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Looking for some advice: we are planning to create a hybrid app for both iOS and Android; this app will consume a REST API. We are looking for a tool for this development with the following attributes:
Shallow learning curve; easiness to adopt (all team is new into mobile development, with diverse backgrounds: Java, Python & AngularJS),
Easiness to test (we discarded Angular-based tools already: creating a unit test in Angular we considered time-consuming and low value. At this point of the project, we cannot afford UI testing with Selenium/Appium based tools).
So far, we are not considering any specific capability of the device. Still, in the mid/long term, we would require the usage of GPS (geolocalization) and accelerometer (not sure if it's possible to use it from a hybrid app). Suggest any other tool if you wish.
If your team has a strong background in Python and you want to release some prototype soon, you could try Python and Kivy. Kivy is an open-source, cross-platform Python framework for rapid development of mobile GUIs. It supports both iOS and Android. I have passed a similar situation recently: to start a mobile app with no background in mobile development. Kivy saved me a lot of time. I could develop a prototype and release it faster than I thoght.
To be honest , You need to think these points :
Developer Experience
Tooling
Maintainability
My vote for now is going with React Native with Expo , using Typescript...
With this stack You could follow some patterns and principle that the Java and python programmers are familiar with.
Typescript is a javascript Superset that you can follow Procedural , Functional and OOP approaches and an easy learning curve.
With Expo you need to concern only with the shared layer (Typescript) and the Native ones will be expo responsibility.
Please check Expo.com and try to get started using typescript.
Good performance and with EAS (paid plan) you can create a full CI CD pipeline for your app connected to the stores(Apple and Android).
If you already know how to build web apps, give Capacitor a try. You can think of it like "electron for mobile" in that you can build a web app but access native functionality. Pair it with Ionic if you want a UI kit that is optimized for mobile, or build your own UI from scratch.
A bonus to Capacitor is your app will run without modification on the web as a PWA, iOS, Android, and more.
Other tools have very slow performance. They are usually selected because someone on the team likes Angular, but your customers won't care what framework you're using. They'll just know the app is slow.
Heya, I'm very new on here! And I hope I can get advice on this matter :
We are working on a new app. The web version is on Sails.js (V1)/node.js/vue.js. Started with the Web App default settings (including login and payments, which we are using use). We started with a web version to give access to the customer to start creating the data while building the mobile version. (iOS and Android)
I heard of Apache Cordova, that using the same JavaScript/css could be used to not re-code the front-end of the app for iPhones and Androids. I've been told that it is end-of-life now (? - I couldn't find this info myself).
I saw that Vue Native might be an alternative and would only need a few adjustments from our web version as we are using Vue.js for the frontend.
I know next to nothing on this, so I would really appreciate it if you guys could point me to possible solutions you've used and why instead of searching through all the existing solutions. (I'm very open to know if there are alternatives to those two too !!)
We will need to be using the GPS functions of the mobiles, which is a big part of the app.
Thank you!
i don't have any experience with the vue native what so ever but i think Quasar and Ionic are the best options for an HTML/CSS/JS based mobile app ionic has full support of vue and quasar is built on vue you may have to change some configurations in your project files
I wanted to develop a student app that possibly could be used by many teams (students from other schools)
I chose Ionic, because:
single codebase: previously, we used React Native for Android and Angular for web/PWA, which was troublesome
portability: runs on PWA (which is important, because iOS license is too expensive for school app), web, Android iOS (+ others, if needed)
full use of web technologies: Next.js, Tailwind, React in this example (in oppose to Flutter/Java/Kotlin)
stability and maintainability: low-entry level due to basic web technologies without new syntax (in oppose to React Native and Flutter), web is really stable and won't lose support (which doesn't have to be true with Flutter/Dart)
I've yet to see a non-native application that I felt performed as well and/or provided the same user experience with Cordova/PhoneGap/Xamarin. Frankly, at best they all seemed like underpowered web applications deployed to a sandbox that ran on a phone. They didn't feel "slick" or "mobile-first" and in some cases the performance was unacceptable. At previous companies, we built a few of these apps at the client's insistence, and in every case, they re-engaged us about 18 months later to re-write the app(s) natively.
We are doing some research on React Native and Flutter, but I am not yet convinced that they can provide the same level of experience and performance as native, though I am trying to keep an open mind.
Angular
Apache Cordova
CSS 3
Ionic
JavaScript+2 more
Android SDK
NativeScript
React
Swift
Vue.jsAs a startup, we need the maximum flexibility and the ability to reach our customers in a more suitable way. So a hybrid application approach is the best because it allows you to develop a cross-platform application in a unique codebase. The choice behind Ionic is Angular, I think that angular is the best framework to develop a complex application that needs a lot of service interaction, its modularity forces you (the developer) to write the code in the correct way, so it can be maintainable and reusable.
I've done some Hybrid Mobile apps with both technologies Apache Cordova and React Native and described my experience in my blog.
In a few words, I would suggest to use each technology in accordance what what is your current code base and what do you want to achieve.
React Native is a great option if you need that extra edge in performance with multi-threading and native UI rendering. Or you already have a web app based on React which you want to port to mobile.
On the other hand, if you have an existing web application code and you want to reuse some or all, including the ability to use web third-party libraries, then Cordova is the best option.
Proguard?
ProGuard is the most popular optimizer for Java bytecode. It makes your Java and Android applications up to 90% smaller and up to 20% faster. ProGuard also provides minimal protection against reverse engineering by obfuscating the names of classes, fields and methods.
How to use it inCordova app?
I didn't find any plugins for it. So I've implemented it by myself and shared it on GitHub.
Feel free to use!
Pros of Apache Cordova
- Lots of plugins48
- JavaScript35
- Great community26
- Easy Development25
- Easy to learn18
- Cross platform15
- Open Source7
- Easy, fast, not buggy in my experience with my code6
- Lots of descendants; PhoneGap, Ionic, Intel XDA etc6
- Can use CSS34
- Rich HTML 54
- Easy debugging4
- HTML, CSS and JS3
- Fast and hot reload3
- Rich css ui3
- Use what you code in your browser3
- Need a light system2
- Native Web Technologies2
- Without extra tooling needed2
- One code base everywhere2
Pros of Crosswalk
- Essential for Android hybrid apps2
- Improved performance1
- Hybrid desktop apps1
- New Modern Cordova1
- Pretty decent solution to Android WebView issues1
Pros of PhoneGap
- Javascript46
- Backed by Adobe13
- Free11
- Easy and developer friendly9
- Support more platforms6
- It's javascript, html, and css3
- Common code base across all mobile platform2
- Not bound to specific framework1
- Powerful Framework1
- Runs on mobile browser1
- Similar UI across all platform1
- Free easy fast and not buggy in my experience0
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Cons of Apache Cordova
- No native performance2
- Hard to install1
- Hard to install0
Cons of Crosswalk
Cons of PhoneGap
- Never as good as a native app2
- Created for web pages, not for complex Apps1
- Poor user experience1
- Not build for high performance1
- Hard to see1
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