Popular Mobile App Development Platforms

An organization can either give the task of app development to the in-house employees, or it can hire mobile app development services for the task. You can pursue a mobile app development course to get mobile application development jobs. You can also take the help of any mobile app development tutorial to learn mobile app development. In this article will discuss the details of mobile app development process.

Best Mobile App Development Platforms

There are many mobile app development platforms that app developers are using to develop different kinds of apps. You need to choose the best mobile app development platform to develop your apps. Let us discuss some of these platforms.

Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you develop console and GUI applications, as well as mobile apps, Windows Forms or WPF, Web sites, Web applications, and Web services. It is a platform where custom mobile app development can also be done.

Xcode

Xcode 6 introduces an entirely new way to design and build software. Swift is a new programming language that has been developed for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch. Combined with Xcode tools, it makes programming a fun experience. With Interface builder's live preview mode, handwritten UI code is displayed on the design canvas, and changes you make to the code are instantly reflected.

OutSystems

OutSystems is the complete platform for developing complete applications. With powerful, connected, AI-based tools, developers can build and deploy apps - from consumer systems to mission-critical systems - quickly, correctly and future-proof.

BuildFire

BuildFire is the fastest and easiest way to build professional mobile apps for iOS mobile app development and Android mobile app development. This unique do-it-yourself platform allows you to customize every aspect of your app without writing code. To create an app from scratch, simply drag and drop the components that you want to use in the app.  You can also customize one of the ready-made templates. You have full control over the look and feel of the app while the internal components are designed for you. It's like having an entire development team at your disposal.

GeneXus

GeneXus is the best low-code platform, and you may or may not be aware of it. It is a mobile app and software development platform that simplifies and automates enterprise mobile app development and Omnichannel user experience.

GeneXus Key benefits

• increased productivity through automation of maintenance and development
• flexible and incremental approach with fully functional prototypes
• easier to learn as one language covers everything
• helps in cross-platform mobile app development

Azure SDK

It is one of the popular Mobile App Development Platforms. The Azure SDK provides access to even more features and cloud services to extend development capabilities in Azure directly from Visual Studio. Learn Android Mobile App development course now online.

AppCode

JetBrains AppCode is an IDE for iOS/macOS development. The program not only works with the Objective-C, Swift and C/C++ mobile app development languages but also supports web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, XML, CSS and more. It includes several valuable integrations, such as the CocoaPods manager and built-in support for Reveal.

AWS Mobile SDK

The AWS Mobile SDK helps you build high-quality mobile applications quickly and easily. It provides easy access to several AWS services, including Amazon Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, Mobile Analytics, Machine Learning, Elastic Load Balancing, Auto Scaling, and more. The AWS Mobile SDK includes libraries, code samples, and documentation for iOS, Android, Fire OS, and Unity, so you can build apps that provide a great experience across all devices and platforms.

Fabric

With the advent of mobile apps, we've seen an explosion of mobile app development tools. Today, implementing many of these best mobile app development tools still requires countless hours of developer work: setting up different accounts, configuring SDKs, and so on. With Fabric, you no longer have to worry about tedious settings and juggling different accounts.

Mobile Application Types

Mobile apps are of three types if we categorize them on the basis of technology. There are many mobile app development tools that can be used to develop these apps. We will discuss each type here.

Native Applications

Native apps are apps designed specifically for the operating system (OS) of your mobile device. So you can create native mobile apps for Android or native apps for iOS. Since they are designed for only one platform, they cannot be combined. You cannot use a Blackberry app on an Android phone, and also you cannot use an iOS app on a Windows phone.

Local apps are coded with different programming languages like Java, Kotlin, Python, Swift, Objective-C, C++ and React.

Web Apps

Web apps work in the same way as native apps, but they are accessed through a web browser on a mobile device. These apps run only on web browsers, so there is no need to install them on your mobiles. They are essentially responsive websites that work according to the user interface used by different users.

When there is an option to "install" a web app, it often simply provides the URL of the website on your device. Web apps are developed using HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby and other similar programming languages used to run the web.

Hybrid Applications

There are also hybrid applications. These are web applications similar to native applications. They may have an app icon on the home screen, responsive design, fast performance and even standalone operation, but they are actually web apps designed to look like native apps. Hybrid apps consist of web technologies and native APIs. They are developed using Ionic, Objective C, Swift, HTML5 and other languages.

Mobile App Development - Tips & Tricks

Here are the tips which can be adopted for the development of mobile apps.

Identification of the audience

You need to think about the audience for who you want to build the app. The app should be useful for the target audience.

Business Model Definition

You need to advertise the features of your app so that people can come and purchase it.

Features to be included

You need to think about the useful features that are to be included in the app.

Choice of Technology

Choose the appropriate programming language for the development of the app. Many developers use Java, while some also use Python, React, etc.

Selection of Design & Development team

Select the design team that will design the user interface. Also, choose the development team that will write the code. The modules should be divided among the team members, and a track record should be kept about the deadline of each module.

Performance of the Application

Keep a check upon the performance of the app. The app has to launch and work at a fast pace else it will be rejected.

Security

If you are making an app for an e-commerce website, you need to take care of security as money exchange will be required during purchase and sales.

App should be regularly updated

Regular updates of the app should be done according to the latest trends.

Wrapping Up

These are some of the things regarding mobile app development. You need to choose the target audience and develop the app accordingly. Follow FolksIT blog to get the latest infomation and technology updates.