Expanding Orubase

You may have noticed that Orubase, Syncfusion’s framework for developing hybrid mobile applications, did not receive any updates with the 2013 Volume 2 release of Essential Studio. Though it was a tough decision to make, we postponed the Orubase updates for good reason. Doing so provided more time for fine tuning Essential Studio for JavaScript, our first suite of JavaScript controls, and enabled us to incorporate many of the features of our new JavaScript controls into the tools that ship with Orubase. 

Now, we have released the package of Orubase updates only a month after the beta release of our JavaScript controls.

Starting with this set of updates, Orubase supports JavaScript-based mobile applications in addition to the ASP.NET MVC-based mobile applications it has supported since version 1.0. This significant extension of Orubase makes it a viable tool for millions of additional developers given JavaScript’s nearly universal presence on the web, but it is no cause to worry; developing with Orubase will remain the same. Simply write your app, tweak a few things for each platform, and you’ve got a hybrid mobile app with access to native APIs. No other framework can do that. The new features also give developers numerous JavaScript controls to implement within their apps, including gauges, grids, and editors. Though some of the new JavaScript controls already ship with Orubase in the form of ASP.NET MVC controls, the freedom to work with ASP.NET MVC or JavaScript is an invaluable asset to developers. This is the new working model for Orubase. In future updates, we will continue to add both ASP.NET MVC and JavaScript controls, as well as additional support for native device features.

This round of Orubase updates includes functional updates such as Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 support. These updates allow you to deploy apps to not only the newest Windows Phones, but also to devices that bridge the gap between the phone and the desktop, such as Surface tablets. The Orubase Project Wizard—the tool for quickly creating an application based on a webpage without the use of a proprietary IDE—has been updated to include options for creating HTML and JavaScript-based applications. Other updates include signature capture support for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, as well as dictionary support for iOS and Windows Phone.

If you already have Orubase, you can get the latest updates by logging into your Direct-Trac account. If you have yet to try Orubase, you can download a free 30-day evaluation and test all the newest features it has to offer.

Graham High

Graham High is a senior content producer for Syncfusion.