XDEV

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
XDEV
Basic data

developer XDEV Software Corp.
Current  version 5.0
(August 1, 2016)
operating system cross-platform
programming language Java
category IDE
License Subscription
http://www.xdev-software.de/xdevide/

XDEV is a visual Java - development environment for fast and easy application development (RAD - Rapid Application Development ). The IDE is basically comparable to Visual Studio LightSwitch , but designed for Java development. XDEV differs from other Java IDEs such as Eclipse or NetBeans , which focus on programming, through a far-reaching RAD concept. The main components of the IDE are a Swing - GUI builder that XDEV-Application- Framework as well as drag-and-drop tools, and wizard with which the functions can be integrated of the framework.

The XDEV-IDE was license-free up to and including version 4 and is available for Windows , Linux and macOS , from version 5 the additional modules previously licensed in a proprietary manner are included in the IDE and the license of the entire product has been switched to a paid subscription model. The XDEV Application Framework, which represents the core of the RAD concept of XDEV and is part of every XDEV application, was released as open source in 2008 .

philosophy

The goal of XDEV is to make Java development just as easy as application development with 4GL tools such as Microsoft Access , FoxPro or Oracle Forms . XDEV remains completely open to Java. All RAD features are available as open source. Functions that you miss in the RAD concept or want to use differently can be rewritten or implemented in Java yourself . This means that the transition from drag and drop to conventional Java programming is fluid. Java concepts and APIs can be integrated. This means that everything that is possible with Java can be implemented with XDEV.

GUI builder

The XDEV GUI builder works like a graphics or DTP program. The basis is Java Swing . Graphic interfaces (GUIs) can be designed using drag and drop. Java knowledge is not necessary for this, so that the GUI development can also be done by designers without programming knowledge. Forms and master-detail views can be generated automatically. Dealing with Swing layout managers is easy with the help of an assistant and can be done without programming. You can write your own GUI beans and integrate external beans via a JavaBeans interface. Localization can be implemented with the help of language resource files and text variables in the GUI builder. Also events to register a click. The Java source text is generated in real time and should also be able to be edited, expanded and then processed again by the GUI builder in later versions (GUI development bidirectional ).

XDEV Application Framework

The XDEV Application Framework is the core of every application developed with XDEV. It provides a basic architecture and infrastructure for graphic Swing interfaces and database applications and facilitates many tasks that every Java programmer usually has to take care of himself, including: a. JDBC and SQL programming, transaction management , data encryption, protection against SQL injection , connection pooling , processing of query results (result sets), lazy loading, data binding and data validation . With version 4, the framework provides a concept for automated data record locking . In addition, the framework offers numerous classes and methods that simplify access to databases, files, main memory, interfaces, external applications and web services. The source text of the framework is fully disclosed in the XDEV source text editor and from version 3 is under the LGPL .

Source editor

Under the RAD hood, XDEV has a Java source text editor. The range of functions includes a .:

Deployment

The IDE offers an automated deployment based on Apache Ant . This means that projects can be completed with a click of the mouse from one and the same code base as:

Integrated database

With HSQLDB (up to version 2), H2 and SQLite (from version 4), the development environment provides relational open source databases that can be linked to XDEV applications and delivered free of license fees. The IDE offers a table import for all RDBMS . Databases and relations can be modeled and persisted directly in XDEV .

Versions

XDEV 1.0
was presented for the first time at CeBIT in 2006 at the Java manufacturer Sun Microsystems . This early version was a completely proprietary 4GL solution that only allowed the development of rich Internet applications based on Java applets. The main features were an already comfortable GUI builder based on Java AWT , as well as the Java-like scripting language XDEV Object Script.
XDEV 2.0
was announced on Java One and followed shortly thereafter with improvements, e.g. B. by converting the GUI builder to Swing, the possibility of integrating any Java classes, support of OOP , deployment for Java applications and Java Webstart, source code export etc. At the beginning of 2008 the XDEV application framework was released as open source. With Xamba there was a simplified version, which was discontinued with the appearance of XDEV 3.
XDEV 3.0
With the aim of achieving a smooth transition between RAD and conventional Java programming, the decision was made in 2009 to completely rewrite XDEV as a “real” Java IDE. The XDEV Object Script scripting language is thus completely eliminated in XDEV. Instead, the IDE now provides a professional Java source text editor that can be compared with Eclipse. After a development period of more than three years, version 3.0 was released on September 9, 2011 together with the XDEV Application Framework 3.0 as the final release .
XDEV 3.1
With the first update for version 3, the XDEV Component Suite was introduced in February 2012 as the first extension for XDEV IDE. The suite comprises a total of over a hundred GUI components. The fifteen most important components can be integrated into the GUI builder, including a. a multi-sortable table, group table, quick filter, paging, a GUI docking framework and a calendar template.
XDEV 3.2
The update includes a new Javabean integration with which the IDE now implements the Javabean standard, a global search, an integration for FindBugs , a completely redesigned ER designer, an assistant for internationalization and other database interfaces. With this version, the source text of all database interfaces flows into the open source XDEV Application Framework.
XDEV 4.0
Version 4 was presented in September 2013 at Oracle OpenWorld and released on December 18, 2013. A concept for automated data record locking prevents a data record from being overwritten or deleted that is being processed by another user at the same time. With lazy loading, a client only loads the number of data records that can be displayed on the interface, while the remaining data is only reloaded when required. With the simultaneous introduction of XDEV BI Suite ( Business Intelligence ), a paid extension that provides IDE next chart components and a Gantt chart - module links to the reporting solution JasperReports available as well as a wizard for exporting data .
XDEV 5.0
One of the biggest innovations in version 5 is the data binding for stored procedures . The development environment enables the import of existing stored procedures and the direct connection to components of the surface. Conversely, data changed by users is also returned to stored procedures that take care of persistence. The concept enables the creation of the business logic in query languages ​​such as PL / SQL and the associated outsourcing in a database. In particular, the migration from 4GL solutions to Java is greatly simplified and accelerated because with XDEV 5, the entire application logic is retained in the database and the porting effort to the front end to be renewed is reduced. Another new feature is a browser component for integrating any web content. A JavaFX container extends the Swing component palette with JavaFX elements and enables the thread-safe execution of JavaFX applications within a Swing application. The license model was changed from freeware to a subscription model. The XDEV Component Suite, which was previously only available as a chargeable add-on, and the XDEV BI Suite have been firmly integrated and expanded to include 28 new Look and Feels . The XDEV Application Framework remains under the LGPL open source license.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Download XDEV
  2. ↑ Heise Developer: Component Suite for XDEV 3 . February 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ Web & Mobile Developer: XDEV 3: Developing Java interfaces using drag & drop . 4th March 2013.
  4. ↑ Golem.de : Xdev-Java-Framework as open source . May 14, 2008.
  5. ↑ XDEV Application Framework on the official website
  6. ↑ Golem.de : Java development environment XDEV 2 released . November 27, 2009.

Web links