Hybrid applications are made possible because of the tools created that facilitate the exchange of information between WebView and its own platform. These tools are not part of the official iOS or Android platforms, but are classified as third-party tools such as Apache Cordova.
Imagine candy, the wrapper is JavaScript plugins and HTML code, and what’s inside is native code. The former turn to the latter for the hybrid application, and as a result you get an application that runs in the browser window. It turns out that the product is a site that behaves like an application. Hybrid solutions include the various app builders you’ve probably heard of.
A little about companies and developers that create constructors and their products. A constructor is an application with a specific set of functionality that can be changed depending on the client’s requirements. The prime cost of such a product may be only 5,000 rubles, but unscrupulous companies sell it to one customer, for example, for 30,000, and to another for 40,000, including and excluding the already created certain functionality.
The cost price of a constructor can be up to 100,000 rubles, but the company that created it only needs to enable or disable certain functions and sell it to different customers as different products. Such an application pays off very quickly. You get a product with a non-unique interface, because the main thing for builders is to sell. The unique interface and its development are expensive. Today all the volunteers can order hybrid app development company fireart.studio.
Hybrid Application Architecture
Hybrid apps have three main elements:
browser client;
content provider;
mashup site.
The client browser is the environment for user interaction with the application, and also interprets graphical content. Through the browser, information is collected about the requirements for the content of the web page that the user is viewing.
The content provider is a third party service that provides data for the mashup. The number of content providers that provide access to data through APIs is slowly growing, but still most of the information must be obtained using special utilities that parse the content of the page.
A mashup application is an integration core that brings together information from different sources. There are two approaches to implementing this web service:
creating a web application hosted and running on the server side. In this case, technologies such as ASP, Java, PHP, etc. can be used;
generating content entirely on the client side. In this case, execution scripts are used, implemented, for example, using JavaScript.
Using each of these approaches in their pure form is not very convenient. For example, when implementing the server version, the user will face the problem of frequent calls to the server to update the information on the page. In addition, when using a client-side application, it will be problematic to handle complex queries against multiple data sources at once.
What are the pros of a hybrid app
A hybrid app has 2 obvious advantages: cost and time frame. If you’ve been told that the cost of a hybrid app is lower than a native app, that’s true. The term for creating a hybrid application is about 1.5 times less than for a native one – this is also true.
Obvious cons of a hybrid app and imaginary cross-platform
Let’s imagine that a hybrid application for ios application development has been developed for you, and your potential and regular customers start using it.
Slow. On earlier versions of the Android operating system, the mashup is slow, making it easier for your customer to order through the website than through the app. For this, did you invest your money in development?
No cross-platform. If you’ve been told that hybrid solutions are a cheap alternative to a cross-platform native app, you are being misled. Apple device users are used to seeing the Action Bar (Actiobar) at the bottom, Android device users at the top. When the hybrid application is running, Actiobar will not change its position, and the “Back” button for an Android device will not disappear anywhere and will be displayed in iOS as well. This will definitely confuse the user. Yes, that there is Actiobar and the “Back” button – just a few examples! Let’s touch on animation, iOS and Android have different transitions between screens in the application. It is impossible to implement this in a hybrid version. Have pity on your customers, otherwise such a product will negatively affect your image and business;
Unreliable. Plugins used in hybrid mobile apps are poorly supported, poorly tested, not tested on all devices, and are highly likely to fail;
Miser pays twice. This English proverb about hybrid solutions comes in handy. From the previous paragraph, it becomes clear that there is no question of user interface design. This is understandable because mashups are built by JavaScript and HTML developers who don’t specialize in UI (user interface). You will soon begin to realize that your customers are very unhappy with the app when they receive feedback, and you want to improve the user experience with your product. This is where you need a UI specialist who will cost you the cost of your application, if not more.
Bottom line: you will remember with an “unkind word” everyone who told you about the benefits and simplicity of hybrid applications, and then you will order the creation of a native application. If you haven’t made a prepayment for the hybrid solution yet, then you’re in luck, if you have already paid, then, I hope, you have lost quite a bit.
Who needs this solution
For those who do not have a business: test the idea for performance. A hybrid app is a great prototype, and you can use it to understand whether an idea will be profitable or not. If your business is already working, then invest in it, you no longer need prototypes, users of your application are the future of your business.
For a working business, our studio is ready to offer an MVP solution, this is the minimum set of functionality that can produce results. MVP is a native application that you can develop indefinitely. Its cost will be more than the cost of a hybrid application, but such an application will not resemble a pyramid with an ever-increasing number of props that will collapse at some point anyway. The cost of a native MVP solution will already include the UI.
True Cross-Platform: Xamarin Native Mobile App
Hamarin is a framework (software system) purchased by Microsoft. A software product that allows you to create various cross-platform mobile solutions. Unlike C ++ Qt, on which applications are also created, Xamarin is constantly supported by Microsoft, and everything you need is already there to implement any element. You get a real cross-platform application in which Actiobar will be in the place the user is familiar with, as well as other elements.
The choice can only be made by you, ordering a native application or a hybrid one. We want only high-quality products to remain in the world.