Quick & Powerful Ruby Desktop Applications

Bowline Learn more »
Overview

Bowline is a framework for making cross platform desktop applications in Ruby, HTML and JavaScript.

If you've ever wished creating a desktop application was as simple as creating a Rails website, Bowline's for you.

Bowline respects MVC, you can design your views in HTML5/CSS3 - then bind them to your Ruby models. There's no request/response cycle - any changes in models automatically get reflected in the view.

Check out the example application, screenshots, and FAQ.

Install Bowline »

Requirements:

  • Mac OSX >=10.5 or Ubuntu
  • Ruby 1.9
  • Bowline gem
Installation is easy: 
>> sudo gem install bowline
>> bowline-gen app helloworld
>> cd helloworld
>> bowline-bundle
>> ./script/run

For further documentation, see the wiki and example app.

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How is Bowline different from Adobe Air and Titanium?

Bowline is a framework, rather than a platform. Comparing Bowline to Air is like comparing cgi.rb to Rails.

How is Bowline different from Shoes?

Two fundamental differences; Bowline has an MVC architecture and Bowline's views are written in HTML/JavaScript.

What makes up Bowline?

Bowline comprises of:
  • wxWidgets - a C++ app framework
  • WebKit - the rendering engine behind Safari & Chrome
  • Ruby 1.9.1
The C++ components to Bowline reside in the bowline-desktop project.

How cross-platform is Bowline?

At the moment, Bowline works on Linux and OSX. Windows support is in the pipeline (really, it is).

Are there any example Bowline apps out there?

Yes, have a look at the Bowline Twitter client.

What license is Bowline under?

The MIT license.

How can I find out more about Bowline?

Check out the wiki - or come to GoRuCo and watch Alex's talk.

What's the future of Bowline?

Ah, we've got some great things in the pipeline - such as automatic updating, gem extensions and server db synchronisation.

Who's behind Bowline?

Bowline is being developed by Alex MacCaw - a Ruby/JS developer. (Twitter, Github, Blog).