Macromedia is set to announce a new version of Director on Monday, the company"s multimedia authoring tool.
Director is one of Macromedia"s oldest applications, dating back to the days when multimedia content was mainly distributed on CD-ROMs rather than over the Internet. Key markets for the software include companies building custom educational and training software and developers creating simple games and other animation for Macromedia"s Shockwave player.
The new Director MX 2004 adds support for the JavaScript language, intended to make the applications more accessible to developers unfamiliar with Macromedia"s Lingo format. The move mirrors the recent release of a version of Macromedia"s Flash developer tools modified to mimic the way Java developers work. "We"re enabling people to script using an industry-standard scripting language," said Miriam Geller, director of product management for Macromedia. "The addition of JavaScript now makes Director accessible to a lot of people who may not have wanted to take the time to learn a new language."