Adobe has announced a set of development tools today that will allow developers to code once and deploy everywhere. This new software will allow users to develop, test and deploy mobile applications on devices running Android, BlackBerry and Apple’s iOS.
Developers have been able to use Adobe products for more than seven years to build applications in desktop browsers and can soon use the new tools to apply their skills to various mobile platforms, Dave Gruber, group product marketing manager for Adobe, said in an interview.
“You’ll leverage Adobe Air again, except across iOS, Android and BlackBerry,” he said. “It’s one tool and one framework and one code base.”
The possibility to create common code that only varies in minor details across various mobile platforms is a very powerful ability for developers. They will no longer have to maintain completely separate code for apps on Android and iOS.
Adobe’s Flash runtime tool, called Air 2.6, will use the new Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5. Both will be available in May, which FlashBuilder Standard starting at $249 per seat and Flex 4.5 free and open-source. An update to Flex 4.5 to support the Blackberry Tablet OS, and iOS will be available in June.
Adobe expects 131 million smartphones to have the Flash player installed by the end of the year, including Android, WebOS, BlackBerry Tablet OS, future versions of Windows Phone, and more. While Apple has basically banned Flash in its plugin form, Gruber says the Air runtime software can be compiled into iOS applications to support animations and other design features.
via Computer World