ZK

ZK is the most proven Ajax + Mobile framework available, designed to maximize an enterprise’s operational efficiency and minimize development time and cost


With groundbreaking Direct RIA architecture, ZK simplifies and hastens the creation, deployment and maintenance of rich Internet applications


With direct UI implementation, developing web applications is as straightforward and intuitive as programming desktop applications. By directly communicating with database and enterprise resources, developers have no need to worry about exposure of client side business logic and business data in transit



The benefits of using ZK to enrich enterprise web applications are numerous:


 Rich user experience: Leverage off-the-shelf Ajax components and versatile RIA features to create a responsive and engaging user experience maximizing user satisfaction and work efficiency

  • Over 200 off-the-shelf state-of-art XUL/HTML-complaint Ajax components
  • Numerous third party widgets: JFreeChart, JasperReports, Google Maps, FCKeditor, Timeline, Timeplot, ExtJS, Dojo etc.
  • CSS-based skinning, template-based looks and customizable behavior
  • Drag-and-drop, animation, context menus, and so on
  • Bookmark management and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) supported

 Direct RIA: ZK boosts developer’s productivity by allowing direct implementation and manipulation of user interfaces, databases and enterprise resources.

  • With direct programming, developing Web applications is as straightforward and intuitive as programming desktop applications
  • Displaying data client side is accomplished automatically by transparent and on-demand synchronization between client and server

 Open Source: ZK is the leading open source Ajax + Mobile framework. The ZK developer community is extremely active with over 20 translations, 100 articles/blogs, 100,000 lines of codes, 1,200,000 downloads from 190+ countries.


 Standards-based: ZK is a standard-compliant solution.

  • With XUL and HTML compliant components, ZK protects enterprise applications from behind-closed-doors and proprietary technologies
  • ZK also complies with JSP, JSF, Portlet and Java EE technologies, including the ability to integrate with existing enterprise environments and Java IDEs

    • Please click here for a complete list of supported platforms.

 Markup and scripting Languages: ZK applications can be built using pure Java, markup and/or scripting languages.

  • With XUL/XHTML, designing rich UIs is as simple as authoring HTML pages
  • With Java, Groovy and various other scripting languages supported, developing applications is as rapid as prototyping
  • With annotations and data-binding, accessing database and backend resources can be accomplished effortlessly without writing Java code
  • With Web Accessibility compliance, enterprise applications can be easily be made accessible to people with disabilities

 Direct Push: ZK provides exceptionally robust and intuitive Direct Push technology enabling spontaneous updates sent by the server to Ajax browsers and mobile devices. With ZK’s Direct Push technology, responsive and dynamic enterprise solutions can be created at minimal cost. The technology is also based on strict standards and therefore supports all kinds of application servers and browsers.


 Extensibility and Customizability: ZK is fully customizable and extensible with a modular plug-and-play architecture.

  • With CSS, templates and macro components, the look and behavior of components can be changed dramatically without modifying the application
  • With a pluggable UI factory, each user can have a custom UI loaded from a database or other resource
  • With pluggable variable resolvers and data binding, access to enterprise resources can be achieved automatically
  • With a pluggable performance monitor, the performance of a ZK application can be measured easily; not only the processing time but the communication time aswell

 Security: ZK is designed from the ground up to be secure. ZK protects enterprise applications from cross-site scripting, malicious JavaScript/SQL injection, exposure of client-side business logic, and exposure of business data in transit.

 Scalability, Clustering and Failover: ZK supports high scalability and availability with serializable user interfaces and a pluggable failover manager. ZK is also compatible with the clustering and load balancing support found in modern application servers.


 Mobile Access: ZK extends the reach of enterprise Internet applications to 1 billion mobile devices with minimal cost. ZK supports Java Mobile, Android, and various mobile browsers.


 Enterprise Support: ZK technical support is designed to save development time and enable enterprises to achieve the highest level of user experience, productivity, and performance. Some of our supported customers include Sun Microsystems, Swiss Re, Unisys and MMC, just to name a select few.



ZK has many options which can be employed depending on your requirements, including lightweight and full featured packages. For more information, please visit the ZK Edition page.






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