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PRNewswire -- ILOG today rolled out the new ILOG JViews Component Suite 3.5, supporting Scaleable Vector Graphics (SVG) and various Java thin clients. In addition to their work on this new release, ILOG JViews developers are playing a key role in the creation of today's beta release of Batik 1.0 by the Apache Software Foundation's XML Project. Batik is the first open-source SVG toolkit based on the Java platform and was developed with contributions from ILOG, Sun Microsystems, Eastman Kodak Company and CSIRO Australia.

SVG is the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) new graphics language based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and is expected to become the standard for web-based graphics. One of the reasons ILOG contributed its well-known expertise in 2D graphics to the development of Batik is because standardizing SVG will give programmers -- and ultimately, end users -- a vehicle for taking the visual web experience to a new level.

Applications built with the Batik toolkit can leverage SVG via higher-quality graphics and interoperability than what has been available. Meanwhile, those applications with the greatest need for high-end graphics can utilize ILOG JViews for seamless integration of intuitive, interactive components such as Gantt charts, workflow modelers and maps. Never before have so many options been available for advanced web graphics.

Smarter thin clients
SVG support within the ILOG JViews Component Suite 3.5 combined with the new thin client support enriches the deployment options for ILOG's developer customers. Using the embeddable ILOG 2D libraries, developers can quickly create rich user interfaces deployed on fat clients as well as a range of thin clients. These include DHTML pages -- the most common vehicle for displaying graphics in a browser -- and SVG files on up to the most graphics-intensive Java applets. Client hardware can include PCs, workstations, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other devices.

The new ILOG JViews Component Suite 3.5 addresses the client-side graphics limitations inherent in the industry's focus on server-side Java applications. Now advanced, intuitive, interactive graphical interfaces can reside on the server and be deployed on the client -- in fact, on a range of clients.

This flexibility is particularly useful in the new wave of web-based applications, such as workflow design and monitoring, where rich, intelligent user interfaces will enhance productivity. For example, a company selling its products via the web can utilize ILOG JViews interactive user interface components for applications handling everything from the initial customer order, to production scheduling on a Gantt chart, to the location and status of assets via an online map, to tracking the entire process via diagrams. ILOG JViews is the only SVG-compatible product that supports such high-end, interactive user interface features.

Beside thin-client deployment, other major enhancements to ILOG JViews include Oracle Spatial 8i support for map data, large dataset and XML support for the Gantt chart with "load on demand" mechanisms, and more flexibility and new algorithms for automatic diagramming.

SVG to replace static HTML
"The industry has recognized that today's bitmap-based graphics are not up to the task of creating the richer, more compelling online experience that web content providers and users want, and this is why SVG was created," said Jean-Francois Abramatic, ILOG senior vice president of research and development. "As a provider of web interfaces that thousands of people use every day, ILOG recognizes the potential for SVG in improving the web experience for our customers."

For content providers, SVG is expected to move web design beyond the static bitmaps of today's web toward more scalable, dynamic and interactive web content. For web users of the future, SVG images will often download much faster than current GIF and JPEG images while providing greater functionality. Users are able to zoom and pan graphics with a simple mouse movement without waiting for extra graphics data to download.

The SVG 1.0 specification, currently in the W3C Candidate Recommendation review period, is widely seen as the replacement for static HTML for generating web graphics.

It's the promise of SVG that convinced ILOG to become actively involved in the W3C's standardization effort from its beginning: as a member of the working group, as a contributor of development expertise for Batik and as an implementer of the potential standard in ILOG JViews 3.5.

Pricing and Availability
General availability of the ILOG JViews Component Suite 3.5 is scheduled for January. ILOG JViews runs on any Java platform and any web browser that supports the Java 2 platform, including Netscape Communicator and Microsoft Explorer. Pricing starts at $6,500.

Related Stories:
PR: Sun Microsystems Adds Support to Third Apache Foundation Project: Batik(Dec 04, 2000)
O'Reilly Network: AxKit: An XML-Delivery Toolkit for Apache(Nov 30, 2000)
PHPBuilder: Transforming XML with XSL using Sablotron(Oct 29, 2000)
PHPBuilder: Using PHP and XML with Apache Cocoon(Jun 19, 2000)

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