This kind of development involves creation of software applications that work well with multiple mobile operating systems. On top of the complexity of developing mobile apps developers had to build a backend which worked across multiple platforms. This was time consuming and expensive but it seemed easier to build native applications for each mobile operating system. The code for one operating system could not be used for other operating system however and this was a drag.
Today there are various approaches to cross platform app development which are
Rapid mobile app development (RMAD) – Here developers use programming tools that are code free. Business users can quickly create a standard internal app that addresses specific business needs.
Hybrid mobile app development – A core application is written as an HTML5 or Javascript mobile app. A native device wrapper is then wrapped around it.
Progressive web apps – are websites that function as web apps. They leverage the mobile device features where the end user need not visit the app store.
Windows universal apps – a common codebase for all windows devices. The same app is run on a Smartphone, smartwatch, PC, tablet or Xbox and so on.
Cross platform apps are of two types
- Hybrid cross platform apps
- Native cross platform apps
Native cross platform apps
NativeScript – If you want to build cross platform, native iOS and android apps with no views then NativeScript is the answer for you.
Xamarin – It is quite popular among enterprises. Native cross platform applications can be built with 75% code sharing across android, iOS and windows platforms. Xamarin developers use C# to build apps and they are equipped to run automated tests for mobile apps and monitor app performance.
Appcelerator Titanium – It comes with a unified JavaScript API that can be integrated with native platform and all features of the platform can be accessed. Developers can write JavaScript code and use the Alloy MVC framework for reusing the native UI components. This increases the performance for the cross platform development.
Hybrid cross platform apps
PhoneGap – It is a web application packaged in a native application container where every operation is run by Javascript through device level APIs.
Framework7 – It’s a free mobile HTML framework to build hybrid mobile or web apps with the native look and feel of iOS and android.
Ionic – It is a very popular app development framework that is built on AngularJS and Apache Cordova. It provides tools and technologies for hybrid mobile apps using web technologies like HTML5, CSS and Sass.
Mobile Angular UI – The best of bootstrap 3 and angular framework are put in mobile angular UI to build HTML5 mobile applications.
Benefits of cross platform apps
Reusable code – Developers can reuse the same code across all platforms. This also reduces repetitive tasks.
Cost control – Companies need only invest just once for their app development as opposed to spending heavily on tools and technologies. They no longer spend on app development for individual platform separately.
Quick development time – When only a single script is deployed app development is much faster. About 50-80% of the code can be reused. The product will reach the market sooner hence. The time saved can be invested in coding a new application or an innovative idea.
Greater Reach – Customer base gets widened when one goes cross platform when an app is compatible with Android, iOS and windows etc.
Time optimization – Cross platform app development is great for business apps and B2B apps as the main focus here is the deployment time and resource utilization and peripheral focus is on outer look and feel.
Seamless integration – Cross platform app development gives way for seamless integration with the cloud environment.
Sameness and uniformity – The same UI and build can be maintained across all platforms since the same codebase is used. Clients will find it difficult to stomach different methodologies for the same app across different mobile phones.
Development methodology
- Requirement analysis and strategy
- Building of protoypes and mock-ups
- Estimating technical feasibility
- App development
- Structuring app through Agile methodology
- App testing and debugging
- App launch
We completely understand the importance of cross platform development in today’s scenario. Therefore we have unmatched services in this regard.