11 open source programming tools on the rise
Linus Torvalds's fabled 'world domination' on the desktops of clerks or CEOs may never arrive, but it's already here on the computers of programmers everywhere
By Peter Wayner | InfoWorld | Published: 17:07, 05 March 12
If the open source model has a sweet spot, it's in programming tools. Even in the deepest corners of proprietary stacks, open source tools can be found, often dominating. The reason is clear: Open source licences are designed to let users revise, fix, and extend their code. The barber or cop may not be familiar enough with code to contribute, but programmers sure know how to fiddle with their tools. The result is a fertile ecology fed by the enthusiasm of developers who know how to "scratch an itch." Here is a very unscientific survey of worthwhile open source tools that have caught our eye. Most are relatively new; others continue to surprise us as they morph to support the latest programming trends.
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Rhomobile Rhodes
Ruby may be the second most popular language on Github, but that won't do you any good if you want to program for the iPhone, a platform that prefers Objective-C, the way God intended when he first created the NeXT machine.
Rhomobile Rhodes is an open source platform for bundling up Ruby websites and stuffing them into an iPhone app. You can even use jQuery Mobile to handle the layout if you wish. It's like building a Web app, but you have to remember that the user has big fat fingers instead of a much more precise mouse pointer.
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