NS Basic/App Studio 2.0 Adds jQuery Mobile Support
NS BASIC Corporation has announced the release of NS Basic/App Studio 2.0. The release features full support for jQuery Mobile, with an IDE that allows developers to drag and drop controls on the design screen.
"jQuery Mobile is becoming the most commonly used framework for mobile devices", said George Henne, President of NS BASIC Corporation. "But developers have had to hand code the elements on their forms. App Studio lets them layout their elements in a fraction of the time, generating the necessary code and HTML automatically."
Right clicking on an element on the Design Screen brings up a list of events, and takes the developer to a code window to write the event handling code.
Other new features in the release include improved Ajax support, the ability to turn mobile apps into desktop apps and easier to use New Project and Open Sample dialogs.
NS Basic/App Studio is a complete, easy to use development environment for mobile devices. BASIC and JavaScript are supported as development languages. With a familiar look and feel, NS Basic/App Studio provides a full, modern implementation of BASIC, with proper subroutines, user defined data types and event driven execution. The development environment runs on a Windows desktop.
Once you have tested your app in the browser, with a single click you can either deploy it to a device as a web app or compile it into a native app using PhoneGap Build.
NS Basic/App Studio includes over 150 statements and functions. Support is provided for SQLite, geolocation, graphics and more. A full set of standard screen input and output objects and dialog boxes are included. A 155 page handbook, tutorials and lots of sample code are included.
The execution framework is based on JavaScript, HTML5 and WebKit. While knowledge of these technologies is not required, they give NS Basic/App Studio considerable power under the hood. They also give NS Basic/App Studio apps portability to platforms supporting these technologies.
With support for jQuery Mobile, Basic, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5 and PhoneGap, NS Basic/App Studio is a complete and easy to use mobile development tool.
The product is available immediately for download from the company's website. Normally priced at $ 149.95 USD, it is available at an introductory price of $ 99.95.
More about NS BASIC's Tools
NS BASIC's tools let VB developers to use their experience to develop applications for iOS, Android, Windows CE, Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices. They provide a complete, powerful development environment enabling the creation of applications for the enterprise, business, personal productivity and education.
About NS BASIC Corporation
NS BASIC Corporation's tools are the most widely used third party tools for handheld devices. NS BASIC Corporation has been a leading creator of development tools for handheld devices since 1993. Close to 20,000 developers in over 80 countries use NS BASIC's tools.
More information:
NS BASIC: http://www.nsbasic.com/
PhoneGap: http://www.phonegap.com/
NS Basic/App Studio FAQ: http://www.nsbasic.com/app/faq/
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I have been working with NS Basic App Studio for two years, since launch.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are this:-
If you plan to do any kind of development which you want to look professional then forget App Studio. NS Basic App Studio has some major failings, number one on the list being documentation. The documentation supplied with App Studio is truly appalling, covering basic commands and functions only, and even then, not fully. The moment you want to dig deeper there is no help for you and even the writers of App Studio say "Search the Internet for answers". This makes App Studio a 'development' system for amateurs.
If your intention is to develop anything that remotely resembles a professional application then I am very sorry to say you will have to use something else.
I speak as a professional developer of 30 years experience, having developed on all sorts of platforms. We recently completed a project (not the way we wanted to due to the limitations) using NS Basic App Studio and it took a whole year to make. The equivalent in almost any other environment would have taken a matter of weeks. There were times when my team and I wanted to blow our brains out in frustration, mainly with the woeful documentation and zero support offered by NS Basic.
NS Basic bill App Studio as a Visual Basic-like environment. Do you remember the days when IBM clone-makers were saying that their machines were compatible to the IBM PC and it turned out they meant they both use a 5amp fuse in the plug? Well that is how App Studio is to Visual Basic. Whilst App Studio uses the BASIC language, it is so far removed from VB when you start wanting to do anything interesting that it makes the comment "Visua Basic-like" a mockery at best and misleading at worst.
There are many fanboys of App Studio, but don't be misled. The product is not at a fit state yet to be used for any kind of professional development. You will end up going insane. From the advancements I have seen the product make since launch (two years now) I would guesstimate that it will take NS Basic another five years to create a development environment that is suitable for professional developers.
NS Basic App Studio could be a good product, however with so many fundamental flaws, which become apparent only after you have gone through the very basics, you start entering a nighmare world.
I hope this post helps prospective developers in making a choice about their development environment.