Standards-based app development environments keep springing up. Burlington, Massachusetts-based Alpha Software announced its standards-based Alpha Anywhere environment, for the rapid development and deployment of business apps for PC and mobile devices and computers.
The company said that developers using Alpha Anywhere can quickly assemble mobile apps with standards-based, customizable components utilizing HTML5, CSS and JavaScript, or they can use common programming languages to build their own objects, methods, components or event handlers. For development of native mobile apps, developers can use Cordova/PhoneGap, and the company said it is in the process of adding custom plug-ins for bar code scanning, credit card reading/processing, audio recording with compression and SMS.
Dan Bricklin, CTO
Alpha Software CEO Richard Rabins said in a statement that the new environment removes “the barriers to cost-effectively” create and deploy business apps, particularly mobile ones.
The environment supports the building of user experience, business logic and database access, and can incorporate into applications such functionalities as enterprise reporting, charting, mapping, video, images, sound, scheduling, geography and geospatial functionality and security. Touch-enabled user experience is supported for a variety of screen sizes, and deployed apps can be hosted by the developing company, a third-party or in the cloud, including the AlphaCloud.
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Accompanying Alpha’s unveiling of Alpha Anywhere was its announcement that the legendary Dan Bricklin was joining the company as Chief Technology Office. Bricklin’s biggest claim-to-fame is the development of the pioneering spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, which became a key driver in why businesses wanted to buy personal computers.
John Cullinane, Mobile Helix
In a posting on his blog, Bricklin recalled that last year Alpha, run by two old friends, “had managed to use the HTML5 technologies (HTML, JavaScript, and CSS) to let developers create apps with the look and feel of a ‘native’ app,” but built and deployed using their proven development system, complete with the server-side functionality.”
Bricklin is not the only tech star Alpha is bringing aboard. John Cullinane, who created in 1968 and then later sold what Alpha described as “the first successful software products company” -- Cullinane Corporation, which later became Cullinet -- is joining Alpha as an advisor.
Earlier this week, Mobile Helix unveiled its Link platform for application development and delivery to mobile devices, desktops or laptops. The New York City-based company described its platform as the “industry’s first pure HTML5 platform” and emphasized the enterprise security model, which includes a device-based container, device-independent AES-256 encryption of data and a cloud-based system management console.