Creative Coding 11 - Why Native App Development Isn't Dead Yet

A brief explanation of native app development benefits/drawbacks compared to Flutter and React Native to understand why developers still use native development. This was presented at Creative Coding 11 - https://www.meetup.com/Creative-Coding-NYC/events/253172684/

Transcript

1. Why Native App Development Isn't Dead Yet Adam McNeilly - @AdamMc331 @AdamMc331 1
2. Definitions @AdamMc331 2
3. Native Development Native applications are applications written for a specific platform using the corresponding tooling. This is done in Android Studio for Android, and Xcode for iOS. @AdamMc331 3
4. Cross Platform Development Cross platform applications are built using some development tool that allows you to write a single codebase that can run on both operating systems. @AdamMc331 4
5. Hybrid Applications Hybrid applications contain some portions of native application code that run alongside some cross platform features. @AdamMc331 5
6. Native Application Benefits @AdamMc331 6
7. Native Application Benefits 1. Fully supported by the corresponding platform @AdamMc331 6
8. Native Application Benefits 1. Fully supported by the corresponding platform 2. Better performance in both speed and memory @AdamMc331 6
9. Native Application Drawbacks @AdamMc331 7
10. Native Application Drawbacks 1. Must manage two codebases @AdamMc331 7
11. Native Application Drawbacks 1. Must manage two codebases 2. Twice the development time @AdamMc331 7
12. Native Application Drawbacks 1. Must manage two codebases 2. Twice the development time 3. Costs more money @AdamMc331 7
13. Cutting Down On Development Time @AdamMc331 8
14. Cross Platform Application Benefits @AdamMc331 9
15. Cross Platform Application Benefits 1. Can manage one codebase @AdamMc331 9
16. Cross Platform Application Benefits 1. Can manage one codebase 2. Less development time @AdamMc331 9
17. Cross Platform Application Benefits 1. Can manage one codebase 2. Less development time 3. Costs less money @AdamMc331 9
18. Cross Platform History @AdamMc331 10
19. Cross Platform History — First attempts used webviews @AdamMc331 10
20. Cross Platform History — First attempts used webviews — Webviews are components that display websites @AdamMc331 10
21. Cross Platform History — First attempts used webviews — Webviews are components that display websites — Webviews need a "bridge" to interract with the platform @AdamMc331 10
22. Cross Platform History — First attempts used webviews — Webviews are components that display websites — Webviews need a "bridge" to interract with the platform — This is slow @AdamMc331 10
23. Understanding Cross Platform Drawbacks To understand the drawbacks of cross platform development today, let's look at two common tools: @AdamMc331 11
24. Understanding Cross Platform Drawbacks To understand the drawbacks of cross platform development today, let's look at two common tools: 1. React Native @AdamMc331 11
25. Understanding Cross Platform Drawbacks To understand the drawbacks of cross platform development today, let's look at two common tools: 1. React Native 2. Flutter @AdamMc331 11
26. React Native @AdamMc331 12
27. React Native Build native mobile apps using JavaScript and React1. 1 https://facebook.github.io/react-native/ @AdamMc331 13
28. React Native @AdamMc331 14
29. React Native 1. Written in JavaScript, but with a native UI @AdamMc331 14
30. React Native 1. Written in JavaScript, but with a native UI 2. We have two realms: native and JavaScript @AdamMc331 14
31. React Native 1. Written in JavaScript, but with a native UI 2. We have two realms: native and JavaScript 3. Realms must communicate over the bridge @AdamMc331 14
32. React Native 1. Written in JavaScript, but with a native UI 2. We have two realms: native and JavaScript 3. Realms must communicate over the bridge 4. This is slow @AdamMc331 14
33. React Native Here lies one of the main keys to understanding React Native performance. Each realm by itself is blazingly fast. The performance bottleneck often occurs when we move from one realm to the other. In order to architect performant React Native apps, we must keep passes over the bridge to a minimum2. — Tal Kol 2 https://medium.com/@talkol/performance-limitations-of-react-native-and-how-to-overcome-them-947630d7f440 @AdamMc331 15
