Cirquet Meets .Net

Improv Technologies' Cirquet Solution Suite 1.0 is one distributed Web services platform with the features and architecture to challenge Microsoft's .Net, according to the CRN Test Center.

The suite is a complete, dynamic development-deployment-management platform for rapid realtime implementation of fault-tolerant Java components.

Using the Cirquet API, developers wrap components to turn them into lightweight Web services applications. Code is generated automatically, so developers can concentrate on business logic and component connections. Each component state can be maintained whether the component has been instantiated or swapped from an application.

Cirquet applications can be upgraded dynamically without interrupting end users. In addition, the architecture allows integrators to build applications using an incremental pricing scheme according to customers' needs. Cirquet also insulates developers from network- and device-dependent coding, significantly reducing the expertise required to create complex applications.

With Cirquet, code is generated automatically so developers can concentrate on business logic, component connections.

Cirquet uses Web services as part of its messaging architecture to manage all component interactions. By comparison, .Net only uses Web services to exchange information with applications. Microsoft also maintains .Net Web services as part of its client/server suite. Many Java application server vendors use a similar approach.

Because components use URL references for location, the Cirquet directory service can distribute them anywhere on the network or replicate them on any server, client or device, regardless of the platform. Applications can be reassembled on any requesting device even if the components reside in different locations. Though distributed, .Net components are platform-dependent and therefore static on the network. They lack the flexibility of Cirquet Web services applications.

Next year, Improv plans to move to a two-tier distribution model. Meanwhile, the company is pursuing partnerships with software vendors that offer legacy connectors. From now until June, Improv is offering a $40,000 10-developer seat license with one week of consulting, training for 20 developers and one-year standard support.

PRODUCT SNAPSHOT
> NAME: Cirquet Solution Suite (includes CDEPro and COCent)
> PRICE: CDEPro $1,000 per seat; COCent $1,500 per management console
> DISTRIBUTORS/INTEGRATORS: Sells direct to integrators
> COMPANY: Improv Technologies, New York
(212) 725-4590
www.improv-tech.com