10 Tried and Tested Tools for Developing Mobile Applications
It’s not a secret that the world has gone mobile. After all, our devices are within arm’s reach, day or night. And our mobile apps have allowed us to do things while on the go iPhone App development company.
The possible use cases for mobile apps are endless. From fitness apps to internal employee communication apps, there’s an app for anything you want. iPhone App development company
You can use mobile apps to extend your existing business or make a new business from scratch.
Xamarin
Xamarin is a .NET open-source platform for building modern applications for Windows, Android, and iOS.
It is a thinking layer that manages the communication of shared code on a particular platform. This tool runs in a controlled environment, which allows memory allocation and garbage collection.
Xamarin helps developers to share an average of 90% of their applications throughout a platform. Doing so enables developers to write all their business logic in a single language.
They can also use the same application code while achieving native performance, look, and feel.
You can write Xamarin applications on Mac or PC and assemble them into native application packages, such as a .apk file on Android or a .ipa file on iOS.
Framework 7
Framework7 is a free and open-source framework developing apps for mobile, desktop, or web apps with a native look and feel.
It is also a crucial prototyping tool. Thus, allowing you how an app would function.
Featuring excellent UI components set, Framework7 allows app developers to create web apps, progressive web apps (PWA), and iOS and Android apps with a native look and feel.
You can even pair it with extra tools like Electron and NW.js to build native desktop apps. You can also use any tools you love when working with Framework7.
This tool won’t force you to use anything except plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Thus, creating apps with Framework7 is as easy as making a website.
Sencha
Sencha is a UI Javascript library or web framework built for the mobile web. Web developers can use this tool to create UIs for mobile web apps that look and feel like native applications.
Based on web standards like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, Sencha facilitates the quick improvement of any HTML5-based mobile app. And these apps can work on Android, iOS, and Windows.
Kony Studio
Kony Studio is a mobile app development platform used for creating native and cross-platform mobile apps.
The platform features several mobile app development tools that can help app developers with their needs.
The most useful tool in Kony Studio is its JavaScript code editor. That’s because it helps developers build cross-platform mobile apps using a single codebase.
Ionic
Ionic is an open-source, front-end SDK that promotes Hybrid Mobile Applications. It uses web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
This tool also provides mobile-optimized web technology-based components and native APIs using Cordova and Ionic Native.
The latest version of Ionic features performance efficiency with the use of minimal DOM manipulation. Angular also serves a significant role in increasing the performance of an Ionic application.
It has its command-line interface tool that helps to scaffold and develop an application. Plus, it prevents developers from writing boilerplate code. Thus, saving precious time.
Android Studio
Android Studio is an IDE or integrated development environment for the Android operating system. It is built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA software that is designed for Android development.
This tool is the reinstatement for Eclipse Android Development Tools (E-ADT). And E-ADT is the IDE for native Android application development.
The best part? You can download the Android Studio on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
PhoneGap
PhoneGap is a popular technology for cross-platform mobile app development.
Nitobi Software refines this open-source mobile application development framework. It helps mobile app developers build applications using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
PhoneGap was first introduced as Apache Cordova. When Adobe purchased Nitobi, the framework’s name was changed to PhoneGap.
React Native
React Native is an open-source mobile app framework made by Facebook Inc.
You can use it to refine applications for Android, iOS, web, and UWP. Thus, it allows developers to use React’s native platform capabilities.
The working principles of React Native are somewhat the same as React. But React Native does not work with the DOM using the Virtual DOM platform.
React Native runs in a background process, wherein it interprets JavaScript code. It then “talks” with the native platform using serialization, asynchronous, and batched Bridge.
React components collect existing native code and join it with native APIs via React’s declarative UI paradigm and JavaScript. This helps native app development for whole new developers and lets old native teams work much faster.
React Native does not use HTML or CSS. Instead, messages from the JavaScript thread are used to control native views.
This tool also helps developers write native code in languages such as Java for Android and Objective-C or Swift for iOS.
Onsen UI
Onsen UI is an open-source UI framework based on PhoneGap or Cordova. Moreover, it is an ingredient for HTML5 hybrid mobile app development.
It helps developers to create mobile apps using Web technologies like CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript.
The previous version of Onsen UI is based on AngularJS and supports jQuery. Meanwhile, Onsen UI version 2 is a JavaScript framework-agnostic. This means that developers can make mobile apps with or without any JavaScript framework.
Onsen UI also gives comprehensive tools and services through Monaca.
Qt
Pronounced as “cute,” Qt is an open-source widget toolkit. You can use it to make graphical UI and cross-platform applications.
What’s cool about apps made on Qt is that you can run them on different software and hardware platforms like Linux, Windows, macOS, or Android. You don’t even have to change the underlying codebase while maintaining the app’s native capabilities and speed.
Qt is available on both commercial licenses and open-source GPL 2.0 and LGPL 3.0 licenses.
Conclusion
At AppVerticals iPhone App development company, we believe that making a mobile app doesn’t have to be rocket science.
Nonetheless, mobile apps make a paradigm shift in implementing innovative business strategies. This explains why more and more brands nowadays have mobile apps.
But to be successful in making your mobile app, you will need the right frameworks, platforms, technologies, and databases. And we hope that you can pick one that suits your needs from our list above.