React Native
In 2012, Facebook encountered issues with its reliance on the HTML5-based Facebook mobile app—it was unstable and had slow data retrieval. Because of this, a Facebook employee created a tool that created iOS User Interface (UI) elements using JavaScript. In 2015, this tool was released as React Native.
React Native is a popular mobile application development framework that developers use to create native apps for Android and iOS. In addition, React Native can also be used to develop web applications. While the framework uses JavaScript, it compiles in the native platform code, giving it access to all the same APIs that other native platform apps use. Additionally, its syntax is similar to that of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). It simplifies the mobile app development process with a set of components like View, Text, and Image that are easy for the user to interpret. These components map directly to the building blocks of the native language (i.e., Android or iOS native language). It adapts seamlessly between the unique iOS and Android user interfaces using its platform API.
React Native has a large and active community of developers since it is one of the most popular development frameworks. Community hubs include the GitHub React Native Community (https://github.com/react-native-community), React Native posts on StackOverflow (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/react-native?sort=frequent), and, appropriately, a Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/react.native.community/). Because of this extensive community, developers always have someone to turn to when they need help.
These community members swear by the rapid development and implementation that the platform delivers through reusable elements, third-party extensions, and component-based GUIs. Because it uses a single code base for both iOS and Android development, it saves time and money by reusing code. Other popular features include Live and Hot Reloading, which refer to the reloading of the entire app when a file changes or the refreshing of files that were changed without losing the state of the app, respectively. These features allow developers to instantly see the changes they have integrated into the code without having to recompile it. This is another way that React Native saves time and money. The applications developed on this platform are also fast and sleek. React Native has been used by brands like Tesla, Microsoft Teams, Walmart, Discord, Pinterest, Skype, Coinbase, Instagram, Uber Eats, and Airbnb.
Despite all of its fame and accolades, React Native does have some downsides. First, because it is open source, it may contain security issues. In fact, its JavaScript libraries are known to have some security vulnerabilities. Next, developers often encounter compatibility issues between packages and debugging tools—another downside of being open-source. Lastly, because React Native (and JavaScript) manages memory, it is not ideal for computationally heavy applications. Overall, community support and documentation may make up for many of these flaws, especially if you are in an industry where security is not as vital.
Flutter
Flutter is a mobile app development framework that has been on the market for over 2 years. It is an open-source framework that was created by Google. It is marketed as a cross-platform framework, meaning you can use it to develop mobile, web, and desktop applications. Each platform deployment utilizes the same codebase, saving the development team lots of time and smoothing out workflows. It is also highly customizable, allowing the developer to make changes to every part of the display, no matter the screen.
Flutter uses the Dart language, a programming language used for client development in web and mobile apps. Dart is an object-oriented language with C-style syntax, which can compile to either native code or to JavaScript. The performance and speed of applications developed using Flutter are comparable with those of native applications. Additionally, Flutter does not require a bridge to interact with native components, eliminating many issues that might crop up while using other frameworks.
Also, Flutter offers a monetization scheme within its ecosystem. You can monetize your app through Google ads, in-app purchases through Google Play and the iOS App Store, or by accepting customer payments through the app. Additionally, Flutter offers a suite of convenient plug-ins in Dart for developers to choose from. Some of the most popular packages include a Google Fonts plug-in, an SVG rendering widget, a YAML parser, a toggle switch widget, and an implementation of React hooks.
Because Flutter is so widely used, it has a vibrant developer community. Due to this community, it boasts excellent documentation and experts to answer your questions. Community hubs like Flutter Community (https://medium.com/flutter-community) and Flutter Awesome (https://flutterawesome.com/) are also great resources for developers. This makes Flutter an easy framework for beginners to learn due to the abundance of resources available on the internet. If you get stuck, there is a community to help you get unstuck.
