Why Cross Platform Mobile Development?

In order to understand everything we are about to talk about, we must first clear out some definitions; what is it Cross-platform mobile development?

Cross-platform mobile development is the creation of software applications that are compatible with multiple mobile operating systems. Originally, the complexity of developing mobile apps was compounded by the difficulty of building out a backend that worked across multiple platforms. Although it was time-consuming and expensive, it was often easier to build native applications for each mobile operating system (OS). The problem was that the code built for one operating system could not be repurposed for another OS.

When starting to create a mobile application, developers always select an approach for building it first. Just some years ago, there was no other choice than to create apps using languages, SDKs, and IDEs belonging to a specific OS. Today, this is not the only solution. In particular, when cross-platform frameworks such as phonegap, React Native, Cordova appeared, it became possible to create a universal codebase that could easily be adapted to any of the platforms.

The Essence of Cross-Platform Mobile Development

Making software for a specific platform implies using only those development tools that were officially submitted by the person who maintains the OS. As a result, you get a solution that is fully adapted to the platform-specific capabilities. The received apps are fast, efficient, and can operate any of the software and hardware assets of the device.

The majority of such frameworks are based on the ubiquitous JavaScript. 75% to 90% of codebase remains consistent between app versions. The rest is the code that describes the access to platform-specific software and hardware capabilities. Thus, the development time and overall application budget to deploy the app to each intended platform are reduced. Moreover, the functionality and overall user experience with this approach are very close to native.

Today, it is easier for programmers to develop cross-platform apps. Newer approaches to cross-platform development include:

Hybrid Mobile App Development

Developers write the core of the application as an HTML5 or JavaScript mobile app and then place a native device wrapper around it.

Rapid Mobile App Development

Developers use code-free programming tools. RMAD offers business users the ability to quickly build and manage “good-enough” internal apps to address specific business issues.

Windows Universal Apps

One codebase for all Windows devices. The goal is to enable the same app to run on a Windows PC, tablet, smartphone, smartwatch or XBox.

Progressive Web Apps

Websites that look and behave as if they are mobile apps. PWAs are built to take advantage of native mobile device features, without requiring the end user to visit an app store, make a purchase and download software locally.

In a previous article we talked about native application development, where we spoke about its many great advantages, but that being it exclusive it could not be used for different operating systems. Imagine you required to answer an email from your phone but that Your Webmail app was not compatible with your mobile’s operating system, if this was the case you would never be able to send the message. This type of issue would never happen if this service was offered via hybrid applications.

Hybrid applications are mobile applications designed in a web programming language, whether HTML5, CSS or JavaScript, together with a framework that allows you to adapt the web view to any view of a mobile device. In other words, they are nothing more than an application built to be used or implemented in different mobile operating systems, such as iOS, Android or Windows Phone, avoiding the task of creating an application for each operating system. In this way, a hybrid application can be adapted to multiple mobile platforms without additional code, but adjusting to some operational changes for each of them.

Hybrid mobile applications are like any other application for mobile devices: they are downloaded from the app stores of each Operating System, they are installed in different devices and are used to play, connect to social media, take photos and track your health among other functionalities. For the user, these look and feel like an application developed in a native language, either Objective-C or Swift for iOS or Java for Android, so a traditional user could hardly identify the language in which it was built. More importantly, users are not interested in the language in which an application was built, they are only interested in it working and responding well for the purpose that was downloaded.

Hybrid applications allow developers to reuse their web development skills and guide them towards cross-platform mobile development, so that they do not have to learn a whole new programming language that will probably take a lot of time, dedication and eventually free them to serve apps not limited to the platform language they chose to learn.

Speaking of the disadvantages, hybrid applications run with the web browser, which might make their performance a little lower than the native ones. But this difference is not usually that significant, they just run a little slower and their interface is a little less neat than that of the native apps since they do not have as much attention to detail and are more concerned with its applicability in all operating systems.

To summarize, the difference between both types of applications is clearer with the following example: a native app is like getting a tailored suit from a tailor that is unique and custom made, a hybrid App is like buying a standard suit from the store, it fulfills its function, at a lower cost without the comfort of a tailor’s suit, however, it is still functional.

Hybrid applications are perfect when we are starting in a digital environment if you need a management app, data processing, online store, CRM or any other application to reduce costs, development times and ease of use. Therefore, if you are looking to develop a simple application, which does not require large use of mobile components, an hybrid application is perfect for you.

