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mimoralea
mimoralea

Reputation: 9976

Web app for mobile devices or mobile specific

I have a question about mobile application development. I'm wanting to develop an application for my Kindle and looking through the tutorials I found that HTML5 CSS and JavaScript could be used to develop Mobile Applications instead of native Programming language like Java, Objective C and so on.

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against learning a little more Java and the Kindle/Android specific APIs. But knowing that you could use HTML5 CSS JavaScript for the Android, Blackberry and iOS platforms AND WEBSITES sound very interesting to me. I've have also seen Game frameworks like Play'n from Google that seems to do a pretty good job with HTML5 and JavaScript.

My question is, is it worth the learning curve of each individual API, and programming languages or are HTML5 CSS JavaScript just going to change the way we do front end development?

Any input on this will be very appreciated.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 169

Answers (2)

Suhail Patel
Suhail Patel

Reputation: 13694

This topic can be debated forever but this is my take on it:

  • If you need performance on a device (such as for a complex game), then it's better to go native because you can fine tune to the specific device or set of devices and platforms you are targeting.
  • If you can build your idea and have it scale and function well using Web Technologies then it would be wise to continue using Web Technologies because it's extremely easy to scale to multiple platforms with relatively little effort.
  • If you want to leverage cutting edge API's for a specific platform then it's better to go native

Personally I think that if your app is going to be complex (doing beyond the standard enterprise data API stuff), then it'll be easier to go native in the long run. I've leveraged both methods and whilst Web Technologies were incredibly easy to implement and prototype, implementing anything complex increased the amount of effort needed by a large amount to the point that it negated any time saved by not going native. Eventually I just decided to concentrate on native apps but your milage may vary as Web Technologies are increasingly improving.

Upvotes: 1

melsam
melsam

Reputation: 4977

In general it is worth learning the native SDK for the platform you're targeting because you'll have maximum flexibility, best performance, broadest API coverage keeping up with the latest advances from the platform vendor (e.g. iCloud, Siri APIs etc), and you'll find plenty of open source software that's built by and for the platform's native developers (see http://cocoacontrols.com as one example). So it's definitely worth investing in a platform's native SDK, especially if the platform itself is proven to be successful, such as iOS and Android.

However, sometimes it can be more practical to build an app using Javascript/HTML5 frameworks like Titanium Appcelerator. This can be useful in controlled environments like enterprise apps where your customer base is limited, or just to rapidly prototype a concept.

I would consider a Javascript framework a disadvantage if my app or game had to compete in the open market / App Store against thousands of other native apps. If my competitors are using native code and can rapidly evolve their UX or features, I don't want to be "stuck" with a limited Javascript framework.

On the other hand, if I worked for say, a large supermarket and my job was to create an app that only their staff would use for a few hours a day to do inventory, a Javascript framework would help me prototype faster without any threat of competition or unexpected requirements.

Hope this helps.

Upvotes: 1

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