Imperial Software Technology (IST), maker of the popular and powerful X-Designer Motif-to-Java GUI builder, announced today that it is now shipping the first release of its Visaj Java designer.

Visaj allows developers building Java applications to exploit the full power of the JavaBeans component applications in pure Java.

"Visaj is a next generation Java builder," said Derek Lambert, President and CEO of IST. "Many existing tools are tied to one platform and are visually poor. Visaj is a true visual builder which works where users want to work, whether that be the UNIX or Windows platform."

Visaj, which is written in pure Java, helps developers working with multiple hardware platforms reduce their time to market by using a single application builder to build truly cross-platform Java applications. The tool is available on all platforms that support Java, including Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, DEC UNIX, SGI Irix, Microsoft Windows NT, and Windows 95. Applications written with Visaj run on any platform without recompile.

Visaj provides a comprehensive range of tools for manipulating Java, including an AWT editor, layout editors, a dynamic event editor, and a resource bundle editor. The Visaj AWT (abstract windowing toolkit) Editor wizard speeds the construction of Java user interfaces by providing a point-and-click palette of components and a design tree which displays the containment hierarchy.

Layout editors include GridBag and Border layout editors, while the sophisticated event editor dynamically displays newly-created event binding. The resource bundle editor lets developers set up alternative values for resources in order to easily create international versions of their products. Visaj also integrates seamlessly with many third-party components.

IST's Visaj maintains the familiar interface from X-Designer, so that developers familiar with that award-winning Motif-to-Java GUI builder can become immediately productive on Visaj. Developers can construct applications without a lot of hand coding using the same acclaimed "point-and-click" methodology used by X-Designer.

The X-Designer and Visaj team of products provides users with a continuum of development capability, so that developers can build Motif and Java interfaces for their applications and then use Visaj to create new Java applications that utilize JavaBeans components. Visaj fully supports the JavaBeans standard, as well as Sun Microsystems Java Developers Kit 1.1 to allow developers to take full advantage of Java's improved event model.

Pricing and Availability

Visaj is priced at $995 for the first license with 90-day support. It is available directly from IST in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, or through a network of distributors worldwide. For more information on Visaj, IST or any IST product, contact sales@ist.co.uk or call the company at 650/688-0200.

About Imperial Software Technology

Founded in 1982 by members of the University of London Imperial College, IST is a software engineering company recognized internationally for its exceptional technology. Its flagship product, the X-Designer GUI builder, is installed at leading corporations throughout the world. For example, Motorola Corp. uses X-Designer through a worldwide corporate license and NCR holds multiple site licenses.

IST also provides workbench technology to OEMs and is a leader in the development of advanced visual programming tools. The company is based in Reading, England, and Palo Alto, CA.