Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Appcelerator enables iPhone, Android app dev

news
Jun 8, 20092 mins

Mobile capabilities added to the open source Titanium platform, which also offers desktop and Web functionality

Web developers can tackle Apple iPhone and Google Android application-building on a single development platform with the pending release of the open source Appcelerator Titanium platform.

Titanium supports development for mobile, desktop, and Web applications, The same application built for one platform can run on the others.  A preview release from late last year covered development of only Web and desktop applications while a beta release Monday adds mobile development capabilities for iPhone and Android.

[ Related: Appcelerator heads to the desktop. ]

Available in under the Apache Public License v2, the beta release  enables developers to use skills in JavaScript, HTML and CSS to build native applications without having to know Objective-C or Java, Appcelerator said. General availability of Titanium is planned for later this summer.

“Consumers are devouring mobile applications as fast as developers can create them, but the real mobile tidal wave will hit when millions of Web developers are able to write mobile applications without having to learn a new programming language,” said Jeff Haynie, CEO of Appcelerator, in a statement released by the company.

Applications developed on Titanium perform as native applications with native UI components, code compilation, and access to a device’s storage, multimedia, input, and geo-location APIs. Other development technologies supported by Titanium include Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and third-party AJAX libraries for Mac OS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iPhone.

Applications built on Titanium can be tested and distributed through the Appcelerator Network, featuring cloud-based services for commercializing Titanium applications. While Titanium will remain free of charge, Appcelerator plans to monetize the product by offering cloud-based analytical and testing capabilities.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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