IndicThreads >> Hi Marc. Welcome to IndicThreads. Could you introduce yourself to our readers ?

Marc Domenig >> I'm one of the 18 guys who founded Canoo. Sporting the grayest temples, I’m serving as the CEO. We are a bunch of engineers who claim to understand something about object-oriented software: hence the name of the company. For the past seven years, we have focused entirely on Java-based consulting services and products.

"We have focused entirely on Java-based consulting services and products..."

IndicThreads >> Could you tell us about Canoo's products in the rich internet applications (RIA) for Java space?

Marc Domenig >> Our flagship product is UltraLightClient (ULC). This is a Java library that enables using Swing in a server-side web architecture. As a result you get Swing Rich UIs for web applications that run on the server. The UI is rendered in a Presentation Engine that is independent of individual applications, and can execute both as an Applet in a browser, or on the desktop.

"UltraLightClient (ULC) is a Java library that enables using Swing in a server-side web architecture..."

Supplementing the ULC base product, we offer a point-and-click visual editor and a load testing tool.

IndicThreads >> How would you compare a Swing based web front end approach to the traditional JSP/JSF with HTML/Javascript one?

Marc Domenig >> Swing and ULC offer all the capabilities required for a full-fledged desktop UI while JSP/JSF and HTML/Javascript are limited by the browser. Therefore, Swing/ULC is better for applications that are used on a daily basis by experts, who need keyboard navigation, multiple windows, or other sophisticated UI functions. JSP/JSF is better for applications that are used occasionally or only once, i.e. where unconditional end-user access via browser is the most important requirement.

"A Swing/ULC web front end is cheaper to develop and maintain..."

Technically, there are significant differences: the Swing/ULC approach leads to a pervasive Java design while traditional web technology results in a mixture of Java, Javascript, HTML, JSP, JSF, XSLT, XML languages, and more. Taming this latter mixture of technology gets pretty difficult for larger applications. So there is a cost aspect as well: a Swing/ULC web front end is cheaper to develop and maintain whenever an application needs more than a truly basic UI.

IndicThreads >> ULC is an unconventional mix of Swing with Web Applications and Canoo refers to it as "Beyond Ajax". Could you elaborate on "Beyond Ajax"?

Marc Domenig >> Swing has 8 years of development behind it. Today, its UI components leave nothing to be desired while Ajax libraries are in their infancy. For this reason alone, ULC’s functionality and reliability go way beyond that of any Ajax library.

"Swing UI components leave nothing to be desired while Ajax libraries are in their infancy..."

But there is more: both Swing and ULC have traveled down the path of standardization for 8 years: Swing is clearly an industrial standard today that is established and mature. ULC has evolved from a proprietary framework to a lean add-on library for Swing and J2EE. Ajax is at the very beginning of that road. Anyone deciding for an Ajax library today will have to write numerous UI components her-/himself, and will have to live with a rapid evolution of the library. Moreover, there is a high risk that the library will be eliminated from the market because the shakeout has only just begun. So "beyond Ajax“ also means that anyone who chooses Swing combined with ULC starts beyond the evolutionary point of Ajax.