1. A method of generating runtime metadata for use in the development of a mobile device application, the method comprising: parsing a metadata file associated with an application database; generating initialization code for instantiating a first class from the metadata file such that when the initialization code for instantiating the first class is executed, a first object is created for storing metadata for the application database that is accessible by one or more application layers at runtime; generating initialization code for instantiating a second class from the metadata file such that when the initialization code for instantiating the second class is executed, one or more second objects are created, each for storing metadata for a property of a data record of the application database that is accessible by the one or more application layers at runtime; and converting data between different data formats using the metadata stored in at least one of the first object and the one or more second objects.