A new component of the just-released RAD Studio XE2, called FireMonkey, provides a framework for developers to make their native departmental applications look as snazzy as commercial applications.

"Most of the rich user-experience capabilities are going into non-native platforms like HTML5, Flash, and Silverlight, [which are] Web-oriented platforms more focused on media entertainment and advertising," said Michael Swindell, Embarcadero director of marketing. "We really wanted to bring rich user capabilities to native business applications."

Increasingly, people are becoming accustomed to the slick interfaces of consumer applications and services, such as Google's Gmail, leading them to the stodginess of their work applications.

FireMonkey is an attempt to bring parity to the two worlds. It includes a set of components for building more sophisticated presentations of applications, ones that go beyond the typical collection of forms and edit boxes. Using a new set of components, methods and properties, developers can work with vector graphics, animation, 3D and other imaging effects.

"Anything the GPU can do, we can apply to user interfaces," Swindell said. FireMonkey supports all major GPUs through Pixel Shader version 2, a standard for rendering images through the GPU. Applications can glow or cast shadows. Forms can bend, be rolled up or change shapes. Applications can be mapped onto 3D objects or animations. Different levels of transparency can be added to applications.