NativeScript recently joined the OpenJS foundation as an incubating project. The framework, which allows developers to write applications leveraging native mobile APIs with JavaScript and TypeScript, will benefit from the OpenJS foundation support in terms of governance and community outreach, and strengthen its long-term viability.
The Progress company transferred in June this year the responsibility of developing and maintaining NativeScript to the nStudio consultancy. Since then, NativeScript released its version 7 with a revamped CLI, increased stack consistency, and better alignment with modern JavaScript standards (ES2017). The new governance model created and defined the high-level guidance role of the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) and the TSC consensus-seeking decision-making model. The TSC also established the roles and participation model for users, contributors, committers, and reviewers.
After Electron (formerly managed by GitHub) and the JSON schema validator Ajv earlier this year, NativeScript joins the OpenJS foundation as an incubator project. NativeScript maintainer and nStudio Senior Partner Nathan Walker explained the rationale behind the move:
We are excited to be joining the OpenJS Foundation. We believe this will directly benefit both a wonderful community of developers and end-user businesses that rely on it worldwide. We have been involved with NativeScript for the past six years, and we see joining OpenJS as a natural step in its evolution.
By joining the OpenJS foundation, NativeScript decouples its long-term viability and development from the interests of a single private company. With OpenJS, NativeScript will benefit from pooled resources and expertise. Robin Ginn, OpenJS Foundation executive director, said:
It’s exciting when projects come in whose goals align similarly to ours. We will provide resources and guidance to help NativeScript move forward on multiple fronts, including governance, technology, community outreach, and much more.
The OpenJS Foundation aims to be the central place that supports critical open-source JavaScript projects and web technologies. It is committed to providing a neutral organization to host and maintain projects, and also to fund projects for the benefit of the entire community. The foundation consists of 32 open-source JavaScript projects, including jQuery, Node.js, Webpack, and Electron. The foundation is supported by 30 companies, including Google, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft.