Building and deploying modern applications often comes with its fair share of challenges, especially when dependencies and configurations differ between versions.

For example, Angular applications require a specific Node.js version to match the Angular framework version. Upgrading from Angular 17 to Angular 18 might necessitate updating Node.js and npm, causing disruptions in the development process.

WaveMaker applications are no exception.

Developers frequently face hurdles like managing varying Node.js and npm versions, upgrading build environments, and ensuring secure and optimized deployment configurations for application servers like Tomcat.

To address these pain points, we are excited to introduce a set of Docker images for building and deploying WaveMaker applications. These Docker images streamline the development and deployment process, reducing friction and allowing developers to focus on what they do best — building great applications.

The Problem​

Each WaveMaker version may rely on different Node.js and npm versions, leading to frequent updates and configuration changes in developers' local environments & the build systems. This results in:

• Inconsistent build environments: Developers need to manually upgrade their tools to match the requirements of each WaveMaker version.
• Increased setup time: Setting up and maintaining the right environment for builds becomes time-consuming.

Similarly, deploying WaveMaker applications on Tomcat servers introduces challenges such as:

• Ensuring secure configurations for Tomcat.
• Optimizing Tomcat settings to enhance application performance.

These challenges are not unique to WaveMaker and are common across many UI frameworks. However, we recognize the importance of providing tailored solutions to make your journey with WaveMaker seamless.

The Solution: Docker Images​

To overcome these challenges, we are thrilled to introduce two specialized Docker images that streamline the entire process:

• WaveMaker App-Builder Docker Image
• WaveMaker App-Runtime-Tomcat Docker Image

Here’s how they help:​

1. Standardized Build Environments​

Our Docker images come pre-configured with the correct Node.js and npm versions for each WaveMaker release. This eliminates the need for developers to manually manage their local environments, ensuring:

• Consistency across development teams.
• Faster onboarding for new developers.
• Simplified environment upgrades.

2. Simplified Deployment with Optimized Tomcat Configuration​

Deploying WaveMaker applications on Tomcat is now more straightforward. The deployment Docker image includes:

• Pre-configured secure settings for Tomcat.
• Performance optimizations tailored for WaveMaker applications.
• An out-of-the-box solution that minimizes manual intervention during deployment.

These images provide an all-in-one containerized solution, simplifying the build and deployment of microservices-enabled WaveMaker applications.

Meet the New WaveMaker Docker Images​

WaveMaker App-Builder Docker Image​

The App-Builder Docker image is purpose-built to streamline the application build process in a containerized environment, with all essential tools and libraries pre-installed. Available on Docker Hub, it includes Node, npm, Maven, and Java, making it easy to compile and package WaveMaker applications without any additional setup.

This containerized setup ensures a fully isolated and consistent build environment, yielding reliable results across development and production. After the build, this image produces a ready-to-deploy WAR file, seamlessly prepared for the deployment stage.

WaveMaker App-Runtime-Tomcat Docker Image​

Built on the Tomcat server, the App-Runtime-Tomcat Docker image is optimized for deploying WaveMaker applications with ease and reliability. Also available on Docker Hub, it’s designed to work directly with the WAR files generated by the App-Builder image, providing a stable production environment for application runtime.

This setup ensures a reliable, WaveMaker-ready environment that simplifies deployment.

Why Use Both Images?​

Together, the App-Builder and App-Runtime-Tomcat images provide a complete, containerized CI/CD pipeline for WaveMaker applications. The App-Builder image ensures an isolated, consistent build environment, while the App-Runtime-Tomcat image delivers a standardized runtime, making deployment smooth and compatible. This two-image strategy simplifies build and deployment, enhances reliability, and supports micro-services architectures effectively.

Ready to Transform Your Development Workflow?​

Begin utilizing the WaveMaker App-Builder and App-Runtime-Tomcat Docker images today to simplify your workflow, save time, and concentrate on what truly matters—creating outstanding applications.

With the default Dockerfile included in your WaveMaker application starting from WaveMaker Release 11.10 (scheduled to be released on 27th Jan 2025), these two images will be seamlessly integrated for a hassle-free setup as soon as they become available.

Check out the reference document to get started.

