Visual WebGui Releases the First Empty Client Platform at PDC2008
The new Empty Client Platform works with Microsoft ASP.NET to provide the highest level of security and a framework that simplifies and reduces development cycles by up to 90%
Tel Aviv, Israel —October 27, 2008 —Gizmox, the developer of the Visual WebGui open source platform, today announced a new development and deployment concept known as Empty Client. As of now, the only options for developers looking to create rich, interactive line of business applications or migrate their legacy desktop applications to the Web has been to adopt the traditional "Thick" or "Thin" client approach with or without AJAX as an enhancing technology. Each of these choices meant designing the application in a multi-tier architecture using multiple languages and technologies. Migrating legacy desktop to the Web meant rewriting the application using Web-oriented technologies and development patterns that consist of the same downsides. On top of this, the end user had to have a platform-specific viewer installed on their terminal. When using current frameworks the development and deployment cycles were lengthy and costly, filled with compromises and limited access. Gizmox’s, Visual WebGui Empty Client allows, for the first time, support of developments and deployments of complex line of business applications with unprecedented simplicity, bullet-proof security and unlimited complexities, all at a dramatically reduced cost. Visual WebGui Empty Client applications can run on desktop or in Web environments using the same source code, and can be viewed from any standard browser.
The Empty Client approach means the entire application flow, User Interface (UI) logic and validations are developed and processed on the server while the browser serves as a “display” for the output and a “receptor” for user input. As with "Thin" client's server-based computing, most of the processing is done on the server. The term Empty Client was adopted to describe and differentiate the paradigm, because unlike most “Thin Clients”, that require installation (Citrix for example), Visual WebGui doesn’t. With Visual WebGui server state "screens" simply reflect to the client. As with the "Thin Client" approach, the client also captures user input and reflects the incremental changes back to the client all over a unique and highly optimized communication channel within standard HTTP/XML. In the case of Visual WebGui there is no need to consider the “screen” as a purely graphical representation of the application, but rather a series of related components which change according to the application logic.
"The Visual WebGui Empty Client avoids all the pitfalls of thick and thin client approaches." said Navot Peled, CEO of Gizmox. "WebGui is coupled with multiple alternative presentation layers including: DHTML, Microsoft’s Silverlight, , Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). These multiple presentation choices serve multiple usage scenarios such as organizational Web applications like CRM, ERP, BPM or customer facing applications like financial, insurance and many more.. We receive thousands of responses from users of our Empty Client platform daily and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Visual WebGui users are reporting decreased development time by up to 90% and an unbreachable level of security."
“Microsoft’s .NET Framework, Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight technologies and Gizmox’s Visual WebGui Empty Client platform offer several benefits to users, including the opportunity to rapidly develop Web-like desktop applications, reduce development time, and increase efficiency and application security,” said Brian Goldfarb, Director of the Developer Platform and Tools team at Microsoft Corp. Gizmox released Visual WebGui in early 2008 and is poised to move into the cloud computing market. Since its release there have been over 250,000 downloads of Visual WebGui’s DHTML version. Visual WebGui is a 'Web like Desktop' open source platform that offers Rapid Application Development (RAD) Framework for line of business Microsoft AJAX & Silverlight applications. Visual WebGui cuts down development time (proven up to 90%) without compromising on extensibility, scalability, performance, security or complexity.
About Gizmox
Gizmox, the developer of Visual WebGui open source platform and a member of Microsoft's Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program, was founded in July 2007. Gizmox enables Web like desktop platforms; its DHTML SDK has been downloaded by over 250,000 individuals and software houses with more than 25,000 active community members. More then 25,000 VWG applications have been built, and are in production at enterprises such as SAP, Israel Aerospace Industry, 3 out of 4 Israeli leading banks, 4 out of 6 leading Israeli insurance companies, government offices, multi-national companies such as Trysis, NetworkD, Net Size, American File Net, Phoenix insurance company, Blue Phoenix and many more, Canadian government, Texas Instrument and many more. The company is funded by Venture Capital and private investors. Professor Arie Scope, founder and Chairman of the Board, is also the founder of Microsoft's Israel subsidiary and its former General Manager and Chairman for 16 years.
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for the original PR click here for technical information please read the 'Empty Client' White Paper