Curl Announces Open Source Strategy for Enterprise Rich Internet Application Platform

October 31, 2007; 06:17 AM

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Curl®, Inc. today announced its plans to release a significant body of code for the Curl Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform to the open source community. As the first step in its open source strategy, Curl will broaden its development platform and empower the Curl developer community by establishing a common repository of open source component libraries. As a result, developers will have all of the components required to support rapid development of enterprise-class RIAs. Curl’s Open Source projects are provided under the Apache V2.0 License and hosted by SourceForge.

“Enterprise developers increasingly demand access to open source software, and this trend is even stronger with Web-based technologies such as Rich Internet Applications,” said Bert Halstead, vice president and chief architect, Curl. “It’s important to provide this community with tools and components that support the rapid development of Curl-based applications. We are excited about how this initiative can catalyze the growth of the Curl platform as well as the entire enterprise RIA industry.”

As part of its first step to support open source technology initiatives, Curl has established three open source projects, which include the following:

• Web Services Development Kit (WSDK) – This provides components enabling the development of Curl applications that make use of web services such as SOAP/WSDL and an XML document model. The WSDK was originally released in 2004. Since then, there have been several maintenance releases, the last of which was in fall 2006. With this Curl Open Source project, the WSDK becomes available under an open source license, with ongoing development transitioned to the Curl Open Source project.
• Curl Data Kit (CDK) – This library facilitates data-centric application development in Curl. It features support for client-side SQLite databases, which is the same standard supported by Adobe AIR and Google Gears. Using the CDK library, a Curl application can store and retrieve data using SQLite and is an important foundation for Curl occasionally connected computing (OCC) applications. This project was under active development by Curl engineering and solutions teams, and has transitioned to a Curl Open Source project.
• Curl Development Utilities (CDU) – This provides functions supporting application development, including unit testing and project development. CDU aims to establish a foundation for good practices, by consolidating techniques used in existing projects, as these infrastructural components are used by both the WSDK and CDK projects.

Curl’s Rich Internet Application platform is available in base and pro versions. The base versions of each are free and offer a real alternative to developers creating web applications that require rich interactive interfaces. The pro versions enhance the base versions with additional security, performance and maintainability features for enterprise class applications.

“The demand for RIA technologies has really taken off within the enterprise, and we anticipate the continued contributions by technology providers in this space to further expedite their broad adoption,” said Brad Shimmin, principal analyst, application infrastructure with Current Analysis. “These types of initiatives showcase a true commitment to the open source developer community and will ultimately contribute to the long-term success of RIA initiatives.”

As part of its continued commitment to the Curl development community, Curl plans to create additional Open Source projects in the future. For up-to-date information on the Curl Open Source strategy, please visit the Curl Developer Center, a forum for valuable educational resources and links to an extended community of Curl developers.

Multimedia: Curltech flickr page, Curltech photobucket page

Technorati Tags: Curl, RIA, Rich Internet Application, Enterprise 2.0, Open Source, Open Source Software

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About Curl, Inc.

Curl provides a Rich Internet Application platform for building and deploying Web-based applications that demand complex, highly interactive interfaces previously only possible as client-server applications. Using Curl, developers can implement a new class of complex, business-critical, Web-based applications that cannot easily be developed with Ajax or other smart client technologies. Curl allows corporations with legacy client-server applications to move to Web-based delivery, increasing reach and reducing cost. Founded in 1998, Curl is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumisho Computer Systems. Curl has over 300 customers and 40 partners world-wide. For more information visit http://www.curl.com.