"The arrival of solid development tools makes AJAX ready for the mainstream market," said Mark Driver, Research VP at Gartner, today as Backbase, a leading vendor of Ajax software, released version 3.1.1 of the Backbase AJAX Development Framework.

"AJAX is a relatively new technology which - up to now - has primarily been implemented by early adopters," Driver added.

"We believe that the Backbase software makes AJAX accessible for all professional application developers," said Jouk Pleiter (pictured), CEO of Backbase. This new version of the Backbase AJAX Development Framework, he said, solves many problems typically associated with AJAX Rich Internet development.

"The goal is to make AJAX projects feasible for all professional developers, including those who are new to it," Jouk continued. "The amount of standard functionality in the Backbase AJAX Framework is unrivaled, and will significantly reduce the development time of any AJAX project."

The new Backbase version 3.1.1 contains additional user interface controls such as data grid and live grid controls, a system skin that adapts itself to the look and feel of the operating system, and improved real-time debugging tools, Jouk noted.

This comes in addition to existing functionality, he said, such as full XPath 2.0 and XSLT support, generic drag & drop and resizing features, keyboard navigation and back/forward button support.

"With this feature set," Jouk contends, "Backbase is one of the most complete AJAX development packages currently available on the market."

Typical challenges in custom AJAX development, he said, are browser incompatibilities, client-server integration and lack of pre-build user interface components. He continued:

"Also, developers have indicated a need for solid tools, such as debuggers. Backbase addresses these challenges by offering a zero install AJAX engine that shields developers from the complexities of the different web browsers. In addition, it provides blueprints for client-server integration and it contains over 50 ready-to-go user interface components. The Backbase development framework also offers advanced development tools that run within the browser itself."