Software startup Widget Press has launched a point-and-click interface for iPhone application development that it said does away with the need for software coding.

ModelBaker, launched at Macworld, is a software development tool designed to produce web applications that can then be deployed both in a regular browser, and as a browsable page customised for the iPhone.

"A team can get up and running and quickly build a back-end database without even knowing they're building a database. They can build all of the validation rules, the forms, all in just a few clicks," said Widget Press founder Jonathan Freeman.

ModelBaker creates PHP applications, structured around the model view controller architecture. This software architecture separates the application's user interface from the back-end data structure, and uses a set of controllers containing the business rules that enable the interface to manipulate the back-end data.

The system will output a basic web interface that developers or designers can then customise using their own web design software. It also produces a version of the application customised for the iPhone interface, enabling Apple mobile users to access the same application on the road.

There is also support for Google's Android mobile phone platform, because it uses the same WebKit browser engine as Apple's Safari application on the iPhone.

The software costs $399 for a single-user licence, but there is a $99 version of the software for educational users.