Servoy is a development and deployment platform for enterprise applications, written itself in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

, and which uses

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...

as its scripting language. It can adopt the native look and feel of any platform or the web, using

HTML5 HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and final major HTML version that is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML ...

and

CSS code In quantum error correction, CSS codes, named after their inventors, Robert Calderbank, Peter Shor and Andrew Steane, are a special type of stabilizer code constructed from classical codes with some special properties. An example of a CSS code ...

. Servoy was created from the start to make enterprise business application development easy. It has introduced many innovations for that purpose: the use of JavaScript instead of Java, a comprehensive development framework with building blocks that are added through drag and drop, a web client, etc. Servoy was inspired by

4GL A fourth-generation programming language (4GL) is any computer programming language that belongs to a class of languages envisioned as an advancement upon third-generation programming languages (3GL). Each of the programming language generations ai ...

s in terms of how applications are developed but unlike many 4GLs, it does not use proprietary languages and/or databases, being based instead on open standards. Servoy consists of a

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

designer, is

event-driven Event driven may refer to: The term event-driven refers to a methodology that focuses on events and event dependencies. Examples include * Event-driven finite-state machine, finite-state machine where the transition from one state to another i ...

and runs

scripts Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

through

. Servoy allows applications to be deployed on a native Smart client (

Rich client In computer networking, a rich client (also called heavy, fat or thick client) is a computer (a "client" in client–server network architecture) that typically provides rich functionality independent of the central server. This kind of computer w ...

) and on a pure

HTML The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScri ...

Web client A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...

from the same

codebase In software development, a codebase (or code base) is a collection of source code used to build a particular software system, application, or software component. Typically, a codebase includes only human-written source code files; thus, a codeb ...

and user interface forms. Servoy offers a free community edition for non-commercial use, which can be downloaded from the company's website. Servoy applications can be deployed on all popular operating systems including

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

Solaris Solaris may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...

and other

UNIX Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

systems. eWeek and MacUser Magazine gave Servoy a 4 mouse rating. Applications developed with Servoy can access data from all popular SQL back-ends such as

PostgreSQL PostgreSQL (, ), also known as Postgres, is a free and open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance. It was originally named POSTGRES, referring to its origins as a successor to the In ...

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications—which ma ...

IBM Db2 Db2 is a family of data management products, including database servers, developed by IBM. It initially supported the relational model, but was extended to support object–relational features and non-relational structures like JSON a ...

IBM Informix IBM Informix is a product family within IBM's Information Management division that is centered on several relational database management system (RDBMS) offerings. The Informix products were originally developed by Informix Corporation, whose I ...

Sybase Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software and services company. The company produced software to manage and analyze information in relational databases, with facilities located in California and Massachusetts. Sybase was acquired by SAP in 2010; ...

, MySQL and

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various sp ...

, and combine data from different databases into a single user interface. The Servoy suite of products consists of: * The Servoy Developer and ServoyCloud, used to build applications by creating user interface forms and connecting their elements to JavaScript code. This is done within the Eclipse IDE (integrated development environment.) * The Servoy Application Server, used to deploy the application and to communicate with a connected database * The Servoy NG (browser), Desktop and Mobile Client which run on the end user's device (workstations, computers, tablets or smartphones) Servoy also offers a runtime version that allows the creation of standalone Servoy applications. The Servoy Application Server includes the Servoy Headless Client. This client allows other applications to execute Servoy business rules including using them as a web service. The headless client also allows batch processing and scheduled tasks. Servoy has a partnering network of about 200 companies—the Servoy Alliance Network (SAN)—that offer Servoy development, Servoy components (

Beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

and plugins), consulting or hosting services.

History of Servoy

Servoy is the brainchild of Jan Aleman and Jan Blok, who met while studying computer science. Application development was hard and they wanted to change that. The cofounders started development in 1997 and recruited a few earlier adopters as clients. Servoy, B.V. was established in 2001 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to commercialize the new product. Two years later, Servoy, Inc. opened in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, currently locating in Westlake Village, Los Angeles,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2006, sales started to grow exponentially. Having outgrown its initial

replacement roots, Servoy started to serve ISVs (Independent Software Vendors). It soon became a tool for ISVs to quickly rewrite for the Internet with full

Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, and ...

functionality (

RIA A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a Drainage system (geomorphology)#Dendritic dr ...

AJAX Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

data broadcasting Datacasting (data broadcasting) is the broadcasting of data over a wide area via radio waves. It most often refers to supplemental information sent by television stations along with digital terrestrial television (DTT), but may also be applied ...

, etc.) Servoy 4.0 was released during the summer of 2006 with a move from Servoy's proprietary-based IDE to

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

. Tech analysts and tech journalists took great interest in the Servoy 4.0 release, resulting in a slew of articles and mentions (see below). Since Servoy 5, the developer and client code has been available under both an AGPL and commercial license. In 2022 Servoy introduced the Titanium edition, a major upgrade from the NG Client. The company hosts an annual developer conference called ServoyWorld, where new versions are introduced, an overview of the current product roadmap is provided, and expert reports about advanced development topics are presented.

References

External links

Servoy
{{Integrated development environments Integrated development environments Eclipse (software) Classic Mac OS software MacOS programming tools Programming tools for Windows Software using the GNU AGPL license