Application development tool provider Telerik has announced that its cloud-based mobile development tool Icenium now directly integrates with Visual Studio 2012. This integration is for .NET developers who want to create Android and iOS applications yet still use Visual Studio.
Visual Studio does not offer developers a way to do any kind of cross-platform mobile development, according to Burke Holland, developer relations lead for cross-platform tools and services at Telerik. “They do offer some templates for doing simple mobile websites, but this is the unprecedented move to [give enterprise developers] the ability to build an iOS application on Windows inside of Visual Studio without ever owning a Mac or Apple platform—and being able to deploy directly to the device,” he said.
This latest release of Icenium, an integrated cloud environment, lets developers use their CSS, HTML5 and JavaScript skills to develop, test and publish hybrid iOS (including iOS 7) and Android mobile applications.
In addition to being able to access Visual Studio’s coding environment, IDE plug-ins and configurable build system, the company said that developers will now be able to directly access Icenium’s device simulators for Android and iOS. “So when you click that green Start button, you actually see the device with your app running inside,” Holland said. “And you can switch between Android, iPad, different form factors, and you can simulate some device events.”
Holland added that another benefit of Icenium’s integration into Visual Studio is that it allows enterprise developers to leverage their infrastructure and current workflow. For example, if they have their own code repository or version-control system, they can now tie directly into that with Visual Studio. “It doesn’t require them to jump out and use a different set of tools to make this happen,” Holland said.
He added that Icenium will support Visual Studio 2013 “as soon as possible after the final bits are released.”
