RIA development framework Qooxdoo debuts

The open source qooxdoo (pronounced  “ku:ksdu”) software development framework, which leverages object-oriented JavaScript and enables developers to build rich Internet applications, became available earlier this month in a 1.0 version, developers of the framework said.

Developers can build cross-browser applications without requiring knowledge of HTML, CSS, or DOM. Qooxdoo features a platform-independent development tool chain, a GUI toolkit, and a client-server communication layer.

[ In a similar vein as qooxdoo, Weelya this month unveiled version 1.0 of its AJAX push technology to boost Web apps. | Keep up with app dev issues and trends with InfoWorld’s Fatal Exception blog. ]

The class-based framework is based on namespaces and has been in development for almost five years. Qooxdoo is backed by a professional development team, an open source community, and Web hosting firm 1&1.

“Because we don’t mess with existing, native types we don’t have problems [integrating with] other libraries or existing user code,”  said Jens Lautenbacher, head of development technology & architecture for 1&1 in Germany, in an e-mail.

“We want to say: Because of the usage of namespaces (instead of putting all the classes and types into a flat global namespace), and because we don’t extend native types as a result of both, we make it easy to integrate with other libraries,” Lautenbacher said. 

Developers can leverage object-oriented JavaScript in a very elegant yet familiar way, according to a statement from developers of qooxdoo. Applications run on major browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome.

Also featured are a set of widgets, layout managers, and theming capabilities. The framework comes equipped with a tool chain that covers code validation, compiling, linking, compression, and optimization

Download options for qooxdoo are available. It is offered under an LPGL/EPL dual license.

Although qooxdoo is a client-side technology and server-agnostic, the project does include implementations of RPC servers for Java, PHP, Perl, and Python to demonstrate advanced client-server communication, qooxdoo project  developers said.

This story, “RIA development framework Qooxdoo debuts,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest in application development at InfoWorld.com.