web application development toolkit

How does Rivendell save development time?

Rather than having to write all the necessary code to create a database driven website, Rivendell automates up to 80% of the work required.

Rivendell uses the information provided in an XML 'recipe' to set-up and manage all database tables and administration screens.

As a web developer you control this 'recipe' file, so adding further functionality or making changes to functionality, is as simple as adjusting the recipe and output templates and notify Rivendell to regenerate all the database tables, code and administration screens.

Jobs that took hours now take minutes.

How does Rivendell save money?

When developing database driven websites, you typically have two choices:

1. Develop the systems from scratch
2. Buy an off the shelf system

Option 1 provides exactly what you want, but is often very expensive and time consuming to develop and support in both the short and long run.

Options 2 is often quicker, but you will have to fit into whatever the existing systems provide. This means that you typically have to buy a system that does a lot more than you need, in order to cover all the things you do need. Alternatively you choose a cheaper system and do without some of the things you need. In both cases you waste money.

With Rivendell you get exactly what you need, pay only for what you use and benefit from the reliability and lower costs of 'standard' software.

How flexible are the modules?

Think of Rivendell modules as quick build kits. Rather than building modules from scratch, you can use these kits to create exactly what you want, very quickly.

To modify a module to your exact needs, simply adjust the XML and JSP components to your exact requirements.

Customising a module can take as little as a few minutes.

How much does Rivendell cost?

The monthly rental fees are based on the number of fields your site uses and the edition of Rivendell you require. There are 3 editions of Rivendell; Standard, Professional and Enterprise. Their respective monthly rental fees per field used are £1, £3 and £5

Discounts apply to more than 100 fields

For further details on what is included in each edition go to PRICING OPTIONS

Is Rivendell open source?

Rivendell is based on many open source components such as Java, XML and JSP. The way these have been combined into a set of tools that reduce development time by up to 80% is proprietary and therefore not in the public domain.

In the unlikely event that netXtra were to cease trading, the source code would be made public and open to all on a royalty free basis.

We intend to develop Rivendell further and hope to foster a large community of people who use and share in the success of Rivendell. Funding for this development comes from Rivendell rental fees.

What is Rivendell?

Rivendell is a collection of tools and components that enable web builders to create database driven websites without programming or database expertise.

Rivendell is written in Java (J2EE). This ensures robustness, scalability and breadth of support. Java servlets control all backend systems; JSP pages provide front-end flexibility and an XML configuration or ‘recipe’ file enables web builders to easily customise existing attributes and behaviours or create new modules.

Data is stored in SQL databases. Hypersonic, PostgresSQL, MicrosoftSQL, MySQL and Oracle are currently supported.

Who is behind Rivendell?

netXtra, the company that owns Rivendell, has developed over 200 database driven websites so far. From the pain and experience of developing this type of website profitably and cost effectively, Rivendell was born.

netXtra was founded in 1995 with the purpose of developing tools to make the Internet easier to use. We are proud to be a British, self-funded, profitable and IPP accredited company.

To find out more about netXtra visit their website at: http://www.netxtra.net/