Java Technology in Action

Since the initial 1989 introduction of CorelDRAW, the company's flagship graphics program, Corel Corporation has become a leader in graphics and multimedia software. Fueled by a farsighted strategic vision, Corel has also evolved into one of the world's largest independent vendor of personal productivity applications. In a continual effort to enhance these productivity offerings and anticipate future customer needs, Corel stays on top of the changing technology scene - which is what led the company to Sun Microsystems' advanced Java computing platform.

Recognizing a broad use for the Java platform - well beyond the early flood of Web-page applets - Corel quickly made plans for creating full-fledged business applications based on the platform. The company is currently in the process of developing a complete suite of office productivity tools written in Java. Corel Office for Java^TM recently debuted to much fanfare, the prototype includes a word processor, spreadsheet and extensive business graphics capabilities.

Industrial-strength functionality

Corel Office for Java is the first such office suite written entirely in Java, taking advantage of the platform's robust, reliable, industrial-strength functionality. Java's object orientation, in particular, speeds the development process, allowing Corel engineers to build the application with reusable objects, and then extend it, adding more features and functions with ease.

Corel developers also benefit from Java's similarity to the C++ programming language. According to Corel Technology Evangelist Chris Biber, Most programmers familiar with C++ learn Java in a matter of days: Java has quickly become a viable alternative platform to C++.

Unifying heterogeneous environments

Biber points to the cross-platform capabilities of Java as integral to the entire Corel undertaking. Corporations with mixed platform requirements are looking for a unifying suite of office productivity applications, available on all platforms, with a strong server basis, Biber says. Java's strengths in this area are a big reason Corel opted to reengineer their existing office suite on the Java platform.

Truly portable

Simply put, the advent of Java means that a single version of software easily can be deployed on any Java capable platform. Compiled from source code, Java's intermediate architecture-neutral bytecode is designed to transport the application efficiently to various hardware and software platforms, each with its own specific Java interpreter and runtime environment. The net result is a truly portable application suite, with minimal human intervention required.

In addition, Java's platform independence and architecture neutrality enable Corel to improve the efficiency of its software development operations by orders of magnitude. "By going with Java, we've made our software upgrades and maintenance much easier than ever before," Biber says. Maintaining a single version of source code saves both time and money, and reduces the likelihood of introducing errors into the process. It's also a plus for Corel customers, who can dramatically decrease the burden on their own MIS departments as a result.

Welcome to the future

A whole new marketplace will emerge for cross-platform applications, especially given the rise of the network-centric computing model and all it implies. With it will come new opportunities for software distribution: we envision software subscription; downloading components as needed; and/or paying on a per-use basis. Obviously the Java platform is what makes this all possible. - Chris Biber Technology Evangelist Corel Corporation

The intranet opportunity

Corel is eyeing the growing corporate intranet trend with interest. The Java based Corel Office for Java is an ideal candidate for intranet deployment, in Biber's opinion. One reason for that is its compact size: the prototype application weighs in at a streamlined 620 kilobytes.

Another reason is the ability to distribute Corel Office for Java over any local or wide-area network, instantly. The application is transparently downloaded - on demand -- to the user's system from the central server where it resides. By combining centralized control with distributed operation in this way, users always have access to the most up-to-date version of the application. In a corporate setting, this can be particularly advantageous: because all Corel Office for Java users are synchronized on identical software versions, this means that all documents are readable and editable across all platforms. These features are essential to make effective workgroup computing an achievable reality, according to Biber.

Corel also anticipates that, as Internet bandwidth increases across the board, Corel Office for Java will find a home on the Net. With the rise of the network computer and thin clients, highly modular, distributed Java applications like Corel Office for Java will become the logical choice for thousands of users who are plugged into the Web. As the only office suite in this market to date, Corel Office for Java is well out in front of the field, thanks to Java.

Modular and extensible

Corel Office for Java's modular Java based architecture is ideal for this purpose, because users can pick and choose the features they require and simply download those on the fly. This is a dramatic improvement over the multi-megabyte business applications available today, sometimes dubbed bloatware because they demand large chunks of available hard disk storage, as well as undermine local system operation.

Again, the Java platform's object orientation enables R&D to freely extend Corel Office for Java's functionality as needed. This fits well with Corel's longer term plan to produce Corel Office versions that are customized for specific vertical markets, such as the financial services industry. Due to the extensible nature of the suite, we can add or subtract functionality to tailor it for various verticals, Biber explains.

Not just for applets anymore

Biber lauds Java's robustness and reliability, saying Java is certainly capable of being used for the development of complete office applications, not just little applets. He expects that Corel Office for Java will attain 80 percent of the current Corel Office performance, with the added benefit of cross-platform capability -- which counts for a great deal in a world where heterogeneous network environments dominate.

Corel's Internet strategy: leveraging Java

Sun's Java platform represents a cornerstone in Corel's Internet strategy. As a leading developer of office productivity, graphics and publishing tools, Corel is ideally positioned to leverage this exciting new technology and take full advantage of Java's capabilities. Dr. Michael C.J. Cowpland Chairman, President & CEO Corel Corporation

Java Powered Web publishing for everyone

Corel is also busy applying the Java platform to the Internet publishing process. With a new Web publishing engine called Barista now integrated into Corel's WordPerfect 7 and Ventura 7, users quickly can transform existing documents and images into Web-ready Java files -- without any programming required. Every WordPerfect 7 and Ventura 7 user is now automatically a Web publisher, with complete control over the look and feel of their material. "Java's unprecedented cross-platform support and distributed architecture make all of this possible, says Chris Biber. Basically, Java has changed all the rules."