The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff: Appmethod IDE; Nexus 4 upright unlike at TechCrunch

The @appmethod secret.

Wow. Out of the blue, I just read Embarcadero Launches AppMethod, A New Multi-Device Development Platform For Native Apps | TechCrunch. And I’m impressed.

In short:

At SXSW 2014 (which is running now, its agenda has a schedule from March 7th till March 16th), Embarcadero announces appmethod, to be released in beta on March 18th, 2014 for building native cross platform applications. Many have found out you can apply for the beta at www.appmethod.com.

More and more people are bumping into the appmethod link, for instance on FaceBook, on Google Plus, at Delphi Bistro and #Appmethod starting with the @appmethod secret by Joy Ruff.

Below are a few my observations from following all of the above links. Read them, especially the TechCrunch. I expect interesting posts from others to follow really soon now (:.

I’m only a few hours ahead of you readers, but I’m having a positive vibe just for these reasons:

• There is going to be a Free version that can attract a new user base. This is bold, as there has not been such a pricing since a very long time.
• Looking at competing products, a subscription model makes sense. Differentiating between free, small team and business subscriptions too.
• Focus at the speed, versatility and maturity of the tool and libraries: not just cross platform UI, but suitable for every part of the development architecture.

Highlights from the above links

Just a few:

• The product name is Appmethod (lowercase logo, the Appmethod name is not the CamelCase spelling like in the TechCrunch post title).
• It targets building native applications from a single code base for PC, Mac, iOS and Android now and will target wearables in the future. Languages are Object Pascal and C++.
• I’m anxious to see what “Object Pascal and C++ support” means for the product differentiation.
• There is a fully fledged IDE with all kinds of designers, connectors, and tools like for remote debugging and analysis.
• Connectivity is key: SOAP, REST, middleware for services and enterprise databases not limited to one stack.
• Seeing support for backend as a service platforms like Kinvey, Parse, and App42 mentioned, Michael Swindell’s post about Multi-Device is the New Platform now makes a lot more sense now especially as they are also in the RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder Roadmap – March 2014.
• The sales model is subscription based, which a lot of tool vendors already use (Xamarin, RemObjects, Phone Gap, Appcelerator, DevExpress, etc). This is logical in a fast moving mobile and connected world, but different from the days desktop development platforms where the Delphi and Visual Studio product lines originally come from. Xamarin and many others had quite a few name changes in the past, so a new name for a new target audience is quite OK.
• There is a Free plan for up to 5 Android devices.

To me, all of this sounds like Appmethod will be a counter part of RAD Studio, where you have both languages and all platforms, but a different sales model and a very different target audience.

I’m really anxious to see what Spikes (the guys providing AirGap – a secure virtualized browser outside your firewall – for the enterprise) thinks about their beta period with Appmethod.

Oh, and Appmethod are on social media too (:

• Appmethod.
• @Appmethod.
• +Appmethod.

If all of the above is true, I really look forward to help brining the full Spring4D framework into the mobile world. The Spring4D roadmap is clear, most of the mobile work is done, but multi-cast events are among the most important things not done yet. A blog post about that will follow soon.

Edit:

Embarcadero just provided more information, will get back to that as I pulled an almost all-nighter:

• Appmethod FAQ | Products.
• Appmethod TechCrunch article and preview at next week’s SxSW conference – David I.

First impressions:

• Appmethod is RAD Studio without VCL aimed at pure cross platform development (boy, Microsoft wished they could rip out Windows Forms of Visual Studio).
• There is going to be a middleware stack.
• Appmethod is priced Per developer/Per platform/Per year. I need to do the math on this when I’m more awake, but it might be that for few platforms Appmethod is cheaper, but for all platforms RAD Studio might be cheaper especially if you have a RAD Studio maintenance contract.

–jeroen

via: Embarcadero Launches AppMethod, A New Multi-Device Development Platform For Native Apps | TechCrunch.

Appmethod IDE with upright Nexus 4 phone (with permission from Embarcadero)