Mobile application development Web Programming and Technologies Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology 94 pag. Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MOMBASA A Centre of Excellence INSTITUTE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATICS DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CCI4404: MOBILE APPLICATIO DEVELOPMENT TOPIC II Presented by GATIMU Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) Multiplatform mobile application development The cross-platform app market and the amount of cross platform mobile app development tools is on the rise. So which are the best platforms, resources and tools to code for iOS, Android, Windows and more all at the same time? There are advantages to native applications, but a well-made cross-platform mobile app will make the differences seem small and carry the advantage that users on more than one platform have access to your product or service. It refers to the development of mobile apps that can be used on multiple mobile platforms. In the business world, a growing trend called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is rising. BYOD refers to employees bringing their own personal mobile device into the workplace to be used in place of traditional desktop computers or company-provided mobile devices for accessing company applications and data. Because of BYOD, it has become necessary for businesses to develop their corporate mobile apps and be able to send them to many different mobile devices that operate on various networks and use different operating systems. Cross-platform mobile development can either involve a company developing the original app on a native platform (which could be iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry/RIM, etc.) or developing the original app in a singular environment for development that will then allow the app to be sent to many different native platforms. There are both pros and cons to cross-platform mobile app development. These tools are useful because they decrease costs and increase the speed at which apps are developed. In addition, cross-platform mobile development tools are generally quite simple to use as they are based off of the common languages for scripting, including CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. However, cross-platform mobile development does have a few drawbacks. First, mobile operating systems are frequently updated. Whenever a mobile operating system receives a new update, the applications must also be updated to be compatible with the new system. In addition, rendering times with cross-platform mobile development may be longer as each operating system needs a separate set of code. It‘s divided in the following sections: Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) Major Cross-Platform Development Tools Cross-platform App Editors and IDEs Languages Major Cross-Platform Development Tools The best cross platform mobile development tools, both because of the number of options they offer and their ease of use. Xamarin PhoneGap Sencha Appcelerator iFactr Kony AlphaAnywhere Redhat Xamarin Xamarin has been going from strength-to-strength recently, attracting a record-setting $54m investment and methodically building out its platform and expanding its reach. Over the last year or so since the release of Xamarin 2, the company has certainly emerged as one of the leading solutions for cross-platform development. Xamarin is also very keen to emphasise its business credentials with the recent announcements of enterprise partnerships with IBM, Xoriant and – last year – with Microsoft. Business subscriptions start at $83 per month. A free trial is available A tutorial on using Xamarin’s platform PhoneGap Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) PhoneGap is probably the most well-known cross platform development brand within the development community. The now Adobe-owned tool is based on the open source Apache Cordova project and is completely free to use, which goes some way to explain its popularity. Adobe is also working on an enterprise version of PhoneGap, which is currently undergoing a beta trial – and you can sign-up for it here. The enterprise version boasts marketing features via Adobe‘s Marketing Cloud, so when it launches it will probably be monetised. Sencha Sencha offers a variety of tools for cross platform app development such as Sencha Architect, Sencha Animator, and more. It‘s main product for enterprise users is Ext JS 5, which lets developers create HTML5 apps, which can then be converted into native apps with PhoneGap. Sencha‘s HTML5-focused approach allow its apps to run across browsers as well as the latest touch-based devices and has attracted clients such as Google, CNN and Samsung. The platform is priced at $3,225 per year for up to five developers and then $12,495 per year for up to 20 developers. Appcelerator Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) Appcelerator is an enterprise-focused development platform that lets developers write JavaScript with its Alloy MVC framework. The use of JavaScript is helpful, as many developers will already be familiar with the language, reducing the need to spend time getting to grips with unfamiliar code. Appcelerator also offers a virtual private cloud option for enterprise customers, which is great news if you work with sensitive company data. The enterprise product also comes with analytics, performance management and monitoring and dedicated infrastructure. But you‘ll have to contact them directly for pricing iFactr iFactr is designed mainly for enterprises looking to quickly build out apps for their mobile workers. The company says its platform offers a very low learning curve, allowing developers to get to grips with the basics within two to three days of training. iFactr also promotes its robust prototyping features, allowing companies to rapidly create prototypes for their employees to test out. The iFactr platform uses Xamarin to compile its native apps on iOS and Android, while PhoneGap is also built into the tool. You can request an evaluation version of iFactr right here. An introduction to iFactr Kony Kony offers a range of tools as part of its enterprise Mobility Platform to help business create apps from a single codebase. The Studio platform uses JavaScript and features simple drag and drop reusable widgets and the ability to import existing or third party libraries. Furthermore, Kony recently launched its Mobile Fabric platform, which it claims is the first enterprise app development solution to bring together multiple cloud service and middleware tools. Pricing for Mobile Fabric starts at $15 per user, per month. A free trial is available. Alpha Anywhere Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) Alpha Anywhere‘s enterprise-focused solution lets you build apps for the major mobile platforms, as well as for PCs and Macs. The tool uses JavaScript and HTML5 and helps companies manage the complete end-to-end app development process. The company recently launched built-in support for offline apps, which allows mobile workers to use enterprise apps without an internet connection, ensuring that they properly synchronize when back online and resolve any conflicts in an intuitive manner. Alpha Anywhere starts at $1,999 for a one year contract. Businesses can also purchase a one month trial version for $199. A guide on building Android apps on Alpha Anywhere RedHat Redhat‗s platform was formerly known as FeedHenry before acquired by the company for around 63.5 million euros. Redhat offers a mobile backend-as-a-service platform and cross app development platform, letting enterprise users build and deploy iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps via public clouds. The company also works with some big clients, such as airline Aer Lingus, and partners with tech innovators such as AWS and Rackspace. Bringing agility to enterprise mobility These are the biggest ones, but if you‘re still not satisfied… Other Editors and IDEs If you‘re looking for something a little more niche, or for very simple mobile application development platforms which will create basic apps but are easy to learn, then look no further. IntelliJ – Open source and usable for commercial development, this IDE made by JetBrains is the de-facto standard for Java development in Android, but can also be used for cross-platform. Visual Studio – Being a Microsoft product, you know this is going to be a well-published IDE, but once again, the interface and level of detail make this more suitable for those with some experience under their belt. Document shared on www.docsity.com Downloaded by: kasi-viswanath ([email protected]) Cocos2D – 2D apps made easy, especially for iOS, with this major development tool. Builds from a single codebase and covers C++, JavaScript, Swift and Objective-C. Qt – Boasts that 8 of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies use its interface-led tool for creating cross-platform applications. BiznessApps – Affordable HTML5, iOS and Android platform made with small and medium business apps in mind. MobinCube – A simple interface for building consumer apps, boasts 100,000+ mobile applications created with its platform and over 126 million downloads. AppsMoment – One of the ―coding-less‖ platforms to create apps without having to learn the language underneath. 300+ templates, 120 features and also covers Kindle apps. RubyMotion – Allows you to code, run and test iOS, OSX and Android apps on any device. A huge set of tools and resources, allows to implement 3rd party libraries and has been used by salesforce and BaseCamp, among others. Ionic – Used to build over two million apps, this open source tool is free at signup and through development, its pricing plan of $39/month only starting when your first app is published. There are higher tiers for more features.