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11/13/2007
Software AG recently unveiled Natural for AJAX, a variant of Software AG's Natural 2006 programming language. Natural 2006 is typically used at the enterprise level for transactional systems running on mainframes.
Natural for AJAX helps developers create AJAX-based rich Internet applications and user interfaces and promises faster Web application development.
Development is aided by drag-and-drop creation of complex applications and user interfaces without having to hand-code the project. Resulting applications can achieve the look and feel of Web 2.0 applications through the use of a library of more than 50 Web graphical user interface controls, according to an announcement issued by the company.
Other features include ready-made context menus, modeling and code generation, and support for service-oriented architectures. Natural for AJAX also is compatible with the open source Eclipse Java development environment and .NET development tools.
"What Natural for AJAX offers is a comparatively simple means for allowing users to fully engage with an extremely powerful transactional processing environment," stated Joe Gentry, senior vice president and chief technology officer for the Enterprise Transaction System business division of Software AG, in a press release.
AJAX is a technology designed to improve user experiences with Web applications by constantly retrieving data from the server without having to reload the entire document. Like server-side applications, AJAX does not require any plug-ins, runtime environments, or any software on the client side other than a normal browser to work.
Will Kraft is a Web designer, technical consultant, and freelance writer. His website is Pagewizard Web Design. You can contact Will at will@pagewizardwebdesign.com.
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The College of Southern Nevada (CSN), a community college in Las Vegas with 41,000 students, has adopted the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) to support its online course offerings. In Spring 2008 CSN began evaluating alternatives to WebCT, which it currently runs, and made the decision to adopt Angel in the fall. In January 2009, CSN's 865 sections of online enrollment will be delivered using the Angel LMS.
Toshiba has introduced a new USB docking station that incorporates DisplayLink--a technology that allows computers to connect to projectors and other types of displays through USB 2.0.
Mitsubishi has begun shipping a new LCD-based SXGA+ projector aimed at higher education, specifically medical schools. The new MH2850U, according to Mitsubishi, is "specially engineered for projecting DICOM simulation images for use in medical education and training."
Last month, ActiveState released Komodo IDE 5.0, the company's latest integrated development environment (IDE). Komodo supports multiple programming and markup languages, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, Java, Python, C++ and more. It does not support some .NET languages at present, such as ASP/ASP.NET, C# and VB.NET.
IBM last week announced consulting services specifically designed to help organizations assess their options in using cloud computing technology. "Cloud computing" is a much argued term, but it typically refers to solutions delivered over the Internet, rather than via customer premises-installed software.
Hollins University, among other higher ed institutions in Virginia, has implemented Omnilert's e2Campus emergency notification system (ENS) just ahead of a state-mandated deadline requiring them at every public institution of higher education by Jan. 1. Hollins itself isn't a public campus, but wished to implement an ENS before the end of the year, the school said in a company statement.