Native mobile app development involves building apps for particular mobile operating systems using its native coding language, instead of writing apps in cross platform languages like Ionic. If you intend to build a native application for iOS, mobile app developers will use programming languages like Objective-C or Swift. In contrast, developing for Android calls for the programming languages Java or Kotlin.

On a mobile phone, for example, a native mobile app is an application that is coded in a specific programming language, such as Swift for iOS or Java for Android operating systems. Native mobile apps provide fast performance and a high degree of reliability. Native apps can provide optimized performance and take advantage of the latest technology, such as a GPS, compared to web apps or mobile cloud apps developed to be generic across multiple systems.

Both Apple and Google provide app developers with their own development tools, interface elements, and SDK (Software Development Kit). Most companies will invest in native mobile app development because of the myriad of benefits offered in comparison to other types of apps such as Hybrid or Web.

As mobile software is increasingly a necessity for companies, it’s important for companies to be well-informed about the pros and cons of choosing an app development approach.

Key Benefits of Native Mobile App Development:

Native Apps Are More Secure:

Web apps rely on different browsers and underlying technologies such as JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS. Developing a native mobile app is a great way to guarantee your users reliable data protection.

Native Apps Are More Interactive And Intuitive:

Native mobile apps run much smoother regarding user input and output. These types of apps inherit their devices’ OS interfaces, making them look and feel like an integrated part of the device.

The most advantageous benefit to native mobile apps is the superior user experience. Native apps are created specifically for an operating system. They stick to the guidelines that ultimately enhance and align the user experience with the specific operating system. As a result, the flow of the app is more natural as they have specific UI standards for each platform.

Native Apps Have The Best Performance:

With native mobile app development, the app is created and optimized for a specific platform. As a result, the app demonstrates an extremely high level performance. Native apps are very fast and responsive because they are built for that specific platform and are compiled using a platform’s core programming language and APIs. As a result, the app is much more efficient. The device stores the app allowing the software to leverage the device’s processing speed. As users navigate through a native mobile app, the contents and visual elements are already stored on their phone which means load times are quick.

Native Apps Allow Developers to Access the Full Feature Set of Devices:

Native apps are developed for their particular platform, taking full advantage of the software and the operating systems’ features. These apps can directly access the hardware of the device such as the GPS, camera, microphone, etc. so they are faster in execution, which ultimately results in better user experience.

¿Why it is better to use ionic?

With the passing of years, we have seen Ionic being used more and more for mobile app development. But, what is Ionic and why is it so recommended?

According to its own creators, Ionic is an HTML5 mobile app development framework targeted at building hybrid mobile apps. Hybrid apps are essentially small websites running in a browser shell in an app that has +access to the native platform layer. They have many benefits over pure native apps, specifically in terms of platform support, speed of development, and access to 3rd party code.

Think of Ionic as the front-end UI framework that handles all of the look and feel and UI interactions your app needs in order to be compelling. Kind of like “Bootstrap for Native,” but with support for a broad range of common native mobile components, slick animations, and beautiful design.

Now, we are going to give you 5 rock solid reasons you should think of Ionic as your framework of choice:

1. 1. One Code to Rule Them AllIonic is a framework to develop cross-platform iOS app development, Android development, and Windows Phone. As such, one of the most obvious reasons is that you only need to learn one real programming language, which is JavaScript to develop for 2 or 3 different platforms.
   2. User Interface ComponentsYes, the UI of Ionic apps looks like brand out of the box – something they are very proud of. Ionic comes with predefined styling for different components, so all the elements you can use will look and feel like native elements.
   3. Powerful yet Simple CLIIonic comes with a very handy command line interface. Whenever you need to create a new project, compile your project to native projects or do anything else inside your project, their CLI will support you a lot.
   4. Low Entrance BarrierIf you have ever developed with JavaScript, you know that you will see results pretty fast. And although Ionic uses the Angular framework which you need in all projects, getting started with Ionic takes you a few minutes maximum the first time.
   5. Development & Testing SpeedIf you have ever developed native applications you know that it can take a lot of time to develop and debug when you always have to re deploy your app to a simulator or a device. This process is so much faster with Ionic!

Let’s start at the beginning, an Android app is a software application running on the Android platform. Since Android is built for mobile devices, a typical Android app is designed for smart phones, tablets or PCs running on the Android OS.

Android app development faces different challenges than iOS app development, but it reaps the benefits of the Android infrastructure. It is an open source solution for mobile devices offering a complete software stack including operating system, middleware, and key mobile applications.

One of the big questions we often get goes something like “why can’t I just replicate my iOS app in Android? Do I really need to build a new app from the ground up?”

The answer to these questions is that the dev work doesn’t translate directly at all. Even the slightest perceivable difference in UI to the consumer takes a ton of development time. The difference in programming language means that devs cannot simply copy and paste assets between versions. It’s not that this approach is impractical, it’s that in many instances it is impossible. It’s also important to note the difference in markets. The type of app that succeeds in the App Store is not analogous to what will top the charts in Google Play.

Apart from its speed, scalability, and performance, there are many other benefits of Android application development which include:

Android is Open Source:

The Android platform is open source, which means the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) can be leveraged without having to worry about the licensing costs or royalty.

Low Investment & High ROI:

Android has a relatively low barrier to entry. Its SDK is available for free to developers which significantly reduces development costs.

Easy to Adopt:

Android apps are scripted in Java programming language that leverages a rich set of libraries. Any developer familiar with Java can build Android applications easily.

Low Investment & High ROI:

Android has a relatively low barrier to entry. Its SDK is available for free to developers, which significantly reduces the development costs. However, the app development costs can be bifurcated into three major parts: development, testing, and deployment.

Multiple Sales Channels:

Unlike other mobile platforms, Android applications can be deployed in different ways. You do not have to rely on a single market to distribute your applications.

When deciding to start either a web or app development project or both, there is always a discussion about whether running the project in house or outsourcing it. Each approach might have its benefits but this has always generated discussion in particular within the IT industry with questions like “should I outsource?” “What is the best way to outsource?” and “where can I find a reliable outsourcing partner” among many others.

You might be asking yourself “what do I have to know about outsourcing, apart from the benefits I will be getting from it?” but a better question to be asked before defining the benefits of web and software developing outsourcing is “Do I have the knowledge, the experience and resources to manage such a project?” If the answer is no, you are better of sticking to your strengths and leaving the rest to a qualified expert. This way you are more likely to save time and money.

Let’s See Some Pro’s and Con’s

Outsourcing with third party companies will mean reliability and quality but it might not mean it is going to be the cheapest option. However, you are more likely to save in the long term since, if the project is correctly executed, you are likely to save on future updates and support time due to better and more experienced hands having built it.  Everything relies in what you really want and how you are going to achieve it.

Working with a company means having a dedicated team of professionals working towards meeting your goals. Your only responsibility will be to communicate clearly and assertively with the company.

Cost

Nearshore software development outsourcing is always cheaper in the long run as mentioned above. Besides, if you think about it, hiring a team, managing it, getting the right resources and equipment will mean more time and money you have to spend on a project. If you hire a nearshore outsourcing company, you might save resources while having a reliable team that guarantees the right approach and best practices with their services.

Time Saving

It helps you save your precious time allowing you to focus on what you do best. The time you were going to put into hiring and management an in-house development team might be used in more pressing matters. Plus, if you hire a company it means they are more committed to deliver a project on time and know more about the time spent in each task that’s going to be developed.

Quality

By outsourcing with a company you get the benefits of the latest tools and technologies, which in the long run will benefit the sustainability of your website and good performance of your system.

If you have any request please contact us, someone from our team would happy to answer any question you may have.

This question is one of the most frequent queries within customers, sadly it doesn’t have a determined answer. Web development languages are chosen according to the requirements each client has, meaning all technologies used in each project are thought for each task or feature that is desired.

There are many languages you can use to program your web app or desktop app and there are sets of tools required to program and create the right environment for a project. Having said that, here’s a list of the most used web development languages according to our experience.

JavaScript Development

Simple, lightweight and it can be used directly with any browser.

JavaScript is a cross-platform, object-oriented scripting language used to make webpages interactive. It is used to enhance web pages and to provide a satisfactory user friendly experience.  It’s a language that relies mostly within HTML documents and provides interactivity that HTML by itself could never create. It is very fast as it runs itself on the client side, which means it doesn’t even need a plugin and this in turn reduces load time for high traffic sites.

Node.js Programing

Node.js is a lean, fast, cross-platform useful for both servers and desktop applications.

