REAL Software is using the Macworld Expo to premiere REALbasic 2008, the latest version of its multi-platform development environment. It uses an object-oriented programming language, a cross-platform object framework, and a compiler that produces native executables for each operating system. The 2008 edition adds introspection -- the ability to identify objects, what they "know," and what they can be used for. Through this feature users can serialize object storage, use remote method invocation for data sharing, and use data binding to keep consistency when values are altered.

The software's creators add that it should further introduce some 39 "minor improvements," and two new language features. Release 1 of REALbasic 2008 is expected to become available for download in February; the current Mac client costs a minimum of $100, and requires Mac OS X 10.3, 1GB of RAM and a 1GHz G4 processor.