entirely from within Eclipse," said Tod Liebeck, chief software architect at NextApp.

EchoStudio 2 is set to be available on Monday for $499. Complementing EchoStudio is Echo2, which is a free, open source framework that lacks the visual tools and Eclipse backing.

The Echo2 platform overall features a component-based and event-driven framework for developing user interfaces. "It works a lot like Swing does from the perspective of a developer using the product," Liebeck said.

Echo2 applications are rendered to Web browsers via AJAX technologies, according to NextApp. The company's AJAX-related announcement follows on the heels of an effort by Genuitec , which is set to offer AJAX development for Eclipse through its MyEclipse Enterprise Workbench 4.1 IDE.

Compuware, meanwhile, is set to release the 5.1 versions of its QACenter and CARS (Compuware Application Reliability Solution) products for application quality. QACenter offers quality assurance while CARS serves as a superset of QACenter that adds workflow and professional services.

Enterprise-level quality management is a key theme of the company's announcement. Version 5.1 of the products features more in-depth, Web-enabled test management. This allows quality assurance professionals distributed in different locations to access a single Web interface, said Mark Eshelby, Compuware Quality Solutions product manager. Specifically, the Web interface now supports development and management of testing assets.

CARS 5.1 has been integrated with the Compuware Changepoint IT governance solution. A subset of Changepoint capabilities for request management, knowledge management, and reporting are featured in CARS 5.1.

"The biggest highlight is the integration [with] some of the Changepoint technology," said analyst Carey Schwaber, of Forrester Research. "They did a really nice job of pulling in some of the broader reporting and dashboard capabilities into CARS."

The improved Web interface in the two products also is critical, according to Schwaber. "That helps distributed teams have access to the same assets, which is increasingly important," said Schwaber.

Enhanced test planning capabilities in CARS and QACenter allow users to balance risk and time factors when planning a testing effort. "Now an organization can prioritize what testing can be done in the time they've actually got," Eshelby said.

Both CARS and QACenter now can integrate with third-party requirements management tools such as Borland CalibreRM, IBM Rational RequisitePro, SteelTrace Catalyze, and Telelogic Doors.

"Our integration allows you to publish requirements from these tools into both our CARS and QACenter solutions and synchronize them back to the requirements tools," Eshelby said.

The two new Compuware products are available now.