In today’s technological world, the applications with the largest market share are those that are available on various platforms. Gone are the days of simply building native apps for a single type of device or operating system; in the past, it focused on iOS and hoped for the best. This has led to the rise of cross-platform technologies such as Marmalade, which is a vital tool for building cross-platform applications developed with C++.

Marmalade Technologies Ltd created the Marmalade SDK (a software development kit) to reduce the time and effort when developers want to create games and applications for different operating systems and platforms. Not only that, but thanks to the Marmalade SDK, the same code base can be used on all supported platforms, technologies shared, integrated, and reused through third-party tools.

Some popular examples of applications created by Marmalade include global sensations; plants vs Zombies, Blur Overdrive, Godus and Draw Something.

How does jam work?

1. The code is written in your favorite IDE (Xcode or Visual Studio)
2. Simply select your target architecture (ARM, x86, MIPS), compile your application, and Marmalade will take care of creating a native binary CPU for your application.
3. Select the platform you want your app or game to target and Marmalade combines your native CPU app with a “loader” specific to the selected platform and creates an installable app package.
4. Marmalade handles any operating system API call and your app or game will run natively.

Marmalade’s workflow is also very simple: create your project, program in your favorite IDE, add media to your app or game, test it in a simulator, then upload it to your device, test it, and finally submit your app. or play to your repository.

Jam Software Development Kit

The Marmalade Software Development Kit is a set of software development tools that allows the developer to create applications or games and is made up of five subsystems:

1 – Jam C++

Here you have all the power of C++, you can program for one platform or several. You can just focus on making a good game or app and not worry if it works on other platforms.

This environment provides high performance, openness, flexibility, and easy access. It also enables C++ development for any platform and minimizes the learning curve so that experience is available for any operating system or platform.

You can keep all the benefits of cross-platform development in C++ with unparalleled high performance, openness, flexibility, and access. STIs can be programmed with high flexibility for games on iOS and Windows.

2 – Jam Juice

Juice Marmalade is a new technology that allows developers to compile their native iOS Android projects. With this, it is no longer necessary to rewrite the code to make it work just as well on an Android.

You can even develop your app with Objective-C and Xcode and then compile it for export across all platforms, allowing you to expose your app or game to new audiences. There is no need to rewrite code due to its unique set of tools and unique coding that leverages open source.

3 – Quick Jam

Quick Marmadale is designed to be fast and flexible. With Lua (a lightweight, multi-paradigm programming language designed as a scripting language with extensible semantics as its primary goal), you can achieve faster scripting and powerful product platforms. No other RAD environment provides simultaneous viewing of multiple platforms: with it you can develop for Android on a Mac or a PC for iOS.

With Marmalade Quick you can position your final product for iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Windows Desktop, Mac Desktop, Tizen, BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry Playbook and Roku.

4 – Jam Net

Marmalade Web allows the creation of hybrid applications using HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript. These apps are packaged as native app installers, ready to be deployed to app stores.

It offers a unique opportunity to combine elements of functionality for web and native applications. This element of the SDK is very well documented for developers, allowing them to create original, high-performance products using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript with C++ and enables 3D graphics when needed.

5 – Jam Ecosystem

Within the SDK you also have access to a wide range of modules, services, tools, and extensions that can help you enrich, connect, and monetize your applications. The Marmalade ecosystem includes many integrations provided by leading middleware and service providers.

What about the licenses?

There are several types of licenses available for Marmalade. Free licenses allow you to publish your products on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows Store, BlackBerry 10, and Tizen; however, you have limitations when building native apps, as you cannot remove the custom Marmalade screen.

The community license allows you to publish within the same systems as the free license, but makes up for the drawbacks at a cost of $149 per year. The Indie license also allows you to publish to Roku, Windows Desktop, and Mac OS X, costing $499 per year, with a 72-hour response time from the tech support team.

Plus licenses allow you to publish on all the platforms mentioned above but also on connected TV systems. You also get access to technical support answers team on up to 3 computers with the same user per year which is important for small businesses and costs $1499

The Pro license grants the same benefits as the Plus license, but can support up to 5 computers per month and is the only one that allows access to the source code of Marmalade, ideal for advanced developers. That is represented in the price – $3,500 a year.

Advantages of Jam

1. Marmalade you have a single source for your application regardless of the platform
2. You can easily integrate third-party libraries
3. You can compile your app directly with native CPU instructions to deliver maximum speed to your target platforms
4. No virtual machines or cross language programming.
5. You can redeploy the app to another platform without recompiling

The high prices of some Marmalade licenses can be a stumbling block for future developers, but it is compensated by its excellent functionality and the possibility of using a free license.

Marmalade is a tool that is definitely used by entrepreneurs and large companies within the technology industry. Perhaps you are already using products made with Marmalade on your device without knowing it.