PHONEGAP AND XAMARIN What an iOS Dev Learned About Hybrid Solutions June 6, 2013
Dec 05, 2014
PHONEGAP AND XAMARINWhat an iOS Dev Learned About Hybrid Solutions
!June 6, 2013
ABOUT ME!
Tony Lenzi !
@tonylenzi !
Technical Lead and iOS Developer
WHY HYBRID SOLUTIONS?
• RE-USE
• resources
• multi-platforms
• CHEAPER
Sounds a bit too good to be true, right?
PHONEGAP (CORDOVA)
CODE BREAKDOWN
JavaScript CSSHTML OBJ-C
• Lots of JavaScript
• iPad only - HTML may go up with reuse
• Objective-C used in framework and plugins
LESSONS LEARNED
• Uncanny Valley
• Design and build an App(not a web app/site)
• UIWebView is not Safari
• Scrolling
• Plugins
• More QA time needed
XAMARINframework formerly known as MonoTouch
HOW IT WORKS
• Write C# in Xamarin Studio or Visual Studio
• Views (xibs) done in Interface Builder
• C# is compiled to ARM assembly language to a library
• Black box to implementor
• MonoTouch libraries map 1:1 to iOS libs
LESSONS LEARNED
• Pure app performance
• Extended QA
• Reuse of business logic, models
• $299 to $1899
SO ABOUT THOSE COST SAVINGS . . .
• First app - little savings to more expensive
• Design influences cost - remember uncanny valley
• Lots of QA with limited tooling
• How similar are apps on other platforms going to look?
• May save on maintenance if tackling more than one platform
CULTURE AND INVESTMENT
• Attitude that Obj-C and native Android are a temporary problem
• iOS and Android are 2 different and important platforms
• Still need to understand designing for and USING those devices
• Removes devs from platform optimization concerns
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU... IT’S ABOUT YOUR USERS
• User’s have to trust your app
• They know when something doesn’t feel quite right
• Good apps are hard no matter how you build them
QUESTIONS?