Cross Platform Mobile App Development 101 By: Jenna Erickson, Codal Inc ____________________________________________________________________________
What is ‘cross platform’? Cross platform mobile development is the practice of developing a mobile application that works on multiple devices. This means that if you hire a development team to create a cross platform app, they are only writing one code base that will work on all devices (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows, etc.) On the other hand, if you don’t use this ‘cross platform’ methodology, your developer will be writing different code for every device that you want the application to be used on.
What are the benefits? When you build a cross platform mobile application, your cost may decrease because the developer is only developing one code base. Along with the cost, this also decreases the amount of time that it will take to get your mobile application to market. Cross platform mobile apps are also generally simple to use since they are based off of the most common languages when it comes to scripting: CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
Besides the simplicity being a benefit, whenever a mobile operating system receives an update; the application code also needs an update, meaning that the app is updated across all of the applications for each device. On the other hand, many people see this as not a benefit, but a drawback to cross platform mobile applications.
What are the drawbacks? Since mobile operating systems are frequently updated, your cross platform app may need to be updated way more frequently than if the app’s were native to their own device. Not only is this time consuming, but an update can also be quite costly. Many people also argue that cross platform development can make the application less efficient, and that it sometimes requires an app to be “dumbed down� to accommodate the less advanced softwares. A cross platform mobile application can also affect the user experience of the app since it is not for one specific device. About The Author : This Article is written by Codal's Writer. Codal is a full-stack UX design, Web and Mobile Apps Development Company with a focus on blending an Agile and Lean innovation process with the latest emerging technologies.
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