Aptana

Aptana

File:Aptana.png
Aptana running on Windows XP, showcasing its coding assistance features
Developer(s)	Aptana Inc.
Stable release	Milestone Release 9 (Stable: Build 17048) Beta / September 20th, 2007
Operating system	Cross-platform
Type	Web Development / IDE
License	Dual License Aptana Public License, v1.0 GNU General Public License
Website	www.aptana.com

Aptana, Inc. is based in San Mateo, CA. Founded by Paul Colton in 2005, the company is focused on creating tools and products for web developers. Aptana's main product is the Aptana Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

The Aptana IDE is an open source integrated development environment (IDE) for building JavaScript intensive web applications. It includes coding assistance for JavaScript, HTML, and CSS languages, an outliner of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS code structure, error and warning notification and the possibility to customize and extend the UI.

This Eclipse-based IDE is available as standalone on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, or as a plugin for Eclipse.

Features

These are the features offered by Aptana as of the Milestone Release 9 (Stable: Build 17048)

• Code Assist on JavaScript, HTML, and CSS languages, including own JavaScript functions
• Outliner that gives a snapshot view of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS code structure
• FTP/SFTP uploading, downloading and synchronization
• JavaScript debugger to troubleshoot code
• Coding error and warning notification
• Support for UI customization and extensions
• Cross-platform support

License

Aptana uses a "dual licensing" model. Under this model, users may choose to use the Aptana IDE under the free software/open source GNU General Public License (commonly known as the "GPL") or under the Aptana Public License (known as the "APL").

With the GPL license, the Aptana IDE is available free of charge, as long as the use of the Aptana IDE adheres to the terms of the GPL license. Users may download the software for free, and modify, integrate and distribute it. However, GPL users must abide by the rules of the GPL, which stipulate that if an application is redistributed that contains any Aptana IDE source code or binaries, the complete source code for this application must also be open and available for redistribution under the terms of the GPL.

Aptana offers the APL license for organizations that want to use the Aptana IDE for free and modify, integrate and distribute it for personal or internal use only, without any redistribution requirements.

• Aptana IDE Goes Dual License: APL & GPL
• Aptana Licensing FAQ

License history

• When launched in 2006, Aptana was released under the Eclipse Public License 1.0. They were using the EPL until milestone 8. The first few builds of milestone 9 were licensed under the Eclipse Public License 1.0 until nightly build 16120.
• One nightly build of milestone 9 was licensed under the Gnu Public License 3.0 (build 16204)
• Builds after 16204 have been licensed as Freeware with redistribution restrictions licensed under the Aptana Public License, v1.0.
• On September 21st 2007, Aptana announced they would be using a dual license: GPL V3 and the freeware APL.

Ajax Library Support

• Adobe Spry 1.5
• Ext 1.0.1 (support coming for Ext 2.0)
• Aflax 1.0
• Rico 2.0
• Prototype 1.5.0
• MochiKit 1.4
• Yahoo User Interface (YUI) 2.2.0
• Mootools 1.1.1
• Dojo 0.4.3
• JQuery 1.1.3.1
• Scriptaculous 1.7

JavaScript Outliner

The JavaScript outliner in Milestone 9 provides improved JavaScript language syntax recognition and code navigation by implementing ctrl+click to navigate functions.

PHP

Aptana IDE provide some support for PHP. This PHP support includes Code Assist on PHP functions and parameters, PHP syntax colorization, and a PHP outliner. It is also possible to configure Aptana to edit ASP or other not (yet) supported file types.

Adobe AIR Support

Aptana IDE provide some support for Adobe AIR. Adobe AIR Screencast

iPhone Support

The Apple iPhone Development Plugin (beta) enables the Aptana IDE to assist in the development of iPhone applets. You'll need the newest version of Aptana (build 15637) to use it. iPhone screencast

RadRails

Aptana RadRails is an environment for building Ruby on Rails applications. It provides features to make both Ruby and Ruby on Rails development more productive.

Code Assist

Code Assist is similar to completing code statements, by presenting a pop-up with either:

• the supported arguments for the function call begin coded;
• the supported properties and methods on the desired object.

This applies both to built-in functions / methods and to those already coded — but the latter use requires documenting such functions/methods with ScriptDoc, a documentation dialect similar to that used by Javadoc.

Browser support

The Code Assist feature includes information on browser support for JavaScript methods / properties, HTML elements and CSS properties.

FTP/SFTP

Support for uploading downloading and synchronization using FTP and SFTP.

Debugger

Integrated JavaScript debugging.

See also

• Eclipse
• RadRails
• AJAX
• ECMAScript

External links

• Aptana - official site
• aptana.tv - official Aptana screencasts and demonstrations