ownCloud, Inc., the company behind the only fully self-hosted enterprise-ready file sync and share, today released its mobile libraries under the MIT open source license, giving developers an even easier way to design, build, test and run apps on and for ownCloud.
Mobile libraries give developers a set of repeatable, modular methods, such as “authenticate user”, “share file” and “access folder”, that developers can use in mobile apps they are developing. These libraries save time, and enable the developers to focus on the hard part of their app – the business logic – while leaving the common file management functions within ownCloud to these mobile libraries.
The ownCloud iOS and Android libraries enable developers to communicate with any ownCloud server and, depending on what is installed and enabled on the ownCloud server, adapt to that environment. Among the features included in the libraries are user authentication, upload and download of files, delete rename and move of files and folders and share files or folders by link among others. Following the MIT license, this library may be added to a project and seamlessly integrates the application with ownCloud.
“There has been tremendous interest in building apps that link to ownCloud, leverage ownCloud user and session management, and provide access to files and storage,” said Matt Richards, VP products, ownCloud. “As developers, we created libraries within our ownCloud mobile apps, and the benefits to productivity and automated testing that they provide have doubled our productivity. Releasing these same libraries for Android and iOS under an open source license allows other developers to achieve the same results, and very easily integrate ownCloud functionality into their apps.”
Using these libraries, developers of, for instance, a spreadsheet app, can easily integrate, “save to ownCloud” or “share via ownCloud” functionality. The libraries come fully documented along with a test app to help build and test the functionality of the app.
Services Providers incorporate these libraries into their proprietary mobile applications so that they have complete control over the end user experience, but can still take advantage of ownCloud for secure testing. more closely integrate other existing offerings with ownCloud.
The MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is a permissive free software license, meaning that it permits reuse within proprietary software provided all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms. Such proprietary software retains its proprietary nature even though it incorporates software under the MIT License. The license is also GPL-compatible, meaning that the GPL permits combination and redistribution with software that uses the MIT License.
