Cross platform app development - current state

A presentation I delivered at a Quby.com Lunch Lecture on september 20, 2016. For help with cross platform related questions, feel free to contact us (http://www.egeniq.com/contact)

Transcript

1. Current State
   Cross Platform
   App Development
   

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2. About Egeniq
   2
   “Smart apps for smart devices”
   

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3. Multi platform complexity
   3
   Platform
   ipad tv web xbox
   android ???
   

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4. Cross Platform Tools - Can it ever be as good as native?
   Instant Coffee
   4
   

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5. Abstraction level: 3 - Web view based applications
   Simplicity
   Do one thing right (watching movies)
   User friendly
   Intuitive
   Quality
   5
   

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6. Abstraction level: 3 - Web view based applications
   Source: https:/
   /cordova.apache.org/docs/en/latest/guide/overview/
   6
   

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7. Abstraction level: 3 - Web view based applications
   ‣Big distance between native platform and the
   developer
   ‣Mostly for web-developers who want to
   create apps
   ‣Code written in JS, UI created in HTML/CSS
   (interpreted)
   ‣UI Components are made to look like native
   components
   7
   

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8. 8
   Abstraction level 2: Cross compilation
   

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9. Source: https:/
   /developer.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/
   application_fundamentals/building_cross_platform_applications/part_0_-_overview/
   9
   Abstraction level 2: Cross compilation
   

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10. ‣Big distance between native platform

    and the developer
    ‣Interesting for C# developers or developers
    who are looking for a single language to use
    across 3 platforms
    ‣UI is written in common language but still
    tailored per platform
    ‣Code: C# - UI: Native components
    10
    Abstraction level 2: Cross compilation
    

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11. Abstraction level 1: Native UI Abstractions
    11
    

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12. Abstraction level 1: Native UI Abstractions
    Source: http:/
    /docs.appcelerator.com/platform/latest/#!/guide/
    Titanium_Platform_Overview
    12
    

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13. Abstraction level 1: Native UI Abstractions
    13
    ‣Closer to the native layer
    ‣UI is abstracted, differentiation is possible
    ‣Not just for web devs, also for app devs
    ‣(need to learn JS, but not a whole new UI
    paradigm)
    

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14. Abstraction level 1: Native UI Abstractions
    React Native:
    - Light Weight
    - Focused mostly on UI
    Appcelerator Titanium:
    - More fully featured (not just UI focus)
    - Heavier
    - Uses Eclipse (ew…!) as IDE
    14
    

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15. Abstraction level 0: Fully native
    15
    

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16. Abstraction level 0: Fully native
    16
    ?
    

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17. Abstraction level 0: Fully native
    ‣Highest level of possible 

    detail in UIs

    ‣Requires specialist
    developers on all platforms
    17
    

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18. 18
    Is Native Expensive?
    + = 2 ?
    Our experience:
    ‣iOS + Android = 1 + 0.8
    ‣Shared Architecture
    ‣Smart Backends / Thin Clients
    

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19. Beware of Leaky Abstractions
    Joel Spolsky’s Law of Leaky
    Abstractions:
    “All non-trivial abstractions, 

    to some degree, are leaky”
    19
    

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20. Effort vs Complexity
    20
    Complexity/
    Awesomeness
    Effort
    Native (0)
    Cross compilation /
    UI abstraction (1,2)
    Web views (3)
    Higher level of abstraction = higher level of exponential effort
    

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21. Application Areas
    21
    Native (0)
    Cross compilation (2)
    Web views (3) UI Abstraction (1)
    Premium
    Apps
    Prototypes
    Web-devs
    Business apps
    Consumer apps
    Budget more
    important than UX
    Native-devs
    Win-devs
    Cordova,
    Ionic
    Xamarin React Native,
    Appcelerator
    

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22. Thank you! Questions?
    ivo@egeniq.com
    Ivo Jansch
    @ijansch
    

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