PORTLAND, OR — February 2, 1999 ¾ Zat, Inc., a provider of standards-based visual development environments and authoring tools, today announced a preview release of the first authoring tool for Internet applications that enables development of both server- and client-side applications by non-programmers. Called Spin, the new product leverages the simplicity of the JavaBeans architecture and a revolutionary authoring technology to make it possible for professionals such as web designers and businesspeople to create interactive, distributed applications for Ecommerce, intranets, entertainment, and education.

Spin is the first authoring tool to use Java as a scripting language, combining the ease-of-use of an authoring system with the power and flexibility of a full programming system. Non-programmers can create custom JavaBeans components without programming and integrate them into distributed applications. Programmers have the full power of the Java language available to them to develop specialized applications.

The use of open standards such as Java and the JavaBeans component architecture allows Spin to overcome the limitations imposed by other authoring tools. These tools typically use a proprietary scripting language, resulting in non-portable applications, and offer few mechanisms to extend and adapt their capabilities. The complexity of CORBA and ActiveX/COM, the other component architectures, limits their use almost exclusively to programmers.

Spin’s intuitive authoring architecture is optimized for developing distributed applications for the Internet. Users work with components, called "actors," and define "behaviors" for the actors. An actor is an arbitrary JavaBeans component; for example, a cartoon character, and a "behavior" might define how high that character jumps.

Actors and their behaviors are contained in "capsules," higher-level objects that contain one or more components. Capsules, which can also contain other capsules, break a large project into smaller modules, easing both development and maintenance.

Spin provides an interactive editing mode for the client side of an application. This allows users to see immediately the effect of an editing change in an application, rather than switching back and forth between "edit" and "run" modes. On the server side, users can set breakpoints and single-step through an application, a first for an authoring tool. Spin is also the first Internet application authoring system to include an integrated web application server, making it much easier to author and debug the server side.

Spin is a completely standards-based, open-system. Applications developed with Spin are cross-platform, and portable to any operating system running the Java Virtual Machine, including Win95, WinNT, Macintosh, and major variants of UNIX. Spin also offers complete access to the entire universe of JavaBeans being produced by third party developers.

Spin Developer Preview Release is priced at $495 and is available immediately in limited quantities. Purchasers of the preview release will receive a free upgrade to Spin Version 1.0, available in late summer, 1999. The estimated retail price of Spin 1.0 is $1,495. Multi-user licenses for Spin are also available. The product supports Win95, WinNT, and Macintosh as development platforms. Applications developed with Spin can be deployed on any operating system that includes a Java Virtual Machine.

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