what is codename one

What is Codename One?

History

2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016The Beginning

Chen Fishein starts the LWUIT project at Sun Microsystems with goals of ending device

fragmentation

Open Source

Sun Microsystems Open sources LWUIT at Java One

A new Beginning

Chen & Shai quit Sun Microsystems and form

Codename One. The project has far greater scope and

ambition than LWUIT

100M Installs

Codename One grows & expands both in scope and

use

MaturityBy January 2017

Codename One had 10 releases, added support for JavaScript, UWP & Desktop platforms. The bourgeoning developer community was

40k strong

What’s Codename One?

✦Virtual machine for all devices ✦API for all devices ✦ IDE Plugins to build mobile

applications ✦Set of tools, simulator, GUI builder,

theme designer ✦Cloud based build system to abstract

device differences





device differences}





device differences}

Fun FactWe came up with the name

Codename One as a placeholder until we find an actual name

Eventually we kept it because it makes these distinct tools act as

“one”

Virtual machine for all devices

✦ iOS doesn’t support Java & disallows JIT. Codename One’s open source ParparVM translates Java bytecode to C code so it can be compiled with xcode

✦Windows mobile works with a .net VM subset, Codename One ported iKVM (a Java .net runtime) so it will work with Universal Windows Platform

✦For web support Codename One uses TeaVM which translates Java bytecode to JavaScript

API for all devices

✦Common API abstracting mobile device functionality mainly UI

✦Clearly defined porting layer implemented for all supported platforms

✦Lightweight UI approach ✦Focus on simplicity, portability & common use

cases ✦Statically linked

IDE Plugins

✦Codename One includes plugins for IntelliJ/IDEA, NetBeans & Eclipse

✦These plugins hide the complex details of installing/setting up Codename One

✦They are mostly a thin layer around the tools

Tools

✦Build tools - based on Ant, invoked by IDE for cloud builds and other capabilities

✦Device Simulator ✦Resource Editor/Designer - provides theming,

localization, image management and old GUI builder

✦New GUI Builder - standalone GUI builder tool replacing the old one within the designer

Cloud Build

✦Macs, Windows & Linux machines in the cloud perform the actual native app build process

✦This is abstracted by the build tools to provide a unified experience

✦Removes the need to install custom software and configure it to very specific requirements

✦A major reason Codename One is so simple to use

Lightweight

Lightweight Frameworks Heavyweight Frameworks

Codename One SWT

Swing AWT

Java FX Xamarin

QT Appcelerator

Lightweight vs. Heavyweight


Codename One SWT

Swing AWT

Java FX Xamarin

QT Appcelerator

Lightweight vs. HeavyweightLightweight Origin

The term “lightweight” was popularized by the Swing framework to describe the difference between it

and AWT. Heavyweight widgets in AWT were a performance problem

as they required OS communication for every operation


Draws widgets Native widget for every user widget

Handles widget events & user input Thin API

Layout, theming & all functionality is handled by framework Layout etc. are handled by OS

Framework provides tools Mix of framework tools and OS tools



Portable Matches OS Conventions

Customizable Performant (debatable)

Consistent (also in performance) Easier to build initially

Easy to use Access to native OS features


Lightweight In Codename One

✦Allows native peer - e.g. Google Maps, Video etc. ✦Lightweight components can reside on top or

below native peers ✦Enables the simulator and thus the cloud build! ✦Performant - uses gaming API’s (e.g. OpenGL) to

get native performance. Performance is consistent across devices

✦Very customizable

I hope that this presentation:

✦Gave you a sense of Codename One’s origins ✦Gave you a glimpse of the breadth/scope of

Codename One ✦Helped you understand the difference between

Codename One and other tools you are familiar with

✦Clarified one of the most important aspects of Codename One: Lightweight architecture

Thank You

what is codename one

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