Build once, deploy anywhere with cross platform mobile development

Introduction

Cross platform mobile development allows developers to write code once and deploy it across multiple platforms like iOS, Android, and web. This "write once, run anywhere" approach can significantly increase development efficiency and reduce costs compared to building native apps. With cross platform tools, developers can reach users across operating systems without having to build entirely separate codebases for each platform. Popular frameworks like React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, and Ionic make cross platform development achievable.

This article will explore the world of cross platform mobile development in detail - from the overall development process to considerations around design, testing, optimization, and maintenance. We'll look at the pros and cons of going cross platform versus native, key technical concepts, and examples of tools and frameworks. The goal is to provide a comprehensive guide to cross platform mobile development and its capabilities in today's multi-device landscape. Whether you're considering cross platform for an upcoming project or just want to learn more, read on!

Defining Cross Platform Mobile Development

Cross platform mobile development refers to building mobile apps that can run across multiple operating systems and devices using a single shared codebase. Rather than writing platform-specific code natively for iOS in Swift/Objective-C, Android in Java/Kotlin, and web in HTML/CSS/JavaScript, developers can leverage cross platform frameworks like React Native to share business logic, data access, and more across platforms.

While some platform-specific UI code may still be required, a majority of the app's core functionality can be written once and reused. This maximizes code sharing, reduces duplication, and results in much faster development cycles. Additionally, having a unified codebase makes it easier to maintain feature parity across platforms and release updates simultaneously.

Some key benefits of cross platform development include:

• Faster time-to-market since core app is built only once
• Easier maintenance with a single shared codebase
• Write code using familiar languages like JavaScript or C#
• Reach users across iOS, Android, web, desktop etc.
• Significant cost savings compared to native development

Popular Cross Platform Frameworks

There are a variety of mature cross platform frameworks available today that make it relatively straightforward to build apps that target multiple platforms:

React Native

React Native leverages the popular React JavaScript framework allowing you to build mobile apps using JavaScript and React. It uses native components under the hood but abstracts away the platform differences providing a consistent API. React Native is a great choice for apps where you want to share a majority of code across iOS and Android. It has a large community behind it.

Flutter

Flutter uses the Dart programming language and provides its own high-performance rendering engine. Apps built with Flutter compile to native ARM code rather than JavaScript so they achieve near-native performance. Flutter is developed by Google and enables beautiful app UI with smooth animations and a rich set of widgets. It's a good option for apps that require heavy custom UI.

Xamarin

Xamarin allows you to use C# to build apps for iOS, Android and Windows. It has bindings for native APIs and makes it easy to integrate with existing C# codebases. Xamarin is acquired and actively developed by Microsoft. It's useful when leveraging existing C# investments.

Ionic

Ionic is an open source framework based on web technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It uses Apache Cordova under the hood to package web code into native app experiences. Ionic is ideal for developers with strong web backgrounds looking to build cross platform apps quickly.

Fuse

Fuse uses a dedicated programming language called Fuse Lang to build truly native apps across platforms. The language is designed specifically for mobile and desktop apps allowing for smooth animations and transitions. Fuse focuses heavily on UI and UX capabilities.

Cross Platform Development Process

The overall development process for cross platform apps has some notable differences compared to traditional native development. Let's explore the workflow from initial design to final deployment.

Code Sharing and Business Logic

A primary goal and benefit of cross platform development is maximizing code reuse across platforms. The business logic, data access layers, authentication, APIs, state management and more can usually be written once and shared across iOS, Android and web.

Platform-specific UI code using native widgets may still be required, but the majority of app functionality can be shared. Good architectural patterns like separating business logic from UI controls will maximize code reuse. Some tips for effective code sharing:

• Leverage reactive state management like Redux to abstract state
• Create a services layer for networking and data access
• Factor out business logic into JavaScript modules
• Use dependency injection for platform-specific implementations
• Develop custom reusable UI components

Design and UI/UX Considerations

While the internal business logic can be shared across platforms, the UI/UX design still needs to be adaptive to match the look and feel native to each platform. Designing a flexible, responsive UI is crucial for cross platform apps. Some tips:

• Use a component-driven design system for building UI
• Develop custom reusable components for common UI patterns
• Style components to match native platform conventions
• Adapt layouts and components for different screen sizes
• Implement responsive design to gracefully scale UI

For example, Facebook adapted its bottom tab navigation paradigm across iOS and Android to match each platform's design language.

