Product Reviews

Java is a programming language that is used to, among other things, add extra functionality and better graphics to web pages than is possible with HTML, the basic building block of web sites.

Java itself is freely distributed by Sun Microsystems, but using it in its 'raw' form isn't easy. As well as learning the language, there are tricky commands to get to grips with.

Visual CafÚ for Java provides a much friendlier interface for developing programs. The

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interface is divided up into a series of windows - the Project window for an overview of your program, the Applet Viewer for previewing your efforts and a Form Designer for customising the way that the user enters data into your application.

The emphasis is on drag-and-drop, and if you just want to add enhancements to a web page, you can often use one of the many predefined applets. Things like scrolling text and animated icons are easy, without needing any actual programming. Once you get more ambitious, the Source Window lets you modify and create actual code.

For creating web pages, this package also includes Visual Page, a fully-featured HTML editor. This is as good as most commercial editors, and much better than the shareware packages that can be found on the web.

Obviously, Java programming isn't something that appeals to all, and starting from scratch is pretty daunting. Visual CafÚ's low price and ease of use mean it's a great place to start, though. Even if you only use a fraction of CafÚ's features, it's money well spent.