Version 1 of NativeScript, an open source system that allows you to write native apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone using JavaScript, is now available.

As we explained when it was first announced, see JavaScript For Native Apps, NativeScript is standard JavaScript that has been extended with some clever middleware that allows you to call functions in the native API.

NativeScript has been developed by Telerik, known for its wrapper approach to developing "native" apps with JavaScript. The Telerik AppBuilder can be used to develop with NativeScript as an alternative to the NativeScript CLI (Command-Line Interface).

One feature Valio Stoychev was keen to emphasize in his announcement of the new release is that:

NativeScript offers 0-day support for new OSs, meaning that it supports the freshly released iOS8.3 and even the not yet released beta version of iOS8.4! It goes without saying we also support the Android’s latest Lollipop 5.0 release. 

NativeScript's Getting Started guide states:

To get started, you need JavaScript or TypeScript knowledge to implement your business logic, XML and CSS knowledge to design your UI and an idea for a mobile app. You do not need Java or Objective-C knowledge.

The main improvements in NativeScript 1.0 are resolution-specific views and DP-specific images, both of which facilitate getting the best display using the available hardware.

Four new UI controls are included in the release:

• SegmentedView
• ListPicker
• Placeholder
• Menu item support in Page

The release also offers an AngularJS 2 and NativeScript POC app, significant improvement in app load time on Android devices and an improved debugging experience.

The Telerik team has implemented some impressive samples, including an official app for the TelerikNEXT conference which was held at the beginning of May. As well as dowloading the app from the App Store of Google Play, you can also browse their source code because they are open source on GitHub.

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