Runtime Revolution Ltd. has released its first full beta version of Revolution 2.0. The new version, now available for download from the Web site, works on Mac OS X, Mac OS and Windows so far.
Revolution is a rapid application development environment suitable for developing a wide variety of software that runs cross-platform and can be distributed royalty-free. Features of Revolution include an integrated development environment (IDE), visual user-interface builder, object-based programming model, and much more.
New features coming in Revolution 2.0 include an XML library for creating and parsing XML documents; point-and-click access to SQL databases; video capture to a window or to disk; text-to-speech; more extensive support for drag-and-drop; Unicode text support; new report generation and a redesigned user interface.
Runtime Revolution Ltd. says the new beta release is feature-complete, but cautions early adopters that as a beta release, bugs in this version should be expected. It’s suitable for intermediate or advanced users in its current state, so if you’re just getting started, you may be better off waiting for a later build than this (visit the Web site for more information on the current Revolution release, too).
Runtime Revolution Ltd. is also offering some specials concurrent with the beta test version’s release. Users can catch a break on renewing their Professional Edition license if they buy now; get free printed documentation on some versions and more. The deals will expire when Revolution 2.0 goes Gold Master.