34. React Native Case Studies 1. React Native at Airbnb 2. React Native: A retrospective from the mobile- engineering team at Udacity @AdamMc331 16
35. Giving Credit To React Native @AdamMc331 17
36. Giving Credit To React Native 1. Iterate quickly @AdamMc331 17
37. Giving Credit To React Native 1. Iterate quickly 2. Opportunity for shared code @AdamMc331 17
38. Giving Credit To React Native 1. Iterate quickly 2. Opportunity for shared code 3. Amazing community support @AdamMc331 17
39. Flutter @AdamMc331 18
40. Flutter is Google’s mobile app SDK for crafting high-quality native interfaces on iOS and Android in record time3. 3 https://flutter.io @AdamMc331 19
41. How Flutter Works @AdamMc331 20
42. How Flutter Works 1. Flutter draws a blank canvas on the device @AdamMc331 20
43. How Flutter Works 1. Flutter draws a blank canvas on the device 2. Flutter rendering engine draws the app on top of that @AdamMc331 20
44. How Flutter Works 1. Flutter draws a blank canvas on the device 2. Flutter rendering engine draws the app on top of that 3. Flutter rendering engine is really fast @AdamMc331 20
45. Flutter The fact that Flutter is the only mobile SDK that provides reactive views without requiring a JavaScript bridge should be enough to make Flutter interesting and worth trying...4 4 https://hackernoon.com/whats-revolutionary-about-flutter-946915b09514 @AdamMc331 21
46. Flutter Drawbacks @AdamMc331 22
47. Flutter Drawbacks — Rendering engine has to ship with the APK/IPA bundle @AdamMc331 22
48. Flutter Drawbacks — Rendering engine has to ship with the APK/IPA bundle — This means large downloads @AdamMc331 22
49. Flutter Case Studies @AdamMc331 23
50. Flutter Case Studies 1. Rise Up! — The story of how the Hamilton App uses Flutter to do more for its fans. @AdamMc331 23
51. Flutter Case Studies 1. Rise Up! — The story of how the Hamilton App uses Flutter to do more for its fans. 2. Flutter Showcase @AdamMc331 23
52. Giving Credit To Flutter @AdamMc331 24
53. Giving Credit To Flutter 1. Iterate quickly @AdamMc331 24
54. Giving Credit To Flutter 1. Iterate quickly 2. Write once, runs on both platforms @AdamMc331 24
55. Giving Credit To Flutter 1. Iterate quickly 2. Write once, runs on both platforms 3. Amazing community support @AdamMc331 24
56. Quick Recap @AdamMc331 25
57. Quick Recap 1. Single codebase - sounds nice, not always practical @AdamMc331 25
58. Quick Recap 1. Single codebase - sounds nice, not always practical 2. React Native brings great benefits, but is slow @AdamMc331 25
59. Quick Recap 1. Single codebase - sounds nice, not always practical 2. React Native brings great benefits, but is slow 3. Flutter brings great benefits, but has overhead @AdamMc331 25
60. Why Native App Development Isn't Dead Yet @AdamMc331 26
61. Sooner than we think, multiplatform developers will be on very high demand5. — Jorge Coca, BMW 5 https://speakerdeck.com/jorgecoca/let-swift-equals-equals-val-kotlin-why-ios-is-so-important-for-android-and-vice-versa? slide=27 @AdamMc331 27
62. Looking Forward @AdamMc331 28
63. Looking Forward 1. Need increased performance @AdamMc331 28
64. Looking Forward 1. Need increased performance 2. Need smaller APK sizes @AdamMc331 28
65. Looking Forward 1. Need increased performance 2. Need smaller APK sizes 3. Need less stubborn native devs @AdamMc331 28
66. Looking Forward 1. Need increased performance 2. Need smaller APK sizes 3. Need less stubborn native devs 4. Need a migration plan @AdamMc331 28
67. My Take @AdamMc331 29
68. My Take — Cross platform is great for getting running quickly, especially if you don't have the resources or expertise for both platforms @AdamMc331 29
69. My Take — Cross platform is great for getting running quickly, especially if you don't have the resources or expertise for both platforms — Performance and reliability of native development is difficult to turn away from @AdamMc331 29
70. My Take — Cross platform is great for getting running quickly, especially if you don't have the resources or expertise for both platforms — Performance and reliability of native development is difficult to turn away from — BUT someday cross platform tools are going to catch up @AdamMc331 29
71. My Take @AdamMc331 30