Top 5 Cross Platform Mobile Application Development Frameworks
Cross platform mobile application development is a welcome respite for developers that find it hard to manage sizable teams for each of the mobile development verticals. Moreover, developing an application using this much-in-demand platform is a profitable affair as it helps in popularizing the product among a larger section of potential users. The lines below talk about this very topic and discuss various open source tools that developers use to create interactive apps.
Rhomobile
Previously known as Rhodes Framework, RohoMobile Suite is used to build native mobile applications that can function on multiple devices and operating systems. Owned by Motorola Solutions, the open source framework currently supports numerous platforms including iOS, Windows Phone, iOS, BlackBerry and so on. It uses Model View Controller (MVC) pattern where HTML and Ruby are used for writing views and controllers, respectively.
Appcelerator
For developers wishing to create applications for desktops and tablets alongside mobile phones, Appcelerator Titanium is a welcome choice. It supports iPhone, android, iPad and Blackberry based applications and also allows the programmers to use JavaScript to develop native apps for Android and iPhone. Knowledge of Titanium API is important for coders willing to use it.
PhoneGap
It is yet another much sought after cross platform mobile development framework. It lets the coders to use the combination of JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3 together with standardized web APIs to build quality applications to run on a slew of OS and devices including iOS, Android, Symbian, BB, Windows 8, Windows Phone and more. Developed by Adobe systems, PhoneGap consists of Apache Cordova as underlying software.
MoSync
Developed by Mobile Sorcery, MoSync provides free, simple, and open source Software Development Kit (SDK) to build a flurry of cross-platform mobile applications. Developers can use it to create native apps with the help of C/C++, CSS, HTML5 and JavaScript. The framework supports iOS, Android and Windows Phone among others. The company also offers to download MoSync SDK and Reload tool right from its website for maximum benefit of its users.
Sencha Touch
Web developers prefer using Sencha Touch to build interactive application UI with the help of JavaScript library together with the combination of HTML5 and CSS3. With this framework, programmers can comfortably and swiftly develop apps that could run perfectly on the devices supported by Android, iOS and BB. The mobile web apps thus developed give the appearance and experience of native applications. An additional advantage with Sencha Touch is that it offers GUI based controls, which further simplify using the mobile web applications.
For companies and individuals into the business of mobile application development, these frameworks promise very cost-effective solutions as compared to the native platforms. Moreover, owing to the fact that the code written in all such tools are reusable, once written, developers can use them as many times as they want. Prominent reasons such as cost-effectiveness and enhanced visibility due to the availability of apps on multiple OS and devices, often tempt the clients from different walks of life to invest in these cross platform mobile development frameworks and rear exceptional benefits in the long run.
