Nokia and Ikivo, a well-known supplier of rich media application enabling solutions based on open standards, just announced the joint creation of a complete tool chain that simplifies and allows efficient collaboration between graphic designers and software engineers in the development of Java applications for mobile devices.

The new tool set integrates Nokia's Platform SDKs for Java, Adobe Illustrator, Ikivo Animator and Sun's NetBeans to enable user interface designers to add their GUI designs directly to an application project and avoid the time-consuming process of "translating" those designs into Java code. Utilizing Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to capture visual designs for optimized integration into software development projects, the new solution dramatically improves the productivity of mobile Java development, and reinforces the attractiveness of Java as an environment for creating compelling mobile applications with rich graphics and interactivity.

The new tool set's utilization of SVG, an open standard for describing 2D static and animated vector graphics developed through the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), makes it possible to define a clear division of labor between engineers and graphic designers working on software development projects.

Using the new SVG-enabled tool chain developed by Nokia and Ikivo, graphic designers are free to concentrate on creating useful and exciting user experiences, incorporating designs in the final product without the need to help engineers translate those designs into code. Software engineers can concentrate their skills on the application logic and other non-graphic components of a project, where they can be the most productive.

SVG offers a scalable, efficient textual representation of graphic and animation objects, allowing for complex designs to be specified with a small in-memory footprint. Nokia supports SVG for Java development through its implementation of JSR 226, which is supported in new S60 3rd Edition and Series 40 5th Edition based devices. Nokia and Sun Microsystems support for JSR226 will be discussed at JavaOne 2008 during a technical session titled "Developing Flashy Mobile Applications, Using SVG and JSR 226".