Intel has gone public on the launch of the new Intel XDK desktop-based building and emulation tool for HTML5 mobile applications.
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Available here, this new offering emanates from software acquired from AppMobi back in February of this year. The tool itself is designed for creating web applications that can then be converted into native Android and iOS apps.
This is free software, something that you may or may not regard Intel as having a great track record in. In truth, Intel has worked close to many open projects in the past.
While the majority of Intel developer tools have been focused on lower-level software code designed to run on a specific chipset, this technology is genuinely cross platform benefitting from the abstraction layer of the web and the HTML5-driven browser-based focus that is so strong here.
So Intel XDK allows developers to tap into a technology base known as the "HTML5 foundation". Not a group or organization of some form, but a collection of standards that are intended to try and advance the growth and progression of the web outwards and onwards beyond the static documents of old to the new world of more dynamic applications. The HTML5 foundation also works to convert those applications that are created in order that they can be finally used on mobile devices.
The Intel XDK is built with a web-based emulator as well as a good collection of demo applications to help test functionality. If you can write it for the web using HTML/HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, you can use the Intel XDK to build it as an HTML5 web app or as a native app for all of the major App Stores, says Intel.
The Intel XDK makes it easy for developers to check the look-and-feel of their apps with on-screen emulation on a wide variety of devices. The App Tester allows you to test on a physical device.
According to Intel, "Once your app is finalized, move over to Intel's App Dev Center where you can package your HTML5 apps for Apple iOS, Google Android, Amazon Kindle, Facebook, and other app stores."
