Mobile apps have become an integral part of everyday life. One of the biggest challenges facing application developers is how to create applications that work well on multiple platforms. Here, we share nine cross-platform mobile app development tools worth trying out. These tools will help design the most popular and useful applications in a short period of time.
Codename One
This cross-device platform facilitates the development of industry-based applications. The platform supports rapid application development. Developers can write code in Java, and the application is then tested and validated by Codename’s emulator device and test automation tools. The framework supports popular ides such as NetBeans, Eclipse, and IntelliJ IDEA. The most interesting feature of its build server is that developers can build native iOS applications and native Windows applications without a Mac or Windows PC. The platform is recommended for developing iOS applications.
Cons: Codename’s graphical user interface doesn’t match the needs of large projects, and its visual themes haven’t been updated. Another major drawback is that all event handlers are stored in a single file, which makes the development part more tedious.
PhoneGap
This open source platform makes it easier to build cross-platform applications. The tool is best suited for mobile applications that do not rely on the native features of the device. It is owned by Adobe and can be used to translate code from HTMT5, CSS and JavaScript. The PhoneGap platform allows developers to design apps for the iPhone, Android, Windows and blackberry. This free resource is in high demand among developers because of the features and support it provides.
Cons: The only limitation of this tool is that it is not suitable for graphics-intensive applications.
Appcelerator
This tool enables programmers to quickly create cross-platform applications. The tool deploys a JavaScript code base, which has the advantage of being extensible and open. Developers can create apps for iOS, Android and blackberry, and it even supports HTML5 and hybrid apps. The Appcelerator tool has an open source SDK that supports over 5000 devices as well as OS apis, Eclipse-based IDE Studio and MVC framework Alloy.
Cons: The only downside we’ve encountered so far is that team support, especially from the developer community, is slow to respond.
Sencha Touch
The Sencha Touch platform is ideal for cross-platform mobile application frameworks. The framework allows developers to build cutting-edge applications.
Cons: The original theme is limited, and the commercial nature of the fee makes it difficult to learn.
Monocross
If you want to build interactive and fun apps for smartphones and tablets, Monocross is the one for you. This open source cross-platform framework supports C#,Microsoft,.net and Mono frameworks. What’s interesting about this tool is that it gives developers full access to the native device while still coding in C#.
Cons: There is little documentation and support for the Monocross framework on the Internet, and developers may find themselves in a tricky situation when developing applications because they don’t have enough resources to learn about the framework.
Kony Mobile Platform
It has automatic coding, application previews, API connections, and all sorts of other amazing features. The Kony Mobile Platform lets developers build multi-platform Mobile applications with pre-built applications, making it easier for novices to develop applications.
Cons: Lack of documentation and resource support can cause some headaches for developers.
NativeScript
This is another open source platform for building cross-platform compatible mobile applications. The framework provides a native API in JavaScript that allows developers to directly reuse the available plug-in NPM in NativeScript projects, as well as support for Angular.js 2 and TypeScript.
Disadvantages: insufficient resources; One might not be able to find useful examples and documentation for each feature.
RhoMobile
The RhoMobile framework provides application tools for developers to develop multi-platform, local mobile, and enterprise applications.
RhoStudio comes with a free Eclipse plug-in that allows developers to generate, develop, debug, and test applications even when no other hardware or emulators are available. Here, developers can easily access offline data connected to the Rho.
Cons: One of RhoMobile’s biggest cons is that its RhoElement RFID plug-in isn’t free for Windows Mobile/CE.
Xamarin
Xamarin enables developers to use C# code bases to design native applications for multiple platforms. The tool allows developers to use the same IDE, language, and API everywhere. Xamarin cross-platform development has been adopted by giants such as Microsoft, Foursquare, IBM, and Dow Jones. If developers want to use Ruby or C#, it is one of the best development platforms for them. In addition, the Xamarin platform allows developers to share code, which means applications can be created in less time and at lower cost.
Cons: The free version of Xamarin offers limited functionality and doesn’t allow developers to use open source libraries due to compatibility issues.
This article is translated from Dzone.com
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