Salesforce.com to Debut New SAAS Development Platform

The goal, according to the company, is to build a Java-like community around its Apex language.

It aint AppExchange 2.0. It's Apex 1.0.

And it very much has the potential to change the way on-demand applications are built and deployed.

Salesforce.com will announce Apex, a new Java-based application development language and platform on Oct. 9 at its annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.

The company has essentially taken its internal development environment—Java, PL/SQL—used to build Salesforce.com's suite of on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) applications, and unleashed it on the world as a multi-tenant programming language.

The intent: To build an ecosystem of literally millions of developers who utilize Apex to build all different types of Software as a Service-based applications—all utilizing Salesforce tools and environment.

"This will be the Java of on demand in what it's going to enable in scope, reach and depth," said Kendall Collins, vice president of product marketing at Salesforce.com, in San Francisco.

Read the full story on eWeek: Salesforce.com to Debut New SAAS Development Platform