Looking to shore up its client/server development tools business and capitalise on the emerging market for corporate intranet development, Borland is readying an intranet development suite. Slated for demonstration at the company's developer's conference in Anaheim, California, Borland's IntraBuilder is a visual development environment for server-based intranet applications that supports both Java and ActiveX and sports extensive database integration.
The development suite, which will be posted on Borland's Web site on July 29 and should ship early next quarter, will be packaged in three versions: Departmental, Professional and Client/Server, according to company officials, in Scotts Valley, California. The entry-level IntraBuilder package will include support for Borland Database Engine and Paradox. IntraBuilder Professional will add support for Microsoft's Access and SQL Server, whereas the client/server version will also provide links to popular SQL databases, including Oracle, Sybase, Informix and DB2, officials says.
One Borland customer says the company needs to clarify its product strategy in light of its pending release of the Latte visual Java development tool and other Internet technologies but praised the IntraBuilder strategy. "Adding new technologies like intranet tools tends to be cumbersome," says Chris Moreau, client/server development manager at Sara Lee Knit Products, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "It looks like they're trying to get a GUI-type product out there that simplifies intranet development."
IntraBuilder will include a set of help experts for building tables, forms, reports, and home pages, and will automatically generate HTML and server-side JavaScript code, officials added. IntraBuilder will also offer extensive component reuse and support for generating Java applets and ActiveX components. The intranet suite will include six canned business applications, officials say. IntraBuilder applications will support Netscape Server API, Internet Server API, and WinCGI Web server APIs via server components. The entry-level version is expected to be priced at about US$99.