HP-backed Enyo 2 app framework exits beta

Hewlett-Packard announced this week that Enyo 2, the second version of framework formerly used exclusively for building WebOS apps, has exited beta and is available for developer use.

While the first version of Enyo was focused on HP's failed TouchPad tablet, the new iteration can be used to build apps for iOS, Android, Safari, Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer.

"We see a web-centric future in which there aren't iOS apps, Android apps, Mac apps and Windows apps -- there are just apps: apps that let you access your content and get stuff done, wherever you happen to be, on whatever device is handy," the Enyo team said in a blog post Wednesday. "Today's release marks a major milestone as we declare Enyo 2 production-ready, from both a functionality and quality point of view."

Enyo is central to the development of WebOS, which was in limbo until HP decided to open source the operating system last December. The mobile platform was thought dead after then-CEO Leo Apotheker announced during an earnings call last August that the company would discontinue operations for WebOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and WebOS phones. HP expects to release the beta of Open WebOS in August, with version 1 to follow a month later.

HP released the Enyo 2 beta in January, an effort the team called "pretty minimal." However, the new version "boasts an amazing community of developers, a broad set of cross-platform UI widgets, and a powerful layout library for building apps that work across all form factors from phones to desktops."

The team said Enyo apps have been developed for "virtually every platform" and that developers have submitted more than 50 add-on libraries and plugins. The new release features new Onyx widgets, a new contributor process for submitting larger code, and an "Enyo 2 Sampler" that helps acquaint users Enyo's functionality.