"General Interface provides a framework for deploying applications that look, feel and perform like desktop software but run purely in a browser," Hakman said.

With the no-cost deployment option for the Professional release, Tibco can lure developers interested in AJAX who might otherwise seek a free, open source alternative, said analyst Ray Valdes of Gartner.

"What's happening with AJAX itself is it's catching on like wildfire at the grassroots," Valdes said. 

Previously, Tibco offered just the General Interface Enterprise Edition, which started in price at $25,000 and features a warranty, indemnity,and support. These benefits are lacking in the Professional edition.

A key new feature in General Interface 3.1 is visual tooling for drag-and-drop binding of XML messages, for forming of objects for the GUI, data,and JavaScript. This saves developers from having to write scripts for this purpose.