Build rock-hard apps

Vignette has introduced Application Builder 4.0, which is said to have been designed to empower the business user and increase the speed at which portal applications can be developed and deployed. The company adds that the new software enables organizations to graphically create, integrate and deliver custom composite Web applications.

Vignette says 4.0 assembles component views into unified portal applications that cut across enterprise resources, providing integrated views of application data to the appropriate users. As a result, the company claims, application deployment and ownership costs decrease while an organization’s ability to support users’ changing information needs increases. Application data that might be leveraged includes Web services, database applications, content repositories, and ERP and CRM systems.

Application Builder 4.0 integrates with Vignette Application Portal to leverage single sign-on, delegated administration, personalization, presentation, security and reusability. Capabilities include:

a code-free view builder to allow application designers to drag-and-drop controls such as labels, fields, columns, buttons and links in their browser;

support for composite Web applications, providing a mechanism for combining and relating distinct data sources to create a more efficient user interaction ;

flexible integration with existing data;

application templates using prepackaged applications that provide a starting point for application development; and

an application navigation map provides a graphical representation of the navigation that is defined for a particular application.