Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source application development tools

Did you notice there’s a lot going on with JavaScript? Node.js continues to pop up in more and more places, and then there’s the explosion of JavaScript frameworks on the client side. Many of these client-side frameworks are aimed at making Web development more like “real” application development, while others tackle the challenges posed by mobile devices. Still others bring 3D and sophisticated data visualizations to the browser (without plug-ins!).

But JavaScript wasn’t the only programming language to have a good year. Among our 30 winners, there are plenty of tools here for those who build real real applications. 

The Web design framework that took the world by storm just keeps on taking the world by storm, with both its legacy 2.3.2 version and its bold new 3.0 format. Used in conjunction with jQuery, Bootstrap can deliver great-looking, mobile-ready, highly responsive websites. Some folks still grumble about how marking up a site for Bootstrap makes it difficult to use anything but Bootstrap afterward, but such is the price we pay for all sorts of useful frameworks, from Joomla to Django. The advantages we gain in return guarantee Bootstrap a central place in the design language of the Web.

— Serdar Yegulalp

If you’re a Web designer, CSS is useful. If you’re a programmer, CSS is agony, with no variables, no functions, no native way to do many things that require JavaScript. It was only a matter of time before someone created a library to do all that, and many people have, but one of the most commonly used and powerful is LESS. Implemented in JavaScript, LESS is already a cornerstone of many other front-end frameworks (such as Bootstrap), and the results compile themselves down to native CSS.

— Serdar Yegulalp

Enyo was short lived as the application framework for webOS and HP’s ill-fated TouchPad tablet, but signs point to a longer and more prosperous career in cross-platform Web development. Enyo 2 is an object-oriented JavaScript framework that can be used to build HTML5/CSS apps that run in desktop and mobile browsers.

Enyo uses component-driven UIs and encapsulation to improve code reuse and simplify code maintenance. You’ll find flexible layout components for views and transitions, and the Onyx UI toolkit offers up the standard palette of sliders, pickers, and progress bars. With a minified size of about 25K, Enyo packs some good capability in a lightweight package.

— James R. Borck

This is not your traditional JavaScript library. Created by developers with a Rails background, Ember.js is a model-view-controller framework geared for building scalable Web applications. Why use a client-side MVC framework? It all depends on how interactive your application needs to be. The more interactive, the more benefits you get from using the Ember.js library. This winner gives a real boost to JavaScript development.

— Indika Kotakadeniya

Emscripten is a compiler that turns C++ into a highly optimizable subset of JavaScript called asm.js. Developed by Mozilla in conjunction with the game industry, Emscripten, asm.js, and an optimizing asm.js compiler for Firefox bring real-time applications to the Web. Why should you care? If you would like the ability to play games at near-native speed in a Web browser, you should care. Just check out the video clips!

— Indika Kotakadeniya

Notepad++ is one of those utilities that makes you wonder how so much functionality can be available for free. Although you might think there’s nothing more to add, this free Windows tool continues to receive regular updates. Notepad ++ provides syntax coloring and formatting for a wide range of languages. You can record keystrokes with the macro recorder and play them back to automate a series of instructions. Built-in tools include the ability to remove blank lines from text files and to tidy HTML code.

— Paul Ferrill

A comprehensive Java security framework that is very easy to understand? It’s not a contradiction. Apache Shiro handles authentication, authorization, enterprise session management, and cryptography. Shiro offers a wide variety of options while also avoiding complexities by providing a clean and intuitive API.

— Michael Scarlett

Scala describes itself as where “object-oriented meets functional.” On top of being OO, Scala is also a full-blown functional language. It usually runs on the Java VM, so Java and Scala classes can be freely mixed. Many frameworks including Akka, Finagle, and Play streamline the development of highly scalable and concurrent systems. If you want higher-order features that have been implemented in real-world projects but prefer not to wait for Java 8, use Scala today.

— Andrew C. Oliver

InfoWorld’s seventh annual Best of Open Source Software Awards feature more than 120 open source projects in seven categories ranging from data center and cloud to desktop and mobile. 

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source applications

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source application development tools

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source data center and cloud software

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source big data tools

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source desktop and mobile software

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source networking and security software

Bossie Awards 2013: The best open source admin tools