14 DAY TRIAL // IBM has launched a new tool called Enterprise Generation Language Community Edition (EGL CE) that will help web-developers around the globe in writing web 2.0 applications. Geared toward web developing, the new tool will enable programmers to write complex interfaces or complete applications just by using one language.
For a long time now, Adobe's Creative Suite or Microsoft's Expresion Web and Visual Studio have been the normal choice for developers trying to write web-inclined applications. Well, it seems that there's a real interest in this market because IBM has decided to try to get a piece of it for itself.
The new EGL CE will not try to battle it out with Adobe and Microsoft in their Flash – Silverlight war, but it will actually generate standard JavaScript and AJAX on every product, ensuring high-compatibility with browsers and JavaScript engines around.
Currently working on Windows, Linux, IBM and AIX’s OSes, developers can write code using just one language, successfully replacing Ruby, PHP, HTML, JavaScript and Groovy code. EGL provides an OOP environment with flexible deployment options, compiling to COBOL, JavaScript and Java. Also, it can be used to write JavaScript or Java-based applications without the need to write JavaScript or Java code.
For a better understanding of how EGL works, here are the steps:
1. The developer writes all EGL code on their computer, where they can preview it and debug it. Being based on Eclipse, all EGL processes are compiled and run as Java, while the EGL code is transformed into HTML and JavaScript on every preview. Afterward, the HTML and JavaScript code is interpreted by the proper agent (browser, OS) without the system knowing it was EGL code.
2. In the deployment process, the code is compiled as we said before in HTML and JavaScript, while services are compiled as SOAP or REST web services, all of these being deployed as a JEE application on the server.
3. Whenever the user accesses the services, all HTML and JavaScript code is downloaded to their browser, while the rest of the interactions remain as simple AJAX (via the REST or SOAP services).
“IBM understands that for a programming language to be successful, it needs to be accessible by the broadest possible group of people,” said Will Smythe, IGM EGL Product Line Manager, “EGL CE is intended for anyone who wants to develop RIAs quickly and efficiently. Since EGL syntax is easy for people to learn and can integrate across different business tiers, people from all development backgrounds (Java, PHP, COBOL, etc) find they are very productive using EGL.”
A presentation of EGL can be found on IBM’s product page, here. EGL can be downloaded for free from Softpedia at this link.
