I've just tried a bunch of other similar tools (Application Craft, Appery.io, Codiqa, Wakanda...) and none of them are quite there yet. Was excited to try Intel's XDK, and I'm on a Mac.
First impressions were very hopeful. The concept is great - allow developers but also designers to quickly put together an app layout and prototype basic UI interactions, with real code that can be deployed and tested.
But I was sadly disappointed. The Design mode is extremely difficult to use. I cannot even select the elements once in the layout. They have this orange highlight that won't go away, and I get into this state where I have to restart the entire application and start over.
Other issues:
- Where's the save command? Or is it always auto-saving? It's really disconcerting not knowing if things are saving or not.
- How do I set element dimensions and positioning? These are basic features.
- The default settings for controls are horrible. At least make them look clean and provide styles that can easily be changed.
I do hope Intel keeps improving this tool. It's way too buggy for serious usage I'm afraid, and not even for throw away prototyping with those object selection issues.
If Intel is reading this, try out Codiqa (a JQuery Mobile tool) and their tool. It's quite easy to use, though it has its own usability issues and bugs.
Anyone else having issues with the Mac version of XDK? Is the Windows version better?
S