Developing applications for many platforms may be quite taxing. To make sure your app functions correctly on iOS, Android, and Windows, you have to regularly transition between frameworks and languages. Attempting to balance everything may quickly lead to frustration. The answer? Frameworks that span many platforms.
With the help of these technologies, you may write applications for many platforms from a single codebase. Porting code across operating systems no longer has to be a painful process! Cross-platform frameworks provide a uniform API and process, which makes development easier. Instead of concentrating on peculiarities unique to a certain platform, you may create an amazing user experience.
We’ll showcase a few of the best cross-platform frameworks in this piece so that frustrated developers worldwide may rest easy. These frameworks will simplify your work and make the development process easier whether you’re creating desktop, mobile, or online applications!
A Cross-Platform App Development Framework: What Is It?
To put it simply, cross-platform development enables the creation of programs for many operating systems, including Windows, iOS, and android, all from a single common codebase. Compared to creating unique native applications for every device from start, this saves a ton of time. You can utilize Xamarin for iOS, Android, and Windows, or React Native for iOS and Android, with cross-platform tools.
Utilizing the features that are specific to each platform is the main emphasis of native app development. You may use Apple’s UI toolkit and APIs by using Swift for iOS. Java or Kotlin may be used on Android devices to leverage Google services and UI components. Using native code may result in improved performance. However, it necessitates the creation of several programs from scratch, which costs more money and takes more time.
Cross-platform hence means rapid development, code reuse, and increased accessibility. Native applications are more tightly integrated across platforms and are specialized. Select the strategy according to your resources and priorities! However, cross-platform tools currently provide significant benefits in terms of development costs and time to market for the majority of demands. We’ll quickly go over the top 5 cross-platform frameworks below.
Flutter is a popular framework that Google released in 2017 and is extensively used for developing desktop, online, and mobile apps from a single codebase. Google’s Dart programming language is used by developers to create Flutter apps.
Language used for programming: Dart
Notable Flutter-using mobile applications include those from eBay, Alibaba, Google Pay, and ByteDance.
Important characteristics:
When developers make changes to the code, Flutter’s quick reload functionality lets them see the changes in their application right away without having to recompile.
Google’s Material Design is a design framework that makes it easier to create fluid digital experiences, and Flutter fully supports it. It gives developers of apps access to a wide range of graphical and behavioural widgets.
Flutter uses its own rendering engine, created especially for drawing widgets, in contrast to standard browser technologies.
Worldwide, Flutter has a vibrant and large user base. Flutter is one of the most popular frameworks in the world since developers really desire to use it for cross-platform app development.
React Native
Developed by Meta Platforms, previously known as Facebook, in 2015, React Native is an open-source user interface software platform that predates Flutter. It is based on React, Facebook’s JavaScript toolkit, and lets developers create native, cross-platform mobile applications.
Language used for programming: JavaScript
Prominent React Native mobile applications include Skype, Bloomberg, Shopify, and a number of tiny Facebook and Instagram components.
Important characteristics:
The development process is streamlined and expedited by the Fast Refresh feature, which enables developers to see changes in their React components instantaneously.
React Native places a lot of focus on the user interface, converting React primitives into native platform UI elements. This method makes it easier to create dynamic and personalized user interfaces.
React Native has built-in support for the Flipper mobile app debugger starting with version 0.62. With features including a network inspector, an interactive layout inspector, and a log viewer, this potent tool helps debug Android, iOS, and React Native applications.
React Native, one of the most well-liked frameworks for creating cross-platform apps, has a sizable and vibrant developer community that regularly exchanges technical information.
Kotlin Mobile Multiplatform
JetBrains developed the Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM) SDK, which enables programmers to construct apps for iOS and Android. When dealing with native UI components or platform-specific APIs, for example, you don’t always need to write platform-specific code; instead, KMM allows you to write common code for both platforms.