Explore these images on Docker Hub and enhance your WaveMaker deployment process with ease.

At WaveMaker, we are committed to providing a seamless and modern development experience for our users. As part of this commitment, our low-code studio integrates with various database providers to offer robust Database Services for the applications you generate. Staying in sync with the latest advancements in database technologies ensures your applications are secure, performant, and future-proof.

In our latest release, we’ve upgraded the supported database server versions, phasing out deprecated versions and aligning with the industry’s best practices. Here’s everything you need to know about the changes and how they impact your applications.

At WaveMaker, we're committed to ensuring that your applications are always powered by the latest and greatest technologies. As part of this commitment, we’re excited to announce that the upcoming WaveMaker Studio v11.10 release, scheduled for January 20, 2025, will transition all generated web applications to Angular 18 and Node v22.

Angular 17, the backbone of current wavemaker's web applications, is set to reach its end of life on May 15, 2025. To keep your applications secure, performant, and future-proof, we’re making the proactive move to Angular 18.

Author: Chakravarthy Batna

Migration is a critical part of maintaining and evolving software projects. Ensuring that these transitions are smooth and well-documented can often be challenging. To streamline this process and provide more visibility, we’re excited to introduce our new Migration Report—a feature that captures all the changes made during project migrations.

This report serves as a comprehensive log, tracking every modification, enhancement, or adjustment applied throughout the migration process. By capturing key details and presenting them in an easy-to-understand format, we aim to make your migration experience more transparent, efficient, and error-free.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into how the Migration Report works, the benefits it brings to your workflow, and how it helps ensure your projects are always up to date and running smoothly.

Down in the engine room, 2024 was a busy year for WaveMaker! We’ve worked hard to make the platform even better with major updates and new features. Whether you’re a WaveMaker developer or just curious, here’s a look at everything we rolled out this year including improvements and features that took things to the next level.

Expo has rolled out version 52 with a set of features and enhancements aimed at improving developer productivity and app performance. This update addresses critical pain points, introduces new capabilities, and refines existing tools, making it a significant release for mobile app developers. Here's a quick look at what Expo 52 brings to the table and how it compares to version 50.

This upgrade stabilizes the platform to support the latest up-to-date Expo 52 features, minimizing the gaps between the Expo and WaveMaker platforms and improving the development experience with enhanced tools and support.

WaveMaker Studio delivers consistent, predictable updates to provide users with an evolving, secure, and feature-rich experience. This document outlines our release schedule, versioning practices, and support lifecycle for both online and enterprise versions of WaveMaker Studio.

Versioning Scheme​

• WaveMaker Studio Release versions indicate the level of changes that are introduced by the release. WaveMaker Studio release versions have three parts: major.minor.patch.

• For example, version 11.8.5 indicates Major version 11, minor version 8 and patch level 5.

  • Major version includes platform-level upgrades or significant architectural changes
  • Minor version includes feature updates, improvements
  • Patch version includes bug fixes, minor enhancements, and security patches

• Each release type (major, minor, and patch) has a specific purpose and cadence.

Over the years, our low-code platform has empowered developers to build hybrid mobile applications with ease using Cordova. Cordova played a significant role in enabling cross-platform compatibility and helped countless users achieve their mobile application goals. However, as technology evolves, so do the expectations for performance, user experience, and scalability in mobile development.

In recent years, we have transitioned our platform to focus on React Native as the standard for mobile application development.

With this upgrade, we will be sunsetting Cordova-based app generation. This decision aligns with the industry's shift toward frameworks that deliver better performance and user experience for hybrid mobile applications.

In our commitment to keeping WaveMaker Studio fresh and user-friendly, we’ve added an exciting new feature: the Gift Box icon! This feature aims to provide you with real-time updates, making it easier than ever to stay informed about new features, how-tos, blog posts and changes within the platform.

Why the Gift Box?​

We understand that our users want timely information on updates to make the most of WaveMaker Studio. With the Gift Box, we’re making it simple and accessible for you to know what’s changed.

We’re thrilled to announce the release of WaveMaker Studio 11.9.0, packed with powerful enhancements designed to elevate your app development experience. This release focuses on stack upgrades and compliance with the latest industry standards.