Infragistics Rolls New .NET Tools

Infragistics, which makes presentation layer development tools for Microsoft Windows Forms, ASP.NET, COM and Java platforms, has launched its first release of NetAdvantage for 2004, including tools that are compliant with section 508 of federal disabilities laws.

The company said Volume 1 release of NetAdvantage 2004 is geared so that developers can use the tools to build applications that are compliant with section 508 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The act requires that federal agencies make sure electronic information is presented in such a way that it is accessible to people with disabilities.

In addition, Infragistics said its latest release of NetAdvantage takes advantage of new Windows Forms and ASP.NET elements and signals a major upgrade to the .NET product line for the toolsets. Windows Forms is an application, built around classes in the Microsoft .NET Framework class library’s System.WinForms namespace, which gives developers the ability to write graphical user interface applications that create windows, process user input.

Other new features for various Windows forms and ASP.NET tools include the ability to replicate applications with the look and feel of Outlook 2003, said Dean Guida, CEO of Infragistics. In addition, the tools cover similar look and feel for Windows Forms explorer bar and scheduling elements.

The idea is to liberate .NET development teams from taking extended amounts of time to design sophisticated Microsoft Windows-style user interfaces and now “allows them to concentrate on the core business logic of their projects,” Guida told internetnews.com.

Other new features in the latest NetAdvantage tools for Windows Forms are grid features and enhancements, same for toolbars in Windows Forms, a similar look to Outlook 2003 with the Windows Forms schedule tool and new chart types with Windows Forms charting.

In ASP.NET, the sub-framework of Microsoft’s .NET managed code platform, the NetAdvantage tools feature new elements in data input, new features and enhancements for ASP.NET grid, new chart types and new features in the ASP.NET tree.

Subscribers to East Windsor, N.J.-based Infragistics’ NetAdvantage tools receive all source code for Windows Forms and ASP.net designers and elements. In addition, the products’ ASP.NET elements deliver thin client deployment with rich client interfaces.

“One thing we heard from developers and project managers was that people wanted this thin client capability,” Guida said. The product is also sold on a per developer basis (with multiple installs for non-concurrent use). No runtime of server deployment charges.