BEA Offers Free Extensibility Software For WebLogic Workshop 8.1

Along with the kit, BEA unveiled a program that--along with offering ISVs co-marketing opportunities such as joint press releases, trade-show activities and introduction to customer accounts--enables ISVs to validate that controls intended to link their software to WebLogic Workshop work correctly, said Dave Kotter, director of WebLogic developer product marketing at BEA, San Jose, Calif.

The controls, primary components of WebLogic Workshop, integrate back-end enterprise resources, such as databases or mainframe systems, with server-side Java applications. Kotter said they work similarly to how controls in Microsoft Visual Basic provide links to the user interface.

ISVs and solution providers can download the EDK for free from BEA's dev2dev developer site and sign up for the program on BEA's company Web site. The validation of controls ISVs build for WebLogic will take place over the next 30 days, Kotter said.

Solution providers also can sign up for the program, but Kotter said they likely will be more interested in using the EDK to extend WebLogic for specific integration projects they are working on rather than in signing up to validate software through the program.

The EDK provides documentation, sample code and testing for the creation of custom controls or other extensions that integrate and operate with WebLogic Workshop.

WebLogic Workshop is the tools component of BEA WebLogic Platform 8.1, released in late July. The software suite also includes an application server, portal and integration server.