Trillain Mobile has produced the first stable release of RoboVM, providing a way to run Java on iOS.

The idea behind RoboVM is to let you code in Java on iOS rather than Objective C or Swift.

As we explained last year, RoboVM is a bytecode to ARM compiler which allows you to code in any language that targets the JVM. It has a Java-Objective-C bridge that lets you call any native framework APIs you need to use, and Objective-C objects can be used as if they were Java objects. The remainder of the runtime is provided by the Android Framework minus anything to do with the UI.

You do still need a Mac and XCode to use RoboVM, at least to run the compiled code. You can run your app on the simulator or a real device.

The new version has an improved debugger with complete JDWP functionality.

The compiler also now offers support for RAM disk which makes it faster to compile and link if your hard disk is slow.

RoboVM now has support for HFS+ file compression. All files put into the cache are now compressed, further speeding up the compilation process and reducing the amount of space used for the RoboVM cache.

There’s a new Eclipse project wizard in this release, using the new templates project. Maven archetype support has also been added.

Support for invoking tools via robovm.xml is another addition, with initial support for the TextureAtlas tool, with more to come.

The developers say commercial licenses will now be offered, although you can still code for free using the OSS core. In the blog post about the new version, Mario Zechner says that you will continue to be able to create apps without any artificial limitations, free of charge. The commercial licenses add convenience features and support services on top of the OSS core, and the intention is to use the money raised by the commercial licenses to support the work on the free OSS core and ensure the longevity of the project as a whole.

Depending on the version chosen, the commercial licenses add a JDWP compliant debugger for both simulator and on-device debugging; improved crash reporting; private e-mail support; and JavaFX support. 

Further versions of RoboVM are promised soon, with new features including better documentation and Intellij IDEA & Android Studio integration.  

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