Historically, JADE began as a redesign of the ADDS framework, DataCanvas. When I first started working at NCAR, I was working with Paddy McCarthy, Arnaud Dumont and Aaron Brae ckel on the ADDS applets that used this DataCanvas library. There were several cases where we had new requirements for the library, and we found that it was difficult to customize an d extend even in simple cases such as modifying rendering styles. As a result, I decided that we needed a new and improved framework - one that was easy to extend, customize and configure, and one that could be leveraged across projects. With funds from FAA and Division M anagement, I began designing JADE (with the help of all involved) in October, 2002.
The core of JADE provides a set of classes that can be easily pieced together to create customized visualization applications. The JADE API currently consist s of over 650 classes that have been designed with an emphasis on the "-ilities": modular ity, flexibility, extensibility and configurability. Because of this modular design approach, the API has been used to create customized visualization applications for severa l projects within RAP - ATEC, DTRA, DARPA, ADDS, WSDDM, Icing and the UAE.
Please see the JADE Project Description document for more detailed information.