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NimbleKit: Native iPhone apps with HTML and JavaScript

by Brett Terpstra May 27th 2009 at 10:00AM

If you're packing a little JavaScript-fu but not much Objective-C knowledge, and itching to jump on the App Store bandwagon, NimbleKit may be the answer you're looking for. By providing its own API on top of Cocoa Touch, NimbleKit allows would-be developers to access core iPhone functionality with Javascript functions. You can build an entire application using an HTML template with embedded Javascript, compile it and run it on your iPhone/iPod touch. I've tried it out; it's pretty slick.

NimbleKit provides functions for placing buttons, progress indicators, text and other native interface elements programatically. You can also do some styling with the HTML. Functions are available to stream Internet-based or embedded audio, search contacts, and read and process local and remote documents. The demo version of the development kit lets you run it through all of its paces, only stopping short of running it on your device. You can build and test in the iPhone Simulator to your heart's content before making a purchase.

NimbleKit is ideal for a range of application types. You can't expect to make a wicked, animation-laden video game with it, but you can rapidly prototype and develop more static interfaces and basic functionality. While there's a good deal of power available, it does put you in an either/or situation. If you have a little Objective-C in your blood, you might become frustrated, not being able to tap NimbleKit's functionality from outside of the HTML setup. It's definitely, at this point, geared toward rapid development of iPhone apps by Javascript coders.

As I mentioned, NimbleKit is available to try with full functionality. You'll need Xcode installed with the iPhone SDK, and you'll still need to be a registered developer to get an app into the App Store. Since the iPhone SDK allows you to test on the Simulator without registering as a developer, you can actually put the entire process to the test before spending a cent (well, after the purchase of a Mac and the broadband line you'll need to download the SDK ... ). NimbleKit can be licensed for a one-time fee of $99, and a licensed copy can be used to create as many apps as you want. A project template is included with the kit to get you started.



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If you're packing a little JavaScript-fu but not much Objective-C knowledge, and itching to jump on the App Store bandwagon, NimbleKit may...
 

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Hugh Johnson

I think nimblekit is using uiwebview to "interpret" the javascript files. Which means it's using "Apple's Documented APIs and built-in interpreter(s)."

July 13 2009 at 5:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Pothik

Here is an interesting iPhone app - http://www.dirtymouthapp.com/. If someone wants to say a phrase in another language but does not know how, DirtyMouth is the solution.

June 27 2009 at 9:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Pothik

Java are more convenient than others for sure. It certainly leverages the groundbreaking technology in iPhone. Users can do so many things with the apps! I asked http://objectdevcorp.com/ to creat few apps for me and they did a splendid job.

May 31 2009 at 12:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lee

What about QuickConnectiPhone, the original JavaScript iPhone application environment? It is free, open source, and has many more features than NimbleKit or PhoneGap. Also, it appears that the NimbleKit team got the idea for the Xcode template from QuickConnectiPhone.

May 28 2009 at 11:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jash Sayani

Wow! This is interesting......

May 28 2009 at 10:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bjhanifin

Thanks for sharing all of the kits. Sounds like they would be perfect for porting a web-based app. For example a chat app based on phpFreeChat (HTML/AJAX interface).

May 27 2009 at 2:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ishan

As already pointed out there are other JavaScript iPhone app frameworks out there, e.g. PhoneGap and Quickconnect to name just two. There's also the Rhomobile framework which lets you build iPhone apps in Ruby.

May 27 2009 at 1:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Stephen Lang

I am going to build a plain English API on top of NimbleKit, it will be called EnglishKit and EVERYONE will be able to program for it.

"Fart", "Fart louder", etc.

May 27 2009 at 12:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jeff Wheeler

This is pretty much the exact same way the Pre works -- native APIs via JavaScript.

Webkit compiles JS to bytecode, so it's not really being interpreted in that environment (I would be very surprised if Palm didn't take advantage of this); if NimbleKit doesn't (and I doubt it's possible via Apple's limited API), then it will be relatively slower.

May 27 2009 at 12:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jake Marsh

This is great, and its actually a fairly full-featured solution for the market EXCEPT they left out the one glaring most-important feature to a system like this: TABLE VIEWS! There is NO support for Table Views anywhere inside of NimbleKit, therefor, you CANNOT make ANYTHING that even closely resembles a "Native" iPhone app. And, just like their website, your app will come out looking like some "n00b" threw it together because they couldn't afford to have someone compitent design their product.

The way this system works is great, but how they could release this product before supporting Table Views is beyond me, its not even really a product without that. Also, they should support JSON and XML parsing within the classes, do all that work for us. Give us a "ImportJSONFromURL(http://google.com/blah)" method and let the results be easily put into a table view. That'd be an amazing system. One that would easily take-off as THE way for web-developers to make the switch to iPhone native apps. But until then, $99 for this system is a joke.

May 27 2009 at 10:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Jake Marsh's comment
Brett Terpstra

True. As I said, it's not going to create a full-featured application, but does allow people without Objective-C/Cocoa experience to quickly create basic iPhone apps. The aesthetic of the app is largely in the hands of the developer. Buttons can be replaced with images, and backgrounds are entirely up to you. The developers are also taking feature requests and are very responsive, so I expect to see its capabilities expand quickly.

May 27 2009 at 10:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jake Marsh

Brett, thanks for your response. I agree with you NimbleKit is probably the best offering that's come out so far in this market. PhoneGap is nice, but honestly without handling the UI, PhoneGap just won't ever suffice. We DO need something like NimbleKit so that web developers can make the jump without fear. I just wish their product website and product itself looked more appealing (visually and feature-wise) so that more developers would take notice.

May 27 2009 at 10:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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