InfoWorld - Appcelerator Inc. today will release Version 1.0 of Titanium, its cross-platform system for building native mobile and desktop applications.
Titanium leverages Web development technologies such as JavaScript, PHP and Ruby. This means that mobile application builders won't need to learn the Objective-C language for iPhone or Google's Java language for Android systems. A translator enables applications to run natively on different platforms.
[See InfoWorld's 2009 report on how smartphone apps development can present developers with a Tower of Babel-like situation.]
"Our value proposition is that we allow Web developers to build native mobile and desktop applications using the skills and technologies that they have today," said Scott Schwarzhoff, vice president of marketing at Mountain View, Calif.-based Appcelerator.
On the desktop, Titanium supports development for PCs, Macintosh and Linux. Mobile platforms backed include Apple iPhone and Google Android, with support for Research In Motion's BlackBerry planned for later this year. Developers can build applications that access native device capabilities, such as database and camera functions.
Titanium differs from other cross-platform development frameworks such as Rhomobile Rhodes because it offers native performance as well as native UI and access to device capabilities, Schwarzhoff said. Titanium provides a common code base but different experiences based on the device. For example, it offers a Windows interface for a Windows application or an iPhone interface for an iPhone program. Translators are used to enable native experiences.
The release of Titanium Version 1.0 signifies the end of the system's beta period. The new version features better performance than the beta offering, according to the company.
Applications that can be built include social networking and business and productivity systems.
A Titanium user cited the benefit of not having to learn Objective-C.
"A company like us that focuses primarily on Web development, we can start developing applications right away," said Brendan Lim, director of mobile solutions at Intridea, a Washington-based Web and mobile applications development firm. "Objective-C for iPhone, that's a huge barrier for a lot of people."
Intridea used Titanium to develop an iPhone application called Grub.it, which posts restaurant reviews and helps users find eateries. Plans call for enabling it to work on Android as well.
Appcelerator plans to offer a version of Titanum for Apple's upcoming iPad device.
This story, "Appcelerator releases Titanium cross-platform app dev technology," was originally published on InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in software development at InfoWorld.com.
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