Sencha, Provider of HTML5 development for desktop and mobile apps, has announced the general availability of Sencha GXT 3.1, claiming that it is the only enterprise-class UI framework in the industry for building rich, Web-based apps with Java.

Moreover, the new version features a new Theme Builder tool and support for Google (News – Alert) Web Toolkit (GWT) 2.6. It is expected that developers will benefit from these features, as they will now be able to create apps using optimized HTML5 and JavaScript that are compatible across legacy and modern browsers.

Company officials said that developers will see a significant improvement in app design, development and deployment.

With Theme Builder, there is no need to manually theme each app. Also, there are over 300 configuration properties available for developers to pick from to create and save their configuration files. Company official said that this can generate a theme at the framework level that can be reused for all apps.

Moreover, the new Neptune Theme is available for developers who prefer to use a template. Company officials said that the Neptune Theme is generated entirely within the Theme Builder, without custom HTML, CSS (News – Alert), images or Java.

Since Theme Builder is capable of generating appearances that can be used across both modern and legacy browsers, it can streamline browser compatibility. Plus, Theme Builder generates images of those features in place of modern CSS and HTML if a browser does not support certain features.

Additionally, this latest version of GXT offers new support for the Google Web Toolkit (GWT) 2.6, which enables developers to write their applications in Java, and then compile their code into cross-browser HTML5 and JavaScript.

Company officials said that its new offering is fully interoperable with GWT 2.6, and features such as widgets, feature-rich templates and advanced charting enhance its capabilities.

“Today’s application developers must balance a wide range of visual and compatibility factors when designing apps,” said Jeff Hartley, Sencha vice president of Products and Services, adding that with GXT 3.1, they no longer have to sacrifice one for the other—they can create “visually compelling apps” that work across modern and legacy platforms.

Logic9s has used Sencha GXT to build its app, ClearFactr. Dean Zarras, president and CEO at Logic9s, said that they were able to take their years of large-scale app dev experience and transition to a scalable, Web-centric platform in a very short time.

“With Sencha GXT 3.1, we’ll use the new Theme Builder to develop a custom theme that matches our branding. We’re also eager to use the Grid Widget enhancements, such as multi-line cells, which combined with the existing first-rate rendering and navigation speed provide our users with a great experience,” Zarras said.

GXT 3.1, which was earlier released in a public beta format, is now available under both open source and commercial license options.