Telerik has announced the launch of the Kendo UI framework for software developers focused on front-end development with JavaScript and HTML5. Suggesting that developers today are faced with an increasingly fragmented computing landscape, the company says that programmers are turning to HTML5 and JavaScript to build software that can run anywhere and reach the largest possible audience.
Kendo UI aims to simplify the adoption of these technologies and also serves as an opportunity for Telerik to move beyond its .NET roots and apply itself to providing tools for the broader world of HTML5 and JavaScript developers. Building on top of the popular jQuery JavaScript library, Kendo UI leverages the latest in CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript web standards, while still delivering broad support for all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, and mobile browsers on iOS and Android.
"Building applications and sites today with HTML5 and JavaScript is an exercise in self-assembly. An array of libraries and toolsets are brought together to compose a platform that has all of the necessary components for development," said Todd Anglin, EVP, Kendo UI. "This approach is acceptable for hobby projects, but it is fraught with support and licensing risks, plus it is difficult to maintain and upgrade. It is also difficult to learn and it wastes valuable development time. Kendo UI solves this problem by providing a unified framework with all of the necessary components for building HTML5 and JavaScript apps and sites."
At launch, Kendo UI is available under both a commercial and Open Source (GPLv3) license — Kendo UI launches with three distinct packages:
- Kendo UI Web — More than a dozen rich HTML5 JavaScript UI widgets, including a Grid, plus essential framework components like a Data Source, touch-enabled drag-and-drop, and one of the fastest JavaScript templating engines available.
- Kendo UI DataViz — A dedicated suite of HTML5-powered data visualization widgets, including animated charts.
- Kendo UI Mobile CTP — An early preview of Kendo UI widgets built specifically for solving the problems of building mobile apps with HTML5.
