Android - Application Development Frameworks

Top 15 Android-Ready Application Development Frameworks | Linux.com

15 Android-Ready Development Frameworks

The following are 15 of the more popular Android development tools. Unless otherwise noted, they are open source, cross-platform frameworks:
Basic4android: Anywhere Software's commercial RAD tool and IDE for Android provides a comprehensive feature set and an object-oriented programming language similar to Visual Basic.
http://www.basic4ppc.com/android/why.html
Corona SDK: Widely used among game developers, Corona is also a popular, general-purpose framework. Corona Labs (formerly Ansca Mobile) claims an installed base of 120,000 developers. This high-end, commercial SDK offers over 500 APIs, as well as advertising and native UI support, and a built-in physics engine.
http://www.coronalabs.com/
DHTMLX Touch: This JavaScript and AJAX library focuses on UI widgets, and is aimed at building HTML5-based apps.
http://www.dhtmlx.com/touch/
Dojo Mobile: The Dojo community's BSD-licensed HTML5/JavaScript framework has added MVC and app-controller packages, as well as mobile-specific components such as switches and sliders. A degree of PhoneGap compatibility is also available.
http://dojotoolkit.org/features/mobile
iUI: This lightweight web UI framework includes a JavaScript library, CSS support, and development images.
http://www.iui-js.org/
jQuery Mobile: This popular, lightweight HTML5-based framework is built on jQuery, and focuses on semantic markup, progressive enhancement, and themable design. It's the leading cross-platform framework among Eclipse open source developers.
http://jquerymobile.com/
Kendo UI: Telerik's HTML5/JavaScript framework is available in open source and commercial versions. Kendo UI offers a wide selection of UI widgets and plugins, and provides an MVVM framework, performance optimization, and validation and internationalization features.
http://www.kendoui.com/
Mono for Android: Xamarin's C#- and enterprise-oriented package is compatible with a similar iOS-based MonoTouch version, and can also share code with the C#-based Windows Phone. Mono supplies an environment conducive to Visual Basic developers, and is touted for its debugger and native binary compiler.
http://xamarin.com/
MoSync SDK: MoSync supports C++, HTML5/JavaScript, or both on up to nine different platforms. The SDK is touted as being compatible with PhoneGap, as well MoSync's own new HTML5/JavaScript-based native mobile app developer/simulator, MoSync Reload.
http://www.mosync.com/
PhoneGap: Designed for JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS development, PhoneGap is now sponsored by Adobe and the Apache Foundation. The 2.0 version adds Windows Phone support, new CLI functions, and overhauled JavaScript libraries. It also debuts Cordova WebView, an embeddable HTML rendering control that uses Apache's Cordova-JS API for tasks such as integrating PhoneGap code into larger native apps.
http://phonegap.com/
RhoMobile Suite: Motorola's mature, business-oriented framework features RhoConnect, RhoStudio, RhoElements, and a new RhoHub used for cloud app-building. RhoMobile is built on the Ruby language, the Rails Frameworks, and the MVC model.
http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/Software+and+Applications/RhoMobile+Suite
Sencha Touch 2: Sencha's popular HTML5/JavaScript framework provides 50 built-in components, state management, and an integrated MVC system. It now offers a free native packager that streamlines distribution to stores like Google Play.
http://www.sencha.com/products/touch/
SproutCore: This HTML5-driven framework offers a "clean" MVC architecture, and emphasizes performance optimization and scalability.
http://sproutcore.com/
TheAppBuilder: JamPot's new HTML5-based native app-building app has received plenty of buzz. It features a codeless, drag-and-drop interface that lets users quickly build fairly rudimentary apps by filling in Q&A checklists. Highlights include extensive social networking integration and automated submissions to Google Play.
http://www.theappbuilder.com/
Titanium: Appcelerator claims its Android/iOS framework supports over 5,000 device and mobile-OS APIs. Unlike the more web-oriented frameworks, Titanium uses JavaScript to create native code, with claimed benefits in performance.
http://www.appcelerator.com/platform/titanium-sdk
Additional Android-compatible development options include Andromo, Application Craft, Hypernext Android Creator (HAC), Jo, jQTouch, MIT App Inventor, Togosoft Device Browser, Unity Mobile, WebApp.Net, Wink Toolkit, xUI, and Zepto.js. For more options, check out these roundups of Android development software from BuildMobile, Daily Tekk, MobiGeni, and Technology Trend Analysis. Meanwhile, post your own favorites in the comments section below.