Macromedia Combo
To that end, Macromedia this week plans to introduce ColdFusion MX, a new version of its Web development platform built on Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), Allaire said. The vendor also expects to unveil Dreamweaver MX, the rapid application development version of its Web authoring tool, and Macromedia Studio MX, which combines MX versions of its Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, ColdFusion and Freehand 10 products under an integrated development environment.
The new offerings are the result of 18 months of work to combine products from Macromedia and Allaire Corp., which Macromedia acquired in January 2001.
"It really is the realization of the vision of the merger and has the potential to be transformative for end users on the Internet," Allaire said.
ColdFusion MX is based on the J2EE-compatible JRun application server from the Allaire Corp. portfolio. To support open standards, Macromedia plans to offer a stand-alone version of ColdFusion MX that works with other J2EE-compatible application servers, Allaire said. Macromedia intends to offer a version of JRun that's compatible with J2EE 1.3, the latest J2EE specification.
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CTO Allaire said the MX line stems from macromedia's acquistion of Allaire Corp.
The new MX products will enable a broader range of developers to build server-based Java applications across any J2EE-compatible application server, without knowing Java, and then deploy them via the Flash player, Allaire said.
Nick Caruso, marketing director at AcuteDesigns, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based Web solutions firm that beta-tested the MX line, said it hasn't typically been easy to deploy reliable Flash content.
"Macromedia really got a bad stigma with Flash for the 'skip intros,' " Caruso said, referring to home pages that let visitors skip the Flash intro if it takes too long to download. "The Flash application development environment was not designed for a developer; it was designed for a designer."
The MX products simplify Flash application deployment because developers can integrate Flash with back-end applications and Java- or Microsoft .Net-based Web services more easily, Caruso said. "You can access Web services from .Net or ColdFusion MX with the Flash MX client," he said. "Macromedia is encouraging people to use ColdFusion on the server side, but if you need to integrate with .Net, that's very easy to do."
Dreamweaver MX, priced at $399, and Macromedia Studio MX, priced at $799, are slated to ship next month, with ColdFusion MX due to follow in June, Allaire said. The enterprise edition of ColdFusion MX will be priced at $4,999 per server.