A new version of what has become a rapid application development (RAD) environment creates a single app that can run on virtually any platform, including a variety of mobile devices.

The demand for mobile applications and the fact that there are multiple SDKs for the different platforms—including iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile—is creating significant extra work for developers and IT shops. With most mobile device manufacturers now basing their browsers on the open-source WebKit engine, however, building native apps for each of the mobile platforms may not be necessary. A hybrid application based on HTML5 and CSS3 will run on any mobile device whose browser is built on WebKit. Most today are, which means if you build one application, it will work across all mobile platforms.

Adoption of the WebKit browser presents tremendous opportunities for developers who are being asked to support whatever phone or mobile device users bring to the enterprise. Last week, we looked at a new rapid application development tool from Embarcadero Technologies, RadPHP XE2, which builds PHP applications for mobile devices and the Web.

Another new development tool just released last week that is getting a lot of attention is Alpha Five V11 from Alpha Software. What is of interest to IBM i developers is that Alpha Five V11 is now a development environment for mobile application (as well as for Web and desktop apps) that allows you to develop once and run the application essentially anywhere. It includes back-end support for DB2, MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and other SQL databases.

"The iPhone, the iPad, and mobile computing have changed everything," says Richard Rabins, co-chairman of Alpha Software. "Mobile and tablet computing are great for users, but they've added cost, complexity, and uncertainty for companies," says Rabins. He says that development teams are being overworked as a result of having to develop for so many different platforms.

Alpha Five is designed to solve the problem of having to develop for multiple platforms without using Flash or Java. Instead, the product uses HTML5, what it's calling the "lingua franca" of contemporary computing. It also can serve up what it calls Codeless AJAX technology, which uses persistent server connections to provide snappy applications on any device.

Alpha Five comes with a large group of reusable components that allow the developer to build applications quickly without writing any code. Among these components are ones to add Graphical Information Systems (GIS)—or mapping—support to applications. While building mobile applications is what developers are interested in today, GIS applications are likely to be in high demand tomorrow. Combine them both, and you have a very useful application indeed.

Also included are other components for creating an Alpha database grid, forms, a dialog system, security features, calendars, charts, a video player, animation, an image gallery, and HTML5 reporting. It includes a powerful debugging environment, support for version four of .NET framework, and a robust client- and server-side event model. Underneath all of Alpha Five's capabilities is a straightforward and easily edited object-oriented scripting language called XBasic.

Among the more popular components are those that support calendar and scheduling to allow users to graphically select dates, book appointments, schedule resources, synchronize schedules, and more. Developers can add this functionality with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Alpha Software directors say that opportunities will abound for developers who focus on applications that utilize mapping and GIS features. Examples include apps supporting industries such as banking, real estate, retail, government, law enforcement, health, transportation, energy, education, and telecommunications. Imagine the value for banks to know where their largest depositors live or for trucking companies to be able to maximize deliveries and minimize fuel consumption by mapping where deliveries should go (there are several very successful applications today that do just that). Imagine the benefits to real estate investment trusts of being able to locate houses in certain areas. Sales organizations can analyze the effectiveness of different marketing campaigns and actually see what role geography plays in generating sales. Needless to say, the military relies on geographic analysis for tactical and logistical planning as well as facilities management.

Alpha Five Developer retails for $349, but it's available for a free 30-day trial. The company also offers a number of separate bolt-on components called Feature Packs that allow developers to add such things as GIS support, all at additional charge. The company also offers an annual Alpha Five V11 subscription that includes the entire catalog of Alpha Five software, feature packs, books, and training videos.

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..