JackBe next Monday is releasing an upgrade to its JackBe NQ (Nimble and Quick) Suite development environment for building AJAX-based rich Web client applications.

Version 4.0 of NQ Suite adds drag-and-drop functionality and more objects, according to the company. JavaScript and HTTPRequest functionality in the package enables users to upgrade quickly and enhance existing Web applications or create new applications, JackBe said.

The product can be used for developing transactional applications such as Web banking, trading, or retail systems.

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript plus XML) differs from other Web-based development paradigms in that pages are built on the client and only the data is refreshed when necessary. "You get client-serverlike behavior on a standard Web browser without using any plug-ins," said Luis Derechin, CEO of JackBe.

JackBe with its product is responding to a demand for more AJAX tools, said Jesse James Garrett, who coined the term, AJAX, and is director of user experience strategy at the Adaptive Path consulting firm.

"I think we"re going to see a lot more activity in commercial vendors moving into the AJAX space," Garrett said. AJAX developers have "essentially been rolling their own systems to do this stuff," he added.

"AJAX makes it possible for Web applications to offer a level of richness and responsiveness that has been previously out of reach," Garrett said.

Licenses for JackBe NQ Suite 4.0 start at US$50,000.