Is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript run-time environment that executes JavaScript code outside the browser. Node.js uses non-blocking, event-driven I/O to remain lightweight and efficient in the face of data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices. This environment allows us to test our web or desktop apps providing a smoother handling and launch.

PHP Web Development

It’s a quick and easy server side scripting language for web development and general use.

PHP stands for “Hypertext Preprocessor” and is known as a server-side language since it runs only on the hosting server and the end user cannot “see” the PHP script. It provides a fast loading speed and its code processing is faster than similar technologies like ASP. It is one of the most flexible technologies out there in the market and it may be used with many frameworks and automation tools.

Python Development

Thousands of third-party libraries make Python a popular and versatile language

Python is a general-purpose, object-oriented and high-level programming language that supports modules and packages, which encourages program modularity and code reuse.  It has a greater extension of libraries, it’s dynamic and is also extensively found in other languages like C, C++, it poses a unit testing framework and its scalable multi-protocol.

Ruby on Rails Programming

Ruby on Rails minimizes website development time in about 30-40% due to the lean code base, modular design and its capacity to be used with plugin solutions.

Often shortened to Rails or RoR, Ruby on Rails is an open source web application framework for the Ruby programming language. It is intended to be used with Agile development methodologies for rapid development. Since it is agile and it has libraries of already made plugins, it helps save time while its consistency creates efficiency through standardization. It holds great quality and promotes bug free development.

These are our top languages, applications, platforms and favorite tools to program and develop web applications. So if you are looking for great quality and sustainability, feel free to reach out to us for an assessment.

One of the most important current trends in technology is mobile app development, now days the acquisition of mobiles and the rise of the app industry have shown a great impact in every aspect of technology. Many languages are used to develop all kinds of coding but the main languages are HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These 3 code styles complement each other, being HTML the markup that tells the browser how to display a website’s words and Images, CSS is the style sheet, which means it creates a uniform look across the entire website while JavaScript the enhances the site’s experience; It generates an interactive and dynamic interface allowing web pages to react to many variables suh us events, variable, detection of a user’s browser, effects and so on.

Despite the above, JavaScript is not a primarily language for app development as it is the language used to develop and manage websites and even though there are ways to develop an application using only javascript there are other more efficient ways to make them. None the less, JavaScript (JS) has one great advantage and it is that you can reuse you code for frontend and backend (Node.js), helping you save time. Another advantage of JS is that it is very compatible with all browsers which imparts ease to the developing process.

The JS framework is gaining popularity everyday. Even companies like Apple and IBM are using JS. It doesn’t stop there, now the angularJS team is working in a partnership with Google and Microsoft.

Creating apps in JavaScript is easy since you have to code the app once and you may release it on all the platforms (Android, iOS, and Windows).

JavaScript’s Key features:

• One of the easiest languages out there.
• Fast and efficient.
• It is executed on the client-side which means it saves bandwidth by not using the server.
• Used for dynamics and creating animations on otherwise dull and boring websites.

While standard JavaScript is used for operating basic client-side functions, many web developers now promote the use of JavaScript libraries like jQuery to add more advanced dynamic elements to websites.

There are several frameworks that can be used to create a professional JavaScript app such as PhoneGap, jQuery Mobile, and Ionic.

JQuery

“jQuery Mobile framework takes the “write less, do more” mantra to the next level: Instead of writing unique applications for each mobile device or iOS, the jQuery mobile framework allows you to design a single highly-branded responsive website or application that will work on all popular smartphone, tablet, and desktop platforms.”

PhoneGap

With PhoneGap you can “reuse existing web development skills to quickly make hybrid applications built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Create experiences for multiple platforms with a single codebase so you can reach your audience no matter their device.”

Ionic

“From open source to pro services, Ionic helps you build, deploy, test, and monitor apps easier than ever before.”

There are many other frameworks to develop mobile apps with JavaScript but these are the most used one by many developer being JQuery the leader between them. If you want an assessment on what is the best language and framework to develop your do not hesitate to send us a message below.

One of the most important current trends in technology is mobile app development, now days the acquisition of mobiles and the rise of the app industry have shown a great impact in every aspect of technology. Many languages are used to develop all kinds of coding but the main languages are HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These 3 code styles complement each other, being HTML the markup that tells the browser how to display a website’s words and Images, CSS is the style sheet, which means it creates a uniform look across the entire website while JavaScript the enhances the site’s experience; It generates an interactive and dynamic interface allowing web pages to react to many variables suh us events, variable, detection of a user’s browser, effects and so on.

