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Poll: HTML 5 or Native mobile development ?

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21–30 of 106 posts

Re: Poll: HTML 5 or Native mobile development ?

#21
HTML5 is designed to run in a browser which is always on. Native development is designed so that the user can switch betweens apps easily, without having an app to be slow.

Also with native you have access to the full device api such as sensors. HTML5 is closing the gap, but Native increases the gap every few months.

Mind the gap.

Re: Poll: HTML 5 or Native mobile development ?

#22
Always goes only for native. Here're why I don't go HTML5.

(1) Access to low-level and platform-specific features. Whatever I do, I always eventually need it as program gets specialized, and always be frustrated on non-native platforms. Usually cross platform stuffs lack this or needlessly painful even they offer it. Also you still have to write platform specific code even they support it. (2) Freedom of development. From native, it's relatively easier to build up HTML5 stuffs on top of it. (or whatever…) So I still can utilize HTML5 stuff if I really need it. Reverse is mostly impossible. (3) (Though that's arguable, what's native?…) Compatibility. Native development on C/C++ level always offer best compatibility. There's no computing platform doesn't support C/C++. Emscripten extended this even to HTML5. HTML stuffs are available only on browsers and a few specialized platforms. (4) Legacy. I always discover a mostly ideal implementation exists on native platform where HTML5 people are making efforts to bring. This includes better toolset for code writing and debugging. (5) Future. (I imply HTML5 == markup+CSS+JS). No serious major browser vendor really loves HTLM5. Because that limits their platform features. That's why they're adding WebGL and C/C++ support or whatever non-HTML stuffs from native world.

Re: Poll: HTML 5 or Native mobile development ?

#23
post #9

it depends on what the mobile application will do. E.g. for more performance heavy apps native is the way to go. See reasons why: http://speedcheckerapp.com/NativeApps.aspx

"It depends" is the only sensible answer. How many people do you have to work on it? Can you get both iOS and Android programmers? How does it fit in with the rest of your company and its goals? What is the purpose of the application? How solid are the specs - in the sense of knowing exactly what the app should do, or is it more a MVP type of thing where you're trying to see what the problem space is like?

Re: Poll: HTML 5 or Native mobile development ?

#26
How about kivy (http://kivy.org/#home) for something of a middle ground? It's a python graphical framework making heavy use of opengl via an optimised cython interface. It has fairly powerful access to the android api through pyjnius (which gives direct access to java classes) or pyobjus on ios (which is less mature but has the same idea).

On the plus side, since it's native to the device (albeit with a different interface), you can do pretty well for speed through the already optimised graphical interface and through optimising your own apps with cython or even C modules if necessary. Other pros include pyjnius/pyobjus for api integration as above (some of which is already abstracted as python modules), and neat perks like the ability to mostly develop on desktop without an emulator.

On the other hand, it has some of the same disadvantages as html5, such as non-native widgets. So by no means a perfect solution, but an interesting contender.

Re: Poll: HTML 5 or Native mobile development ?

#29
It depends on what kind of application you are developing:- Go Native if- 1. Need to access platform specific features example camera,gs,etc 2. Need performance intensive app 3. There is enough time for you to develop native app and can afford different native app developers (if planning to go cross platform) 4.You already know java/C#/Objective-C and it's a pain for you to learn HTML5

HTML5 if(you have some knowledge of HTML5/CSS and...):- 1. You need to build something quickly and cross platform 2. You can't afford different native app devs. 3. Performance is not that big an issue 4. You have/are a designer who can quickly conceptualize and build prototype using HTML5/CSS

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