PhoneGap App Framework reaches version 2.0

Adobe's PhoneGap developers have announced the release of version 2.0 of the open source framework for developing cross-platform mobile applications. PhoneGap, which was contributed to the Apache Software Foundation as Cordova, is a framework that enables a developer to create a mobile application using HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. This allows a developer to reuse web development skills and access the native features of devices, normally inaccessible in browsers, through PhoneGap APIs.

The focus in 2.0 is on a "vastly improved developer experience" according to Brian LeRoux, lead developer for PhoneGap, The new version allows a PhoneGap application to be integrated into another native application as a WebView. PhoneGap's command line tools have now been normalised so that common cross-platform tasks use the same terminology for creating projects, debugging and emulation. The developers have also ensured that the documentation has been improved. The remote web inspector for PhoneGap has been ported to Node.js and can now be easily installed with NPM (Node Package manager).

One issue that has afflicted Cordova and PhoneGap is an asymmetry between the JavaScript APIs and performance on different platforms; the CordovaJS project has been unifying the JavaScript implementations between platforms and the developers report "dramatic advancements" thanks to that. PhoneGap 2.0 also includes Windows Phone support and improvements in the iOS development process.

PhoneGap was created by Nitobi who were acquired by Adobe in 2011, at which time the project was contributed to Apache (as Cordova); it has been in the Apache Incubator where the project's governance and processes are being brought in line with "The Apache Way". PhoneGap is being developed with an eye on Apache Cordova's now nearing graduation from the Apache Incubator when it will become a top-level project. PhoneGap 2.0 is available to download from the project's download page and is published under the Apache 2.0 licence.

(djwm)