Battle for Open Web Standards Gains Open Source Tools

Released on: September 5, 2007, 1:48 pm

Press Release Author: ActiveState Software Inc.

Industry: Software

Press Release Summary: ActiveState is pleased to announce the creation of the Open
Komodo Project, a new initiative to create an open source platform and promote open
standards. The Open Komodo Project will support the open web and web standards, fill
a need for developer tools in the open web technology stack, and drive further
innovation for Komodo IDE and Komodo Edit.

Press Release Body: Battle for Open Web Standards Gains Open Source Tools
Open Komodo Project from ActiveState to create Firefox-integrated web developer
tools based on the award-winning Komodo IDE

Vancouver, BC, September 5, 2007-ActiveState Software Inc., a leading provider of
professional development tools, announced the creation of the Open Komodo Project, a
new initiative to create an open source platform that promotes open standards. The
Open Komodo Project will fill a need for developer tools in the open web technology
stack, furthering web innovation and freedom of choice for developers and end-users.

With the creation of the Open Komodo Project, ActiveState is joining advocates like
Mozilla in promoting the open web. The open web philosophy aims to maintain the
integrity of the web as a public space that is platform, language, and browser
neutral. Open web standards advocate user freedom and choice, encourage
decentralization and community, and ensure the viability of non-proprietary web
technologies.

Open Komodo aims to create a framework for client-side web development integrated
with Firefox®, Mozilla's free, open source web browser, and based on the
award-winning Komodo® IDE, a multi-platform, multi-language IDE for dynamic
languages and Ajax technologies. As a first step in the Open Komodo project,
ActiveState is open sourcing the browser-side capabilities of Komodo® Edit, a free
multi-language editor for dynamic languages based on Komodo® IDE.

"ActiveState has long lived by a philosophy of developer choice. We focus on dynamic
languages, but give developers the freedom to choose what tools they use in their
development process," said Shane Caraveo, Komodo Lead at ActiveState. "The open web
philosophy is an extension of our involvement in the open source community as
supporters and contributors. As strong advocates for the open web initiative, it's
essential for us to enable developers to contribute to the open web."

"The Open Komodo project is an exciting alternative for web developers seeking an
open source development environment," said Mike Shaver, Chief Evangelist at Mozilla.
"At Mozilla, we believe that open standards encourage innovation and help ensure the
continued health of the Internet. We're pleased that ActiveState is supporting the
open web."

The initial open source code for Open Komodo will be a portion of ActiveState\'s
Komodo Edit, which will form the base for the full-featured web development tool
built in collaboration with the open source community. Open Komodo will use the
Mozilla code base and feature a Scintilla-based editor for HTML, CSS, XML, and
JavaScript. The planned feature set includes JavaScript debugging, autocomplete,
syntax coloring, and syntax checking capabilities, as well as Firebug integration
and an HTTP Inspector with the goal of providing seamless debugging and editing
between Open Komodo and Firefox.

The Open Komodo development environment will be entirely open source and licensed
under the same terms as Firefox: Mozilla Public License (MPL), GNU General Public
License (GPL), and GNU Lesser Public License (LGPL).

The Open Komodo website will host Open Komodo mailing lists and blog feeds from
ActiveState, and as the project develops, feature news alerts, the development
roadmap, and the developer preview. To join the mailing list and read more about the
Open Komodo project, visit www.activestate.com/openkomodo.

About ActiveState
ActiveState creates professional development tools, language distributions, and
business solutions for dynamic languages. We focus on building JavaScript, Perl,
PHP, Python, Ruby, and Tcl technologies that just work. Our team of core language
developers produce industry-recognized, award-winning tools for developing
professional dynamic language applications. Our open source language distributions
are renowned for their quality and are relied upon by millions of developers
worldwide. ActiveState\'s business solutions offer guaranteed stability, expert
support, unparalleled quality, and cost-efficiency to organizations that rely on
open source dynamic languages. ActiveState is owned by its employees and Pender
Financial Group, a publicly traded investment company focused on technology in
British Columbia. For more information, visit www.activestate.com.

About Komodo IDE and Komodo Edit
Komodo IDE is a powerful, multi-platform, multi-language IDE for end-to-end
development of dynamic web applications. Komodo IDE makes creating robust web apps
fast and easy, with a rich feature set for client-side Ajax technologies such as
CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and XML, coupled with advanced support for dynamic languages
such as Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Tcl. Komodo IDE licenses are $295 US and a
single license covers users across Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. Learn more at
www.activestate.com/komodo_ide.
Based on the award-winning Komodo IDE, Komodo Edit is a free, feature-rich editor
for the full range of Komodo-supported dynamic languages and platforms. Learn more
at www.activestate.com/komodo_edit.

For more about the Open Komodo project, visit www.activestate.com/openkomodo

Press Contact Information

Erin Williams
erinw@activestate.com
778.786.1108

© 2007 ActiveState Software Inc.
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Web Site: http://www.activestate.com

Contact Details: Erin Williams
erinw@activestate.com
1700 - 409 Granville Street Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2
778.786.1108

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