Altio, Inc., is about to announce the preview edition of AltioLive 3.0, a presentation server platform for "rich client" Web applications. In addition to its current architecture, this release provides a Web service adapter capable of providing real-time synchronization, as well as an improved IDE, to an intelligent front-end client.

In what looks like an X-Windows server in a browser, the AltioLive platform offers a desktop application environment complete with most of the GUI elements missing from browser-based Web applications, including drag-and-drop and other desktop controls. It's designed for those applications that demand a more complex and interactive interface, including real-time updates of data-oriented controls. In fact, the Altio Presentation Server (APS) engine and associated architecture are a precursor to the next generation of Web applications, providing a higher degree of user interactivity and ease of use while retaining the deployment costs typical of browser-based applications. The platform consists of the APS; a set of client modules (for Windows GUI, WAP, and other clients); and the AltioLive Development Edition (ADE) integrated development environment.

The client side of the platform is data driven and resides on the browser as a 200K Java applet. The AltioLive applet runs out of the box across any browser and any Internet-enabled device, including cell phones, TVs, and PDAs. The GUI environment was very responsive and using it was similar to the experience of navigating through the X-Windows desktop environment on a Linux or Solaris workstation. I had to keep reminding myself that all of this was running inside a Web browser.

The APS is servlet based and runs in most of the leading application servers on the market, including WebLogic, WebSphere, and Sun ONE. It also works standalone using a Tomcat application server provided with the installation package.

For those of us nostalgic about rapid client/server application development using tools such as PowerBuilder, AltioLive has a surprise. The ADE console contains a window painter, scripting utility, and test environment akin to PowerBuilder or Visual Basic IDE software. Surprisingly, the ADE itself is an AltioLive application and, therefore, executes within a Web browser.

With this release, you can rapidly create application views (GUI) for a specific Web service given nothing more than the URL of the Web service WSDL. You can easily integrate Web service operations into an application with only a few event property settings. The APS provides real-time data synchronization to open client sessions and will monitor or poll data sources for any updates. It will then make the appropriate updates to the client application. All communication and programming of the client is XML data driven and fits within Web service-related architectures.

The client part of the platform is compatible with most browsers capable of running Java applets and, since it is not sensitive to HTML browser incompatibility problems, it can run on some of the older Netscape and Microsoft browser releases.

Although having a full "desktop-like" environment is not a replacement for today's HTML-based applications, it addresses the needs of applications that require a more sophisticated and interactive user interface. One example would be a stock-trading application that packs a lot of real-time updated information on to a trading desk screen (see Figure 1).

AltioLive is a hybrid of sorts, combining the best aspects of the Web (HTTP SOAP) with the strength and flexibility of a "Windows-like" fat and intelligent client. It's a change from the current Web architecture, in which the browser spends a good percentage of its time rendering HTML while the server makes the business flow decisions. In fact, some analysts see a trend toward more processing performed on the client side as the next wave in Internet technology. This presentation technology provides interesting possibilities when coupled with emerging Web service standards.

Licensing
Entry-level licensing starts at under $1,000 and a special developer license is available. The preview edition with a limited trial license can be downloaded from the Altio Web site at www.altio.com. General availability of AltioLive 3.0 is slated for 4Q 2002.

Author Bio
Joe Mitchko is the product review editor for Web Services Journal. joe@sys-con.com