Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development

    Progress Software Launches NativeScript for Native Mobile App Dev

    By
    Darryl K. Taft
    -
    March 10, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      NativeScript launch

      Progress Software announced the beta availability of NativeScript, an open-source framework that enables developers to use JavaScript to build native mobile apps for all major mobile platforms, including iOS, Android and, in the future, Windows Universal.

      In a blog post on the new technology, Valentin Stoychev, NativeScript product manager in Progress’s Telerik division, said the NativeScript framework is designed to be very familiar to developers comfortable with Web technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, minimizing the learning curve for Web developers interested in building native mobile apps. It also exposes 100 percent of underlying native device APIs to NativeScript developers, including support for new APIs in new versions of iOS and Android.

      Telerik officials said the NativeScript framework complements mobile Web and hybrid development approaches, like Apache Cordova and PhoneGap, for cross-platform app development. This enables developers to continue to use JavaScript while gaining direct access to native APIs and UI built using high-performance, native platform UI components. With the NativeScript framework, developers can use a single skill set to build Web, hybrid and native applications.

      “We have been working hard preparing for this day and [to be able to] deliver a framework which will enable JavaScript and web developers to create modern mobile applications using the native capabilities of the mobile devices,” Stoychev said in his post. “The framework is still in beta, so you will find some pieces missing, some not very well polished, but I’m sure that even with these first bits you will be able to see the great potential this framework has.”

      Available under the Apache v2 open source license at NativeScript.org, the NativeScript framework enables developers to write JavaScript that can directly access native APIs. This means NativeScript apps have native performance and full API access, identical to apps created with native platform languages.

      “With NativeScript you can use your JavaScript and CSS skills to write native mobile applications for iOS, Android and very soon Windows Phone,” Stoychev said. “There is no WebView involved in rendering the app, as the UI is rendered by the native platform’s rendering engine. Because of that the, app’s entire UX is native. NativeScript enables you to use a complete stack of cross-platform APIs to write the application code or, if you need, you can directly access all platform-specific native APIs using JavaScript only. That’s right—you can access all native APIs, not only the ones we thought would be useful.”

      Indeed, Telerik said with the NativeScript framework, developers can write just one app that works on every platform. As a result, developers save considerable development effort and don’t need to learn Objective C, Swift, Java or C# or have past experience with any native platform to use it. They can leverage their existing JavaScript skills to develop mobile apps. NativeScript support is also built in to Telerik AppBuilder, part of the Telerik mobile application development platform, offering developers premium tooling for building NativeScript apps.

      “I believe the NativeScript framework is going to revolutionize the mobile application marketplace,” said Ian Price, head of development at Sharesoft, in a statement. “Building mobile apps from a single code base enables developers to re-use features and functionality across platforms, which simplifies mobile app development and significantly increases productivity. I’m also impressed by how easily I’ve been able to develop native, cross-platform applications using familiar web development tools and skills.”

      Telerik delivered a preview of the NativeScript framework to early adopters in June 2014. Now the project has evolved into a robust framework that is ready for public beta.

      “We did not want to create just yet another ecosystem around a native cross-platform framework,” Stoychev said. “We wanted to integrate and play well with all existing JavaScript and native iOS/Android/Windows ecosystems. That is why we also support using existing JavaScript libraries, as well as existing native Objective-C, Java and .NET libraries. I want to stress out that you don’t need to know Objective-C, Java or .NET in order to reuse these libraries — their entire APIs will be available in JavaScript with no changes.”

      Stoychev added that NativeScript applications support the same accessibility models as native apps.

      “This is important for anyone creating apps that need to meet certain accessibility standards before going live,” Stoychev said. “This is also very useful when you start implementing functional or unit tests for your app. Several existing cross-platform tools like Appium already work directly with NativeScript and provide accessibility automation.”

      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×