Exadel seeks to ease development complexity with VCP

IDG News Service - Tools vendor Exadel Inc. unwrapped Visual Component Platform (VCP) 1.0 Monday. VCP is a framework designed to make it easier for developers to build business applications based on open-source and Java technologies.

In particular, the tool is designed to allow developers to have more control over the look and feel of applications they create.

In formulating VCP, Concord, Calif.-based Exadel drew on its experiences developing the mortgage.com application for ABN Amro Mortgage Group Inc., according to Fima Katz, Exadel's founder, CEO and president. The tools company formally started work on VCP in the first half of last year, he said in an interview.

Many companies are under pressure to upgrade their Web applications to give them a "cool interface" like the one Google Maps provides and improve functionality at the same time, Katz said. Trying to develop such applications can be complex and time-consuming for in-house development teams.

With VCP, Exadel is attempting to mask the complexity, making it easier for developers to build applications using a combination of components based on JavaServer Faces and components enabled by Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) technology. The components are also "skin-enabled," meaning they're designed to allow developers to customize an application -- by changing colors and fonts, for example -- on the fly without changing code, Katz said.

"We're using JavaServer Faces and AJAX," John Thompson, a project manager at retailer HSN, said in an interview. "Exadel understands how to get the two technologies to play well together."

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based HSN started using Exadel's Studio Pro Web application development tool last year for initial development work on a complex financial control application, according to Thompson. Once complete, the application will look for errors in expected and actual billing on the packages HSN sends to customers and will let the company verify what it should be paying for shipping costs.

"We've been very happy with Studio Pro," Thompson said. "It's definitely sped up development." HSN plans to migrate from Studio Pro to some of the VCP components as it continues work on the financial control application, he added.

Exadel is selling VCP at an annual subscription rate of $799 per developer seat. A bundle of VCP with Exadel's Studio Pro tool costs $899 per license. Users looking to upgrade to VCP from Studio Pro can do so for $599 per license, Katz said.

Exadel is privately funded. About 70% of the company's more than 110 employees are based in offshore operations in Moscow and Minsk, Belarus, Katz said.