Introduction of Cross-Platform Application
Wouldn’t it be nice to use an app on all types of devices that have connection to the internet?
Developing an app can be really hard when there are a lot of functions and features to be put in. It will require more time to build an app for different kinds of devices since many of them have different operating systems which are created by using varieties of programming languages into one. With cross-platform application development, developers can build applications that can run on different platforms with one single code system.
What is a Cross-Platform Application?
A cross-platform application is a development in software application which is designed to be able to run on multiple operating systems that are available to use. Its complexity in developing an application was compound with difficulty in building out the back-end that can actually run across multiple operating systems or platforms that exist out there. It is time consuming and expensive to develop a back-end that way, thus native application development generally prefers over the complex back-end build but there is a problem. Every operating system out there has their own coding structures, a build on one coding structure can not be used one another coding structure. The cross-platform application provides the ability to compile source code for execution on multiple mobile platforms with a separate files execution each operating system. And that is how cross-platform application development comes into picture.
Benefits of using Cross-Platform Application Framework and Development Kit
- Code can be re-used and modified to run on different platforms.
- Shares a single code base for several platforms like iOS, Android, desktop ,and web.
- Allows you to use the same development team between platforms.
- Unifies the app features across platforms, so you avoid the issue of unintended divergences between several platforms.
- Can track bugs singularly, across all platforms. Additionally, fixing a bug on one platform will usually fix it on the other platform.
- When to use Cross-Platform Application Framework and Development Kit
- When you want to deploy your app in two or more platforms like iOS, Android, and more versions of your app within the same day or any time in the future.
- When the feature set for the platforms of choice are identical or significantly overlaps.
- There are actually very few scenarios native development would be a better choice over cross-platform development when it comes to using Xamarin Forms.
- You really do get all of the performance and aesthetic benefits from native development with the added developer efficiency of code reuse and simplified development flow.
Popular Cross-Platform Framework and Development Kit
Xamarin
Xamarin is an open source app platform created by Microsoft for building modern & performant iOS and Android apps with C# and .NET.
React Native
React Native is an open source app framework created by Facebook to develop applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Web, Windows and UWP by enabling developers to use React’s framework along with native platform capabilities.
Flutter
Flutter is Google’s UI toolkit for building beautiful, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single code base.
Adobe PhoneGap
Adobe PhoneGap is a standards-based, open source development framework for building cross-platform mobile apps with HTML, CSS and JavaScript for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8.
Ionic
An open source mobile UI toolkit for building high quality, cross platform native and web app experiences. Move faster with a single code base, running everywhere with JavaScript and the Web.
NativeScript
Open source framework for building truly native mobile apps with Angular, Vue.js, TypeScript, or JavaScript.
Cordova
Open source framework to build mobile apps with HTML, CSS & JSTarget multiple platforms with one code base for free.
The main idea of cross-platform solutions is to optimize the processes of building an application. It means the company can release the product faster and with a good quality. Developers can reuse one code base and other platforms as well as fixing bugs that occur at once. Applications can be deployed on many platforms in a short time. Since it is compatible with various operating systems, an application can reach a much larger user target. It is fast development, less time consuming, and cost-effective quality makes it a great choice for startups.