Despite the above, JavaScript is not a primarily language for app development as it is the language used to develop and manage websites and even though there are ways to develop an application using only javascript there are other more efficient ways to make them. None the less, JavaScript (JS) has one great advantage and it is that you can reuse you code for frontend and backend (Node.js), helping you save time. Another advantage of JS is that it is very compatible with all browsers which imparts ease to the developing process.

The JS framework is gaining popularity everyday. Even companies like Apple and IBM are using JS. It doesn’t stop there, now the angularJS team is working in a partnership with Google and Microsoft.

Creating apps in JavaScript is easy since you have to code the app once and you may release it on all the platforms (Android, iOS, and Windows).

JavaScript’s Key features:

• One of the easiest languages out there.
• Fast and efficient.
• It is executed on the client-side which means it saves bandwidth by not using the server.
• Used for dynamics and creating animations on otherwise dull and boring websites.

While standard JavaScript is used for operating basic client-side functions, many web developers now promote the use of JavaScript libraries like jQuery to add more advanced dynamic elements to websites.

There are several frameworks that can be used to create a professional JavaScript app such as PhoneGap, jQuery Mobile, and Ionic.

JQuery

“jQuery Mobile framework takes the “write less, do more” mantra to the next level: Instead of writing unique applications for each mobile device or iOS, the jQuery mobile framework allows you to design a single highly-branded responsive website or application that will work on all popular smartphone, tablet, and desktop platforms.”

PhoneGap

With PhoneGap you can “reuse existing web development skills to quickly make hybrid applications built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Create experiences for multiple platforms with a single codebase so you can reach your audience no matter their device.”

Ionic

“From open source to pro services, Ionic helps you build, deploy, test, and monitor apps easier than ever before.”

There are many other frameworks to develop mobile apps with JavaScript but these are the most used one by many developer being JQuery the leader between them. If you want an assessment on what is the best language and framework to develop your do not hesitate to send us a message below.

Python is a high level programming language widely known to be used for web development. Despite this, it is also used in a wide range of non-scripted contexts and although mobile development on Android or iOS wasn’t Python’s strong-side before, we can see all the improvements on the suitability of the programing language in mobile development nowadays.

Before, we couldn’t even think about making apps on native languages for Android or iOS using Python. Thanks to the many improvements, we’ve seen Python increase its outlook through the years up to it now being able to create native mobile apps.

Let’s get a broader scope of Python’s core philosophy:

• Beautiful is better than ugly
• Explicit is better that implicit
• Simple is better than complex
• Complex is better than complicated
• Readability counts

To explain the above mentioned features in other words let’s say portability means you can write code and run it on any machine; there is no need to write different code for every machine meaning you must avoid any system dependent features.

Apart from its native language development capability, Python is extensible which is defined as the ability to write some of your Python code in languages like C++ or C. But, if you use C as a bridge you can call many other languages that provide C interfaces.

Python is the programming language most taught in schools. Its learning process is easy, simple and it is great at readability. Along these attributes, Python is an interactive language that is also scalable, object oriented, it supports GUI applications and it runs in Windows, Mac, UNIX and Linux.

One of the greatest applications that’s ever been created with Python as a web application is Dropbox, an application that until 2014 had 400 million registered users. A global platform that offers global collaboration and allows people to share and create files, folders and documents. If this is not enough to catch your attention, let’s talk about other applications made with Python:

• Calibre
• OpenStack
• Ubuntu Software Center
• BitTorrent
• Quora
• Reddit
• Spotify
• Instagram
• YouTube

These are some examples but the list can go on. One important thing to highlight about having Python on Android is that you can take advantage of the code already written and freely available online.

Let’s talk about two developing options for mobile application development with Python. Kivy & Beeware.

Kivy

Kivy is an open-source Python library for developing cross-platform GUI applications. It offers the opportunity to write pure-Python graphical apps that run on Android and iOS.

BeeWare

It offers you a set of tools, a native user interface and the libraries and support code necessary to get that code running on iOS, Android, mac OS, Linux, Windows, iOS, and more. It’s an open source and it was developed to be reliable and to support robust software.

To be honest, after listing all the features of Python language and its positive impact in mobile development, there are many ways to create an app and it all depends on your goals and specifications. Scroll down just a bit and contact us if you want to discuss your own project.