“Creating and deploying e-business applications that leverage
open-source technologies can be a new but worthwhile experience for
corporate developers. Linux isn’t the only thing coming from the
open-source community; there are business applications, development
tools, databases, and more. You’ll still need to purchase support
for these products and orient your staff to a new way of thinking
about software. But it is a cost-effective solution for corporate
application frameworks that closely rival commercial software
products.”
“Lutris Technologies’ Enhydra is already the No. 1
open-source application server and is also making a push into the
commercial space. The company has provided developers with a rich
set of tools that rivals competitors such as BEA’s WebLogic and
IBM’s WebSphere. Enhydra’s Version 3.0, standard edition gives
developers a rich set of tools for server-based Java applications,
including such facilities as databases, load balancing, DHTML, XML,
and WML (Wireless Markup Language). The product comprises the
Enhyrda Multiserver, Enhydra Director, a broad assortment of APIs
and services, and Presentation, Session and Database Managers.”
“Enterprise and professional versions of Enhydra will be
released later this year; the enterprise version, expected to be
priced at less than $1,000, will meet the needs of higher-end
settings that require J2EE support. Until then, bear in mind that
the commercial version may not include up-to-the-minute releases of
its components (although they’re always downloadable from
www.enhydra.org). The controlled, certified release, an approach
pioneered by commercial Linux vendors, makes support and
development assistance services possible.”