Lotus Development Corp.'s BeanMachine gives Web page developers the easiest way yet to compose Java applets from new and prebuilt components without writing code.

PC Week Labs evaluated Version 1.0 of this innovative tool kit, which has been available since last month and is sold online at www2.lotus.com/developers/tools.nsf.

With its online price of $147, BeanMachine is priced between the $50 Vibe from Visix Software Inc. and the $500 SuperCede from Asymetrix Corp.. Unlike Vibe, which relies on native class libraries for the GUI platforms Visix supports, BeanMachine generates platform-neutral applets for any conforming Java environment.

The Visix approach does a better job of avoiding potential compatibility problems during the transition from Java 1.0.2 to the substantially more capable Java 1.1. BeanMachine lays these problems at the feet of its users until the Java community finishes this migration.

However, because Vibe builds stand-alone applications rather than browser-based applets, BeanMachine is a better choice for developers whose primary goal is enriched Web page appearance and interactive power. BeanMachine is at no real disadvantage.

We found BeanMachine more convenient and intuitive than Symantec Corp.'s Visual Cafe when it came to importing components from other sources, especially in the area of automating component interconnections. For Web page creators who come to Java from graphic arts and publishing rather than programming, BeanMachine surpasses both Visual Cafe and SuperCede in approachability.

Unlike the graphical Composition Editor of IBM's VisualAge for Java, BeanMachine uses a less spectacular table of events and actions. However, BeanMachine makes this table-driven approach more intuitive than most development tools of the Visual Basic ilk, using clear, intelligent pop-up lists to offer relevant options at convenient times.

Developers using multimedia will like BeanMachine's Gallery window of animations and other resources, as well as its simple, effective approach to automating animations and previewing their behavior. Database connections are likewise easy to build and test. BeanMachine also makes it easy for developers to provide robust error handling during tasks such as connecting to networked data.

BeanMachine accelerates the process of publishing an applet by automatically generating HTML files, a great time-saver for less experienced developers.

BeanMachine's visual authoring tools do an effective job of hiding the code that they generate, so we don't recommend BeanMachine to developers who actually want to learn the Java language in depth. However,

BeanMachine could be effectively used by a creative team involving both multimedia artists and Java-literate programmers. The system includes facilities for adding custom Java methods for specialized application behaviors and automatically organizes a maintenance programmer's access to the source code.

Even so, serious code-slingers will need a more capable editing environment than BeanMachine's rudimentary Java window. BeanMachine also lacks the convenient access to generated Java code that cautious developers enjoy in competing products such as SuperCede and VisualAge for Java.

Source: PC Week