Cross-platform mobile development worthy or not?

Question

I recently came across Cross Platforms for mobile app development, to name a few:

• RhoMobile,
• Appcelerator
• WidgetPad,
• Phonegap
• MoSync and many others.

I am confused whether it is worth devoting time to study them. There are many advantages that you can think of to develop an application that can work on all major platforms, but what if our application requires extensive use of the API of this particular OS. In addition, Android, iOS releases new versions of the OS, say, almost every year and, therefore, allows you to cope with the fact that the cross-platform environment must be updated and, therefore, an updated API for development!

Consider the case we use the Facebook API in our application. Now, if we use a cross-platform mobile development environment, would it be that we use one api to access our main platform, that is, Android or iOS, and then to the sub-level api for using Facebook? If we continue to use this level, this does not mean that technically access to hardware resources is hungry and time-consuming. In addition, the flexibility of using a third-party API can also be reduced.

I am also excited about cross-platform development, but I'm just wandering around if it's worth the time to invest, as these cross-platforms are also in the early stages of BETA development.

Answer 1

To answer the “headline” of your question, “Cross Platform Mobile Development worth it or not?”, It depends on the complexity of your application, but in general I think the answer is “YES”. If you need to create the same application for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry, this will require the creation of the same application four times! In addition, the languages ​​and APIs for each of them are very different, it is unlikely that you will find a developer who can program for all four.

As for the frameworks you listed, there is a pretty good overview of the differences between the three of them:

Comparison between Corona, Phonegap, Titanium

You are right, most of them are in Beta or in early form. Personally, I would recommend learning HTML5 / JavaScript / CSS, as a rule, these are the languages ​​that are used to deliver cross-platform mobile applications. If you have a good understanding of basic technologies, you can transfer your skills from one cross-platform mobile development platform to another.

Most recently, I created an open source project http://propertycross.com , which helps to choose a cross-platform platform for mobile devices, demonstrating the same application implemented with Sencha, Titanium, Xamarin, etc.

Answer 2

It totally depends on your application requirements. Please note that these cross-platform mobile app development platforms do not support all phone features. They mainly support such functions as: GPS, camera, contacts, storage, accelerometer, compass, SMS, email, etc.

They do not support complex functions such as NFC, SIM card information, access to equipment, etc.

Of all the tools mentioned, I recommend the PhoneGap tool.