Additionally, usability testing on each target platform will help uncover any quirks unique to a particular OS or device. Keeping the user experience consistent should be the top priority.

Testing and Debugging

Thoroughly testing cross platform apps on both emulators and real devices is critical given the nuances across operating systems. Let's explore some tips for streamlined testing.

Emulators and Real Devices

Emulators provide a quick way to test across platforms during development without needing physical devices. However, it's important to still test apps on real devices given the differences in software emulation vs real-world hardware. Subtle performance and behavioral differences may exist.

Some tips for effective emulator usage:

• Set up emulators for iOS, Android to test changes quickly
• Profile on emulators to catch major issues early
• Use hardware emulation options for a closer to real experience
• Test frequently on real devices to catch mobile-specific bugs
• Invest in a device lab if building for many platforms

Debugging and Profiling

Debugging cross platform apps requires some additional tooling compared to native development. You'll need to leverage platform-specific tools as well as cross platform modules. Some tips:

• Use React Native Debugger for JS debugging
• Enable remote JS debugging in Chrome DevTools
• Profile using platform-specific profilers
• Inspect native UI components using react-devtools
• Enable Fast Refresh in React Native for instant preview of changes
• Implement error monitoring services to log across platforms

Performance Optimization

Performance is critical for mobile apps, so optimizing cross platform code requires some careful considerations, especially around JavaScript.

JavaScript Performance

JavaScript can have performance issues on mobile compared to truly native code. Some techniques to help optimize JavaScript include:

• Minify and uglify JS bundles to reduce size
• Enable Chrome DevTools profiler to find and fix JS bottlenecks
• Implement cache management and lazy loading
• Compile JavaScript using services like CodePush
• Use shouldComponentUpdate to optimize re-rendering
• Offload expensive operations to WebWorkers

Native Features and Modules

Leveraging native APIs and modules can significantly boost performance for device features like navigation and graphics. Some examples:

• Use native navigation APIs like CameraX for smooth transitions
• Offload processing to native threads using Worker APIs
• Build high-performance graphics code in Android/iOS
• Add platform-specific SDKs for features like Analytics
• Bind to native device APIs like Camera, Contacts etc.

Deployment and Maintenance

Deploying cross platform apps brings additional considerations around app store submissions and handling updates across multiple codebases.

App Store Submission

Submitting cross platform apps to each platform's respective app store requires adhering to their guidelines while managing submissions across multiple codebases:

• Follow platform-specific requirements like app size limits
• Create optimized app store listings for each store
• Manage app screenshots, descriptions per platform
• Use unified version numbers across platforms
• Submit builds to Google Play Store and Apple App Store using CLI tools

Updating and Maintaining Apps

Releasing updates across platforms requires coordination across teams to ship new features on iOS, Android simultaneously:

• Maintain feature parity by releasing updates together
• Coordinate teams to squash bugs across platforms
• Establish processes for cross platform change management
• Set up continuous integration/delivery pipelines
• Monitor crash reporting and analytics data across platforms

Key Takeaways

• Cross platform mobile development allows you to use common code across platforms, enabling faster time-to-market and easier maintenance
• Popular frameworks like React Native and Flutter simplify the process
• Must design adaptive UIs and thoroughly test across devices
• Performance optimization and app store submissions require platform-specific considerations
• Cross platform development is absolutely worth considering given the productivity and efficiency gains it can provide

In summary, building mobile apps across platforms using shared code and frameworks can significantly accelerate development while reducing costs. With the right tools and testing, cross platform enables releasing mobile apps at scale. While native development isn't going away, cross platform represents an evolutionary step forward for productivity which is why the industry continues rapidly adopting this approach.

Platforms like DevHunt make it easy to find and compare the latest cross-platform and native app development tools, frameworks, and services in one place. Developers can explore the options to determine the best approach for their needs.