Cut The Complexity

Compuware Corp.'s recently released OptimalJ 3.1 is designed with speedy development in mind. The tool frees programmers from having to code the infrastructure of a Java application.

Building the infrastructure of applications, which supports the business logic, can be time-consuming and complex. It involves tasks such as invoking various network interfaces, accessing databases, and establishing links to other applications. OptimalJ uses a modeling front end to diagram the application in the industry-standard Unified Modeling Language.

"The tool allows you on a single canvas to create and define complex business data models," says Richard Seegmiller, CIO at Micro-News Network, a developer of emergency alerting and notification applications for companies and an early user of OptimalJ 3.1.

OptimalJ then generates Java code for the infrastructure, which can account for up to 80% of an application. The OptimalJ code generator analyzes the model to invoke best practices for building the app, Seegmiller says. Best practices are documented on a Sun Microsystems Web site for Java developers.

Web-site design company Enlighten appreciates that the generated code adheres to industry standards, chief technology officer Rod Smith says. Enlighten used OptimalJ in place of its previous tool for Java development, Borland Corp.'s JBuilder, to build a revamped product-display Web site for window-blinds supplier Hunter Douglas N.V. It was the first site that Enlighten built with Java 2 Enterprise Edition, Smith says, and OptimalJ helped reduce the complexity of the project.