The application creates and renders graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Java Swing and Eclipse Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT) based on a descriptive XML document. IBM Reflexive User Interface Builder is a specification for a mark-up language in which to describe GUIs; and an engine for creating and, rendering them.

The application can be used as a stand-alone application for testing and evaluating basic GUI layout and functionality, or it can be used as a library within the context of a Java application for creating and rendering GUIs for that application.

IBM released the GUI rendering tool last July. It was designed to improve application developed by making coding of GUI's in Java easier and less error prone. Using RIB, developers can test and evaluate basic GUI layout and functionality, or to create and render GUIs for an application.

Before, hand coding was the only method that could be used. Using a markup language to specify GUIs provides another means of validating properties illustrating the relations between components.

Version 1.1 expands application development, in the process making Eclipse a more attractive platform. Moreover, more-sophisticated GUIs consisting of several panes in a javax.swing can be created.