As you probably know, Progenitor is a client-side Java application - in fact, it may be the most sophisticated one of any type commercially available. The use of Java has many significant advantages in that it enables cross-platform compatibility and allows for the implementation of very advanced features within a web-site. It, unfortunately, also has a downside.
From its inception, however, the continued maintenance and improvement of the Progenitor product has had to contend with Microsoft's lackluster support for Java and Sun's indifference to supplying an viable Java alternative suitable for individual client-side applications. In retrospect, this is not surprising. Microsoft appears very reluctant to do anything that may make Java a viable alternative to its own propietary software. Sun, a manufacturer of server hardware and software, has decided to concentrate on enterprise and server-side applications.
Java has become one of the battlefields in the anti-trust actions against Microsoft. The legal actions in this area are unresolved and progress has been stalled due to Microsoft's decision not to offer a Java capability under Windows XP. Although Microsoft has recently announced that it would again provide a native Java capability in future releases of XP, it has refused to allow downloads of patches to existing XP installations - thus insuring that many current Windows users will lack Java capability far into the future. Although a "plug-in" download is available from Sun, their version of Java is more advanced and not completely compatible with Microsoft's - and thus also incompatible with some of the Progenitor coding.
This has created a situation that, at best, will significantly inconvenience some of those accessing Progenitor-generated web sites and would require an inordinate amount of reprogramming on our part to achieve compatibility across the various versions of Java.
The current version of Progenitor was produced in December 1999, in the context of the version of Java then bundled with the browsers then available. Futher releases were to be deferred until the next generation of browsers would become available. It was assumed that Java support for these new browsers would be based on the newer versions of Java, as defined in the Sun stardard. Development work was even begun under this assumption on new modules that would introduce new capabilities into Progenitor. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to stick with the already obsolete version of Java it had been using. In addition, the incompatible Sun "plug-in" alternative was designed to be installed in an "enterprise" environment and was not well suited for individual installation on the fly. Thus, all futher development on Progenitor has remained in limbo since then.
Although the future for client-side Java does not look promising in view of the on-going legal battles between Microsoft and Sun, we are following developments in that area closely.
On a less pessimistic note, we are considering the development of a new Progenitor-like product not based on Java. Although this would abandon the goal of cross-platform compatibility, it may be the only way to achieve a competitive product of this type in today's browser environment.