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Creating
HTML applications can be a great way to cut down development time between two platforms. The trend today is to develop a web app for iOS (with a varying amount of native code) and simply use the HTML,
CSS, and Javascript on other platforms like Android.
The process can work well, and it can save you considerable time while still having a nice, polished app on multiple platforms. The approach has a few pitfalls, though. One of the main troubles is developing for iOS first.
You see, iOS has a great in-app browser. It has support for all of the latest HTML5 components, it fully supports CSS3, and it has great Javascript performance. The problem is that no other platform is near this level yet. This can create some issues when you are porting your HTML, CSS, and Javascript to other platforms such as the Android.
When following the pattern above, you should really develop for the lower platform first and then port to iOS. This way, you will have less development time lost to solving compabability issues. Some of these issues could be: Javascript DOM differences, CSS3 syntactical differences, and Javascript performance differences. Also, keep in mind that the usage of third-party libraries may work great on iOS but may not work on other platforms. It may not even have an equivalent version available.
One more thing to watch out for is:
-webkit-linear-gradient... versus -webkit-gradient...
I'm sure that there are several other major differences between what is supported between Android and iOS. Once I find more, I'll let you know.
The process can work well, and it can save you considerable time while still having a nice, polished app on multiple platforms. The approach has a few pitfalls, though. One of the main troubles is developing for iOS first.
You see, iOS has a great in-app browser. It has support for all of the latest HTML5 components, it fully supports CSS3, and it has great Javascript performance. The problem is that no other platform is near this level yet. This can create some issues when you are porting your HTML, CSS, and Javascript to other platforms such as the Android.
When following the pattern above, you should really develop for the lower platform first and then port to iOS. This way, you will have less development time lost to solving compabability issues. Some of these issues could be: Javascript DOM differences, CSS3 syntactical differences, and Javascript performance differences. Also, keep in mind that the usage of third-party libraries may work great on iOS but may not work on other platforms. It may not even have an equivalent version available.
One more thing to watch out for is:
-webkit-linear-gradient... versus -webkit-gradient...
I'm sure that there are several other major differences between what is supported between Android and iOS. Once I find more, I'll let you know.
Deploying code to production can be filled with uncertainty. Reduce the risks, and deploy earlier and more often. Download this free guide to learn more. Brought to you in partnership with Rollbar.
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