Backbase has released a free Community Edition of Backbase, which enables web developers to create Rich Internet Applications (RIA) with common web technologies such as HTML, CSS and XML. RIAs are web applications that are delivered over the Internet, but create a much richer user experience, more like a desktop application.

The Community Edition is a client-only version of the full Backbase RIA software and contains:

• Backbase Presentation Client (BPC): an robust JavaScript (AJAX) engine, which sits in the webbrowser and transforms the browser from a page-viewing program into a rich presentation & interaction environment. The BPC renders the user interface and communicates with the server in XML format. The engine does not require a plug-in or user-install.
• Rich User Interface declaration language (BXML): an XML-based markup language which provides tags (in namespaces) that enable HTML developers to declare highly interactive Rich Internet Applications and manage the data-exchange between the server and client.
  BXML extends (X)HTML, anyone with (X)HTML skills can quickly and easily augment existing (X)HTML code with BXML code.
• Developer resources: such as documentation, sample applications and plug-ins for Eclipse, Visual Studio and Dreamweaver.

The software can installed on any web server: just copy the Backbase files to the right directory. You can use any server-side programming language.

Very very impressive. Very hot online demos. Not all of them work in FireFox, but what's left is already worth a lot.

I think you have a very impressive suite of Javascript features.
However, the Community Edition is much too restrictive to be of any real use to anyone developing software for a living, which really makes this more of a plug for the commercial version than truly offering something to the "community" (whatever that is).

I think the backbase homepage itself is a prime example of overdoing it with ajax. Of course it is my own perception, but I find it a horrible user experience. If I wouldn't be a developer and wouldn't be infected by the ajax hype I guess I would never browse that site again.

With regards to usability, xmlhttp and other flashy javascript gimmicks behave somewhat like oil in a motor: you don't wanna go too lean for obvious reasons, but you don't wanna drown it either.

Awesome. This is really good. Even the code seems simple. DHTML/AJAX/JavaScript Taken to next level.
Great Work!!!!.