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I've created native iOS apps, native Android apps, HTML5 apps and I've used wrappers (Titanium Mobile and PhoneGap) over the last few years and these are my fin

by fijter 13y ago

I've created native iOS apps, native Android apps, HTML5 apps and I've used wrappers (Titanium Mobile and PhoneGap) over the last few years and these are my findings: - Native apps take a lot of time to build, especially when you are a web-developer without in-depth knowledge of the extensive frameworks available to the native platforms. - Wrappers work, but are not nearly as great and snappy as native apps; They might contain a lot of hard to fix bugs as well and are harder to debug if they tend to crash. - HTML5 only apps are not available in the market/store so no free advertising, you can't access things like the camera with HTML5 only, you therefore need a wrapper. My vote goes to native development; Although it's more work and code to write it's much faster and stable if done correctly. You've got more freedom and bugs can be solved. A native app just feels right, where a HTML5 only app won't give you the best user experience you can get, no matter how much time you put into it. If you need a flexible, big, cross-platform app without a lot of budget to build at least 2 native apps a HTML5 app with wrapper would be a decent option, but for anything else (especially the more simple apps with just 2 or 3 different views) you should go with native.

corresation 13y ago
you can't access things like the camera with HTML5 only Just a small point of clarification, you can access the camera on Android using the Camera API. You can access accelerometers / gyroscopes and location in both Android and iOS.
- whereareyou 13y ago
  A file upload form field also accesses the camera in iOS and Android.
fungi 13y ago
> HTML5 only apps are not available in the market/store where exactly does the cut off line exist? native/html5 is kinda gray.
- efdee 13y ago
  Native/html5 sounds like a wrapper job.
- kronholm 13y ago
  I define the line at webview = html, no webview = native.
jpsim 13y ago
Native apps take a lot of time to build, especially when you are a web-developer True, just as writing in any language you're not familiar with will take longer. For even a semi-experienced iOS/Android developer, it can be faster than writing an HTML/web app.
daraosn 13y ago
You can also access the camera on iOS using HTML5, a bit buggy though: https://github.com/daraosn/Cordova-CanvasCamera https://github.com/daraosn/Cordova-CanvasCamera, anyways I also second you, native development is always better, imo.
kronholm 13y ago
I'm curious in how you put Titanium next to PhoneGap (Disclaimer: I may be reading too much into that, or not understanding your meaning - 2nd language etc.). My experience with Titanium is that you code in js or Alloy, then when building and deploying, you get native code, with native elements and everything. Comparing it to PhoneGap, which purely runs in a slowish WebView isn't quite fair I think. Or has your experience been different?
- nilliams 13y ago
  I think you're right to make this distinction. Titanium doesn't belong in the 'wrappers' family and would be better grouped with other 'cross-platform native' solutions like Xamarin [1], perhaps a 4th category in parent's list. [1] http://xamarin.com/ http://xamarin.com/
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - programmarchy 13y ago
    Titanium is still not quite the same as Xamarin. Xamarin cross-compiles to fully native code from my understanding. Titanium, on the other hand, has JavaScript-to-native bindings i.e. a TiView is a JavaScript object which proxies UIView on iOS. All business logic is still running in JavaScript. In fact, Titanium spins up a V8 engine just to run your app. This may be fine for the most simple apps, but if you need to kick off a long running operation to a background thread, for example, you're in for some gymnastics. I'd rather have Grand Central Dispatch, CoreGraphics, CoreAnimation, etc. all at my disposal. Using Titanium felt very restrictive. Their API is a one-size-fits-all between iOS/Android/etc. As soon as you want to step out of that least common denomination, you've got to write native modules. Which, if the people on your team don't know native development, can be a problem.
- ryanSrich 13y ago
  Have you got experience with Titanium? How is it? I've had a few clients inquire about mobile applications as of late and I'd like to start exploring options for me as a web developer.
thatthatis 13y ago
> HTML5 only apps are not available in the market/store What do you mean by this? That doesn't match my understanding of the current state.
- codedepot 13y ago
  HTML5 apps are wrapped. We did one using Native5. IT is available on app store (https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/kotak-treasury-calendar/id633978381?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/kotak-treasury-calendar/id63...) and on Play store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.native5.apps.treasury&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.native5.ap....

by fijter 13y ago

corresation 13y ago

you can't access things like the camera with HTML5 only Just a small point of clarification, you can access the camera on Android using the Camera API. You can access accelerometers / gyroscopes and location in both Android and iOS.

whereareyou 13y ago
A file upload form field also accesses the camera in iOS and Android.

fungi 13y ago

> HTML5 only apps are not available in the market/store where exactly does the cut off line exist? native/html5 is kinda gray.

efdee 13y ago
Native/html5 sounds like a wrapper job.
kronholm 13y ago
I define the line at webview = html, no webview = native.

jpsim 13y ago

Native apps take a lot of time to build, especially when you are a web-developer True, just as writing in any language you're not familiar with will take longer. For even a semi-experienced iOS/Android developer, it can be faster than writing an HTML/web app.

daraosn 13y ago

You can also access the camera on iOS using HTML5, a bit buggy though: https://github.com/daraosn/Cordova-CanvasCamera https://github.com/daraosn/Cordova-CanvasCamera, anyways I also second you, native development is always better, imo.

kronholm 13y ago

I'm curious in how you put Titanium next to PhoneGap (Disclaimer: I may be reading too much into that, or not understanding your meaning - 2nd language etc.). My experience with Titanium is that you code in js or Alloy, then when building and deploying, you get native code, with native elements and everything. Comparing it to PhoneGap, which purely runs in a slowish WebView isn't quite fair I think. Or has your experience been different?

nilliams 13y ago
I think you're right to make this distinction. Titanium doesn't belong in the 'wrappers' family and would be better grouped with other 'cross-platform native' solutions like Xamarin [1], perhaps a 4th category in parent's list. [1] http://xamarin.com/ http://xamarin.com/
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- programmarchy 13y ago
  Titanium is still not quite the same as Xamarin. Xamarin cross-compiles to fully native code from my understanding. Titanium, on the other hand, has JavaScript-to-native bindings i.e. a TiView is a JavaScript object which proxies UIView on iOS. All business logic is still running in JavaScript. In fact, Titanium spins up a V8 engine just to run your app. This may be fine for the most simple apps, but if you need to kick off a long running operation to a background thread, for example, you're in for some gymnastics. I'd rather have Grand Central Dispatch, CoreGraphics, CoreAnimation, etc. all at my disposal. Using Titanium felt very restrictive. Their API is a one-size-fits-all between iOS/Android/etc. As soon as you want to step out of that least common denomination, you've got to write native modules. Which, if the people on your team don't know native development, can be a problem.
ryanSrich 13y ago
Have you got experience with Titanium? How is it? I've had a few clients inquire about mobile applications as of late and I'd like to start exploring options for me as a web developer.

thatthatis 13y ago

> HTML5 only apps are not available in the market/store What do you mean by this? That doesn't match my understanding of the current state.

codedepot 13y ago
HTML5 apps are wrapped. We did one using Native5. IT is available on app store (https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/kotak-treasury-calendar/id633978381?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/kotak-treasury-calendar/id63...) and on Play store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.native5.apps.treasury&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.native5.ap....