Google is working on application framework for Android based on Dart

Google is working on an alternative to its current Java-based application framework for Android. It concerns Sky, a way of making applications based on Google’s own development language Dart. A demo has already been released.

ArsTechnica noted that Google is experimenting with its Java alternative Sky. Code and documentation from an early version of the sdk can already be found on GitHub. With the Dart-based programming language, the internet giant mainly wants to offer better performance on Android: applications have to run constantly at 120 fps, something that is not possible with current programming tools. When Sky will be available to developers is not yet clear: Google only states that it is testing and has not released any information about the timetable.

Application content can be served over http so that the whole functions more or less like a web application. This also ensures, for example, that updates can be easily rolled out. For example, users wouldn’t have to download a new version of an app first, instead developers would only have to upload new code on the server side. Furthermore, Sky-based applications gain access to the existing Android APIs.

Google introduced Dart several years ago and presented it as a javascript alternative for the web. That web background makes it easy to make it compatible with Android, as well as other mobile operating systems, according to ArsTechnica. It is not clear whether Google has plans to also release Sky for competitors.