Your business has decided to create a mobile application, perhaps for sale in the market, perhaps for your business users. You have done your homework and you understand that you need to pick the right development environment for your IT team or, your IT consultant has made a recommendation on the right development tools. But, how do you know whether the decision is right for your business?
In this article, we discuss four of the most popular mobile development frameworks, and provide a summary of the benefits of each and the reasons the development community might choose a particular framework for your project.
Flutter
Flutter is a Google open-source mobile user interface (UI) SDK framework used to build cross-platform, hybrid mobile application solutions for Android and iOS. Its features enable a multi-platform development process using existing code in Dart language to support mobile application development. Developers like Flutter for hybrid mobile app development, primarily because it leverages a single code base. The Google 2D rendering engine allows developers to create impressive visuals and to perform unit and functionality tests and easily create a user interface. Flutter also includes a rapid development environment, for fast rendering and theme options. Although the mobile application market is not that old, the Flutter product has been around a long time, when compared to other options. It launched in 2017 and is still an open-source environment so it is accessible to all developers. It leverages C, C++ and Dart languages and can support mobile applications for desktop, web and mobile devices. The Flutter community includes several developer support forums and is readily accessible to developers for feedback, support and information about the use of Flutter.
Ionicx
The Ionic Framework uses AngularJS architecture and is built on a simple CLI development interface. It provides functionality, options and tools to support developers as they work on cross-platform mobile app development. Developers can use standards-based UI components, and deploy applications via desktop, mobile, web and PWA. One of the reasons developers like Ionic, is that they can save time and effort by creating a single code base to support all deployments and accommodate multiple types of devices and implementations. The Ionic developer community is comprised of more than five million professionals with numerous forums to support developers and help them find answers to questions and share tips and short cuts. Ionic applications are currently in use in many industries and vertical markets including hospitality, travel, restaurants, pharmaceuticals and small and medium sized organizations in other industries, and many first-generation Ionic apps have already expanded and upgraded, ensuring that these mobile apps are current and evergreen. Ionic is a stable environment that allows developers to work with a variety of technologies including CSS3, JavaScript and HTML5.
React Native
React Native is a Facebook product and was originally released as a web development ReactJS platform. The tool has been upgraded, expanded and improved and it is now popular for cross-platform, hybrid mobile application development and supports high-performance hybrid mobile applications and third-party plugins. This tool is a favorite of developers because it is built on a solid foundation and has a large support network of developers who are active in the community. Developers can use the JavaScript framework to create native applications for iOS and Android and it leverages DOM which allows developers to enable a refresh without calling for a refresh across the entire interface. Developers can engage each component of the app without involving the child component or executing a callback, so the team can easily test the application and note changes. The tool is efficient and allows developers to be more productive because they can reuse code and repurpose code components to save time during the development process and in the upgrades.
Mobile Angular UI
Mobile Angular UI is designed to operate seamlessly with Angular framework and Bootstrap 3. It includes sidebars, overlays, scrollable areas and switches and allows hybrid mobile application developers to leverage an open-source environment to create HTML5 applications. Mobile Angular UI is best suited for light apps and, in general, is less suitable for complex applications. The combined power of Angular and Bootstrap optimizes the development process and makes mobile application developers more productive. Developers can leverage HTML4 to build mobile applications with great user experience (Ux).
No matter your business need, if your team or your IT consultant is planning to design a mobile application, there are many options for cross-platform, hybrid mobile application development and solutions that will satisfy developer needs and ensure that your developers are productive and that your mobile application is designed for sustainability and easy upgrade. For more information about cross-platform mobile application development, visit our Blog.