Language of programming: Kotlin
Distinguished Mobile Applications using Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile: Baidu, Netflix, Philips, and Leroy Merlin
Important characteristics:
Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile is simple to include into already-existing applications.
KMM provides complete control over the UI, making it possible to employ the newest UI frameworks, such as Jetpack Compose and SwiftUI.
Developers may get the iOS and Android SDKs without any limitations.
Though Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile is the newest cross-platform mobile development framework on our list, its community is already well-established and expanding quickly. It has already had a major effect on the market as it is.
Finding answers to any problems is made simple by the framework’s robust community support and often updated documentation. Additionally, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile has been used by a large number of startups and multinational corporations to create multiplatform applications that provide a native-like user experience.
Ionic was released in 2013 and is a free user interface toolkit. It helps developers create hybrid desktop and mobile apps by combining web and native technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Additionally, the framework works nicely with other well-known frameworks like Vue, React, and Angular.
Language used for programming: JavaScript
Prominent Ionic-using mobile applications include T-Mobile, BBC (Education & Children’s apps), and EA Games.
Important characteristics:
Ionic is based on a SaaS UI framework that was created especially for mobile platforms and provides a selection of UI elements to make app creation easier.
The device’s built-in functions, such as the camera, flashlight, GPS, and voice recorder, are accessible via the Ionic framework with the use of Cordova and Capacitor plugins.
The frameworks own integrated development environment, Ionic Studio, simplifies app development and prototyping with low coding requirements.
Community members often post on the Ionic Forum, actively sharing information and helping each other overcome different development obstacles.
Xamarin is an open-source framework for developing cross-platform apps. It was introduced in 2011 and is now under the ownership of Microsoft. It makes use of the.NET framework and the C# programming language to create programs that function flawlessly on Windows, iOS, and Android.
Language used for programming: C#
Notable mobile applications developed using Xamarin include those from UPS, Alaska Airlines, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Important characteristics:
The Base Class Library (BCL) from.NET, a vast set of classes that provide several functionalities including XML, database, IO, and networking support, is used by Xamarin apps. Furthermore, in order to expand capabilities outside the BCL, developers may compile already-written C# code.
Developers may use platform-specific UI components with Xamarin.Forms to make their applications seem the same on many operating systems.
Mobile engineers may reduce runtime mistakes by using the built bindings from Xamarin. Forms, which improve data binding efficiency and provide compile-time validation for all binding expressions.
A large worldwide community of contributors supports Xamarin, which is especially well-liked among C, C++, and C# developers that specialize in creating mobile applications.
Script Native
The initial version of the open-source NativeScript framework for creating mobile applications was released in 2014. It enables developers to work with frameworks like Angular and Vue.js to construct mobile applications for Android and iOS using JavaScript or languages like TypeScript that transpile to JavaScript.
Language used for programming: JavaScript, TypeScript
Notable NativeScript mobile applications include Daily Nanny, Strudel, and Breethe.
Important characteristics:
The usefulness of the app is increased by NativeScript’s easy access to native iOS and Android APIs.
By rendering platform-specific user interfaces, the framework removes the requirement for WebViews and allows NativeScript programs to operate natively on native devices. In Android OS, WebViews are usually used to display web content inside of an application.
With its selection of plugins and pre-made app templates, NativeScript simplifies development and eliminates the need for outside solutions.
Because it makes use of well-known web technologies like Angular and JavaScript, NativeScript is a preferred option for developers. Nonetheless, startups and small businesses often employ it while creating their mobile apps. Using design, development, and integration skills, a Mobile App Development Company specializes in creating unique mobile applications that are matched to particular business goals.
In summary
Cross-platform solutions have often shown to be preferable than native development in the hectic world of app development today. The industry has changed as a result of the ability to design applications that function flawlessly across many platforms with a single codebase. Significant benefits of cross-platform app development include increased user reach, cost savings, and speed of development without sacrificing quality.
