Telerik Icenium Supports Custom Cordova Plugins

Telerik aims to expand its cross-platform build and analysis tools this week with the release of an update to Icenium.

The software is designed to allow developers to use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript skills to test and publish applications that run natively on the Apple iOS and Google Android mobile platforms.

So then this is a combination of a local coding environment with cloud-based compilation, data storage, and publishing.

The firm says that this development ranks it as the first company to offer a cloud-based Apache Cordova build service, with support for user-uploaded custom Cordova plugins.

Telerik essentially provides developers using HTML5 and JavaScript for hybrid mobile app development with "unlimited access" to the full spectrum of native APIs available on mobile devices, such as in-app purchase and Bluetooth APIs.

Hybrid mobile apps built using HTML5/JavaScript and packaged with Apache Cordova (also the basis for Adobe's PhoneGap offerings) rely heavily on plugins to expose additional device capabilities to an app's JavaScript code.

NOTE: Plugins are pieces of native code that extend default Cordova capabilities, allowing developers to access APIs traditionally available only to native mobile app developers.

Until now, cloud-based Cordova build services have only offered access to a limited, curated collection of plugins. Now, with the ability to upload and use any Cordova plugin within Icenium, developers have unlimited access to device APIs and capabilities, along with the convenience of cloud-based, cross-platform Cordova builds.

As a part of the latest update, Icenium Everlive (Telerik's new backend-as-a-service (BaaS) offering) has enhanced its JavaScript SDK with built-in PhoneGap support for push notifications. This update expands developers' ability to send targeted push notifications via Apple, Google, or Microsoft notification services.

"Until now, developers were forced to choose between time-saving, cloud-based Cordova builds and the ability to use custom plugins for projects," said Todd Anglin, EVP cross-platform tools and services at Telerik. "Now, with Icenium raising the bar, there are no more trade-offs. We are excited to be the first in the industry to combine the convenience of the cloud with the power to use any Cordova plugin."