Overall, Flutter is unique because of its cross-platform solution and ease of development. Its single code base allows for rapid development. It also is excellent for creating visually appealing, sleek apps with customizable graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Additionally, it is cost-effective for developers since they simultaneously develop Android and iOS apps. However, Flutter is new compared to other frameworks like React Native. It is also written in an unpopular language, Dart. While other frameworks may be in a language familiar to the developer, Flutter will not be; most users will have to learn Dart specifically to use Flutter. Nevertheless, because of its sleek design and its efficiency, Flutter has been used to develop apps for well-known brands like BMW, Alibaba, eBay, and Toyota.
SwiftUI
SwiftUI, as the name implies, allows developers to rapidly iterate and create mobile applications. This framework was released by Apple in 2019. Unlike other frameworks, SwiftUI can only be used to develop applications for Apple platforms such as macOS, tvOS, iOS, and watchOS. Because of its specificity, it can utilize all the capabilities of Apple hardware. SwiftUI is geared toward users who want to use minimal code in their application development, which is possible because of the robust tools and application programming interfaces (APIs) integrated into the framework. Also, SwiftUI supports third-party APIs.
Unlike many other frameworks, SwiftUI is a proprietary software licensed by Apple. In some ways, this limits its capabilities compared to React Native or Flutter. However, it reduces maintenance costs. Because of the open-source nature of frameworks like React Native or Flutter, they are updated more frequently. SwiftUI, on the other hand, has less frequent updates. This requires fewer adjustments from the application developer over time. However, open-source frameworks often spend a lot of time trying to catch up to the new technology in proprietary frameworks after a release. If you want the most innovative tech, SwiftUI may be for you.
Additionally, SwiftUI may be a better choice than open-source frameworks like Flutter or React Native if you are highly security-conscious. On the other hand, SwiftUI suffers from comparatively less detailed documentation and reduced community support than its open-source competitors. Another downside of SwiftUI is that it does not offer any development features for Android. This means that developers must double their efforts if they want to make an application that will appear both in the App Store and Google Play.
Cordova/Ionic
More apps rely on Cordova than React Native or Flutter, but this is likely because it uses an older technology—not necessarily better technology. In Cordova, developers can write in JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). This code is then wrapped in a web browser in a native application. This “shell” is enhanced by Ionic, the other Cordova/Ionic framework piece. Ionic is a user interface (UI) toolkit that makes the Cordova “wrapper” more visually appealing and easier to use. When it was first developed, this technology was called PhoneGap.
Cordova uses a single code base, so users only have to write the code once, even if they deploy it on multiple platforms. It also has a plug-in architecture, meaning that developers can choose from an array of plug-ins supported by their platform rather than developing a certain functionality from scratch. Cordova is best for tech-savvy developers or programmers who know their way around a command line or an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It is not the best framework for a novice coder looking for a low-code app development option.
Onsen UI
Onsen UI brags about being “the fastest way to develop beautiful HTML5 hybrid and mobile web apps” (onsen.io). Onsen UI is free and open source, using components based on PhoneGap/Cordova. The product is owned by Monaca, Inc. and written in JavaScript. The framework contains a comprehensive toolset that includes a Command-Line Interface (CLI), a debugger, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and more.
Additionally, Onsen UI can be implemented in tandem with additional JavaScript frameworks such as AngularJS, Angular 2+, React, and Vue.js. This integration further expands the capabilities of Onsen UI. The most distinctive features of Onsen UI include its easy-to-use platform that is quick to set up. Thus, it contributes to time-efficient and cost-effective development.
jQuery Mobile
jQuery Mobile is an HTML5-based framework used to develop apps for tablets, desktops, and smartphones. While other frameworks boast that their single code base makes it easy to deploy apps on different platforms, jQuery takes it to the next level. Rather than creating separate apps for each platform, jQuery creates a single application that will work on all the platforms it supports. This framework also includes several stylesheets and libraries. Since jQuery Mobile is less popular than some other frameworks like React Native and Flutter, it has less documentation and community support available.
