Oracle has announced the general availability of Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) Mobile as an HTML5 and Java-based framework for building enterprise applications in mobile environments including iOS and Android.

Working from a single code base with an open, standards-based architecture, this mobile framework exists as an extension to the wider Oracle Application Development Framework. Oracle's gambit here is to attract programmers with the promise of being able to work on consistent cross-platform user interfaces (UI) using familiar web technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript and CSS.

Deep Access, Native Access

While the consistent UI message is strong, so is the option to leverage "deep access to native device services" — such as the camera, GPS, contacts, etc. through this hybrid mobile application architecture.

As expected, Oracle is keeping this release high level and the company confirms that its platform will help secure mobile applications with end-to-end security and encryption. A lightweight Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is also embedded to support the application logic written in Java.

The core concept here is this — a combination of standards-based technologies for rapid development of mobile applications to iOS and Android, WITHOUT the need for developers to have to learn a new platform-specific language and technologies.

Quicker development is also promised as a result of a visual and declarative programming model that should already be common to Oracle ADF developers, because Oracle ADF and Oracle ADF Mobile share the same declarative programming model.

NOTE: Oracle ADF Mobile also comes with a library of prebuilt and proven components that give the look and feel of device-native applications.

Oracle says that an adaptive hybrid application architecture gives developers the ability to protect application investments from technology shifts and develop mobile applications with existing skills and resources on proven technologies like HMTL5, JavaScript, Java and Oracle ADF.