Visaj 2.0

UNIX JAVA TOOL COMES TO THE MAC

By Charles Seiter

Years ago, Imperial Software Technology (IST) started out making graphical-interface-building tools for Unix-based systems. The rise of the Web meant a migration to Java-based tools, and from Java tools it was a few short programming steps to both Windows and the Mac OS. So Visaj, a graphical Java-application development tool, arrives on the Mac as a highly evolved version 2.0, benefiting from three years of Java refinement. This first Macintosh version of Visaj is remarkably stable and shows only a few traces of its Unix-then-Windows-then-Mac history.

Using Visaj, you drag elements from palettes into a visual program editor. The palettes contain most of the elements you'd want in a Java applet or application–including basic interface elements such as windows, menus, and scroll bars–as well as a standard Java Development Kit and third-party JavaBeans.

The editor window displays your project classes in a hierarchy that automatically rearranges as you add and remove elements. Event-binding takes place in a separate editing module, while images (JPEG and GIF) have their own editor.

Visaj isn't a full-bodied development environment. What's impressive about the program is that it lets you quickly create a worthwhile, good-looking Java application. Unlike more familiar development tools, such as Symantec's Visual Cafe for Java (see Reviews, May 1998) or Metrowerks' CodeWarrior Professional (see Reviews, August 1998), Visaj only generates Java code. To compile Java code, you need another tool with a full integrated development environment (IDE).

Visaj's strength is its ability to let you make usable Java code by rapidly mixing "beans and diamonds." Its drag-and-drop style lets you assemble complex programs faster than you can in CodeWarrior, and its generous assortment of proprietary classes goes beyond what's available in Visual Cafe.

Although IST traditionally maintains a vigorous upgrade schedule, Visaj 2.0 has one problem that is unlikely to be corrected soon: it's slow. The program is written in Java for its intrinsic cross-platform capability, but that design decision imposes a speed penalty that's hard to ignore. Scrolling within windows is annoyingly slow, and file handling needs to be quicker.

Macworld's Buying Advice

Paradoxically, although Visaj 2.0's performance is slow, the program's development cycle is fast, a key issue when creating applications under contract deadlines. If you work with Java professionally, you should spend at least some time stepping through the tutorial in the free trial version (available on IST's Web site) to see what acceleration Visaj can offer your own projects.

November 1998 page: 58

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