Webtide Eases Implementation of Web 2.0 Applications with New Product Release

November 27, 2007; 05:35 AM

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Webtide, the main developers of leading open source HTTP server and Java web container, Jetty, today announced the release of Hightide, a comprehensive toolset for the development of scalable Web 2.0 applications.

Available at www.webtide.com/downloads.jsp, Hightide is a versioned distribution of Jetty with bundled messaging and transaction features to enhance communication and interoperability with clients at the web tier.

Jetty is an open-source, standards-based, full-featured but lightweight web server that is implemented entirely in Java. In Hightide, Jetty is integrated with other Java-based applications including the Apache ActiveMQ message broker and the Atomikos XA transaction manager to form a web platform that meets web developers’ needs while providing enhanced application deployment. The release is enterprise-ready, and is fully supported by Webtide.

Hightide reduces costs compared to a commercial application server; because of its lightweight nature it requires less hardware resources to run, and is both simple to run and highly flexible. Due to the range of services available to developers that work with Jetty, and its inherent open source economics, it also requires less development time to deploy compared to developing in raw Java and therefore provides a higher return on investment (ROI).

Key features of Hightide include:

• Access to Webtide's premium services including developer advice to speed deployment, architectural reviews to maximize scalability, production support from expertise covering millions of users, and fixes to released versions for as long as desired into the future.
• Jetty 6 scalable HTTP server, servlet container and Ajax support, patched with performance enhancements available with a targeted distribution
• JettyPlus JNDI framework and JEE services
• Atomikos XA transaction manager
• Apache ActiveMQ with AJAX support configured and integrated into the XA transaction manager
• MySQL configuration
• Web services integration.
• JEE5 annotations.

Stefan Arentz, system architect for Polar Rose which has deployed Hightide in its web environment said, "There are multiple reasons for our participation in the Hightide development: Hightide currently provides the industry's best cometd support, which we use uses to get real-time feedback in our Firefox extension. Hightide also integrates many standard Java technologies in a simple lean and mean package which removes the need for the more traditional fat application servers that we would otherwise use. Finally, as Hightide integrates so well in the development process and corresponding tools it has allowed us to be significantly more agile in implementing new functionality to our rather complex solution".

Polar Rose provides a search engine built for online facial recognition. Utilizing 3D models, its spiders index the web for faces that it recognizes. Users can search and find images of a person simply by typing their name. An extension allows its users to collaboratively determine who someone is by tagging the names of people in images that the Polar Rose icon appears on.

Adam Lieber, CEO of Webtide said, “Our new product, Hightide, continues the trend of smaller, cheaper, faster Java, as opposed to a full and heavy Java application server. Hightide strips away large deployment sizes, memory footprints and processor requirements. It lets developers use what they actually want, with the facilities they want, and it is portable too.”

Snapshots of Hightide will be supported without organizations being forced to upgrade unless they are ready to do so, and Webtide’s expert Jetty developers offer development advice and production support to commercial users. As Jetty continues to be updated with new features and versions, Hightide will provide its users with the ability to add relevant new features to their Hightide installation.

About Webtide

Webtide is a global company that specializes in supporting and serving scalable Web 2.0 applications using Java, Ajax, and Comet. The company is the lead developer of the open source Jetty:// Java web server.

Webtide engineers are core developers or contributors to Dojo Cometd, Apache Geronimo, Glassfish, Maven, ActiveMQ, Cargo, Agila, ServiceMix, Jetspeed, WADI, and a host of other open source projects. Webtide offers its worldwide clientele development and production support, development, and training. More information on Webtide products and services is available at www.webtide.com