Emphasizing its strategy of providing developers with everything they need to build RIAs, Adobe Systems has decided to line up its Web design and developer tools under its Flash brand.

The decision also includes Abode's Monday-scheduled release of its code for an environment to coalesce design and development, plus code and a key re-branding for its subsequent Flash and AIR RIA tool. As per the company announcement, its Flash Catalyst is available as a public beta, accompanied by beta code for Flex Builder 4.0 - the new edition of the company's Eclipse-based IDE.

Earlier code-named Thermo, the Flash Catalyst is a new tool that would look at bridging the gap between designers and developers in such a way that a noteworthy Internet application as envisaged by a designer gets the best possible opportunity of being developed in that specific way on the back end.

About Abode's re-branding of its FlexBuilder as FlashBuilder, the group's marketing manager, David Gruber, clarified during a recent meeting in New York that the move was aimed at lessening some confusion developers had about the software. Gruber further added that the re-branding will help accentuate the substance of the Flash brand and technology.

Gruber said: "We're up-leveling the Flash brand and ... trying to get this out in front of people early so people can see what we're doing."