Trending like a piece of space rock falling from the sky is this open-source project called Meteor: a full-stack JavaScript platform that gives developers a way to build real time mobile and Web apps, entirely in JavaScript form one codebase.

With Meteor, developers can “write apps in pure JavaScript, write apps that send data over the wire (rather than HTML), and use their choice of popular open-source libraries,” according to its GitHub page. With universal JavaScript, the same code runs from the client to the cloud, from packages to database APIs. The same code runs cross browsers and mobile devices via Meteor’s unified Isobuild system. Client GUI components provide the look, feel and responsiveness of a thick client app using Meteor’s Blaze framework or integrating with AngularJS and ReactJS.

Meteor has come a long way since it first reached version 1.0 back in October of 2014. Now, some goals for the open-source project include making it a more viable option for larger apps, aligning Meteor with the rest of the JavaScript ecosystem, and making it more open to community contribution. Meteor appears to be the No. 1 Web application framework on GitHub, and it has more than 500,000 installs of its open-source JavaScript app platform.

Meteor CEO and cofounder Geoff Schmidt told SD Times that Meteor is used currently by enterprises like Mazda, IKEA and Qualcomm, as well as VC-backed startups to build modern apps.

“Meteor lets developers accomplish in 10 lines of code what would otherwise take 1,000, thanks to an integrated JavaScript stack that extends from the database to the end user’s screen, whether you’re developing for Web, iOS, Android or IoT,” said Schmidt. “Meteor also works with a number of other popular frameworks and projects like Angular, React, npm and Cordova to bring together the best of the JavaScript ecosystem for a great developer experience.”

Meteor is 100% open source, and it works with a global community of more than 500,000 developers. The Meteor community has published more than 10,000 public packages along with core contributions.

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