The document discusses different approaches to developing mobile apps: native, hybrid, and cross-platform. Native apps are made specifically for a single platform and run directly on it using platform-specific languages. Hybrid apps are web apps that are deployed through app stores but run in a browser wrapper. Cross-platform apps share code between platforms using frameworks that allow building platform-specific UIs from shared code. The document compares the different approaches across factors like languages, UI frameworks, debugging, performance, code sharing ability, and costs.

1. Apps development for
mobile devices
Robert Dresler
ITpivo 25/9/2014
@rdresler

2. Native Hybrid Cross-Platform

3. Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
Apps specifically made for a mobile platform
and run directly and only on that platform

4. Native
XCode (Mac, free) - Objective-C / Swift

5. Native
Eclipse (Win, Mac, Linux, free) - Java

6. Native
Android Studio (Win, Mac, Linux, free) - Java

7. Native
IntelliJ IDEA (Win, Mac, Linux, €179) - Java

8. Native
Visual Studio (Win, $499 Professional) – C#

9. Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
Mobile apps deployed in an app store,
but are actually web apps.

10. Hybrid
HTML, CSS, JavaScript

11. Hybrid
Visual Studio 2013 Update 2

12. Hybrid

13. Hybrid

14. Hybrid

15. Hybrid

16. Native Hybrid
Cross-
Platform
Native mobile apps developed
using a framework which enables
the sharing of code between
mobile platforms.

17. Cross-Platform
C# 5.0
Code reuse
Platform specific UI
iOS, Android, Windows Phone

18. Cross-Platform

19. Cross-Platform

20. Cross-Platform
Xamarin
Xamarin Forms

21. Cross-Platform
Xamarin.Forms

22. Cross-Platform
Xamarin Studio

23. Cross-Platform

24. Cross-Platform

25. Cross-Platform
JavaScript
Shared UI
Choose platform when build
Alloy framework

26. Cross-Platform

27. Language
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
iOS: Objective-C
or Swift
Android: Java
Windows Phone: C#
JavaScript
Many libraries and
frameworks
Hard to structure
Titanium: JavaScript
Xamarin: C# powerful
Tabris: Java

28. UI
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
iOS: XML
Designer in XCode
Android: XML
Designer in IDE
Windows Phone:
XAML
Designer Visual Studio
Blend
HTML, CSS
Many tools
Frameworks to
support MVVM, MVC
Titanium: XML
Designer in IDE
Xamarin: Platform specific
or Xamarin Forms

29. Debugging
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
Full-blown debugger
in IDE
Hard than the other
Console messages
or F12 tools
Full-blown debugger
in IDE

30. Performance
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
Highest possible
performance
Depends on browser
Render speed
somewhat slower
Extra abstraction
layer could take
some extra time

31. Footprint
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
Smallest possible
footprint
Wrapper adds size
to the package
Relatively big
Less important
for larger apps

32. Tools
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
iOS: XCode on Mac
Android: Many choices
Windows Phone: VS
Your favorite IDE
Appbuilder has
its own IDE and
VS plugin
Fixed IDE per
Product
Xamarin has
VS plugin

33. Code sharing
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
No code sharing 100% code sharing
Can detect platform
in JavaScript
Titanium and
Xamarin:
100% code sharing
or UI per platform

34. Costs
Native Hybrid Cross-Platform
Free Cordova and
PhoneGap are free
AppBuilder:
$228-$1188
/year/user
Titanium is free
extended version
Available
Xamarin:
$300-$1899
/year/user/platform

35. Developers fees
iOS Developer Program: $99 /year
iOS Developer Enterprise Program: $299 /year
Google Play Developer Console account: $25 one time
Individual account: $19 /year
Company account: $99 /year

36. Next steps …
Creating Mobile Apps: Native, Hybrid, or Cross Platform Framework?
By Roland Guijt