Recent statistics show that there are over 2.87 million apps in the Google store and over 1.96 million in the Apple App Store. If you are planning to create a mobile app for your business, there’s no shortage of tools you can use as a budding developer.
In this blog post, we look at six must-know tools that are essential for app development. Before that though…
How are Mobile Apps Developed?
Creating an application for Android or iOS is pretty much the same, but there are some slight differences. For instance, Android apps can be created using Java, while iOS requires Objective-C or Swift as its programming language.
Developers use various tools to create their desired effect within each platform. There are many types of development environments available depending on your operating system.
The following are six of the best.
Python Language
Python is a general-purpose programming language that is used to create applications of all types and for different platforms.
There are two main types of data in the Python language.
Immutable
This data cannot be changed. The Python language is designed so that all variables are immutable unless they have been declared as mutable.
Mutable
This data can be changed after it has been created. Using python concatenation, lists, dictionaries, or other containers makes your code easier to read and write.
Why use python?
Open source
This means that anyone can contribute by offering their suggestions or code improvements.
Cross-platform compatibility
It’s available on any operating system, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Interactive development environment
The IDLE is an interactive tool for developers to test and run their code as they write it.
React Native Framework
React Native allows developers to use the same code base across multiple devices, resulting in less time spent on development.
This framework is the perfect tool for developers who already have an application that can port across devices. It is particularly aimed at those with JavaScript experience as it’s mainly used in conjunction with this programming language.
Features
Performance
React Native is faster than most other cross-platform frameworks. It uses a lightweight execution engine to increase the performance and interactivity of your application on any device.
Easy development process
This framework has an easy learning curve for JavaScript developers already familiar with the language.
Support
There are numerous resources available for developers who need help with the framework.
XCode
XCode allows developers to create iPhone, iPad, or Mac apps using Objective-C or Swift languages.
It supports static and dynamic libraries. Even so, it can take longer when running large projects on older devices due to its memory management limitations.
Features
Interface Builder
This allows developers to create connections between different components of their app.
Performance
Xcode is one of the most potent IDEs available for iOS and Mac OS X. It offers a fully customizable interface navigated through its keyboard shortcuts.
Debugging tools
A built-in debugger makes it easy to find and fix errors in your code.
Appcelerator Titanium SDK
The Appcelerator Titanium API provides access to the native device functions of iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile platforms. It also allows you to create custom UI widgets using JavaScript code which is reused across your project’s different screens.
Features
Multiple coding languages
This framework uses JavaScript, CSS, and HTML to create apps.
Performance
The Titanium SDK is designed to increase the performance of your applications across all devices. It compiles native code into bytecode on the device itself instead of in a webview.
Sencha
Sencha is an open-source HTML and JavaScript framework for building cross-platform mobile apps. You can use Sencha to build HTML/CSS-based, hybrid, or fully native applications using the same code across all platforms.
It’s easy to develop since you only have one version of your app, which works with many devices.
Features
UI widgets
This framework comes with a host of UI components and themes which can be customized and used in your app to enhance its appearance.
User interactions
Sencha Touch offers touch-optimized widgets for iOS and Android devices. These widgets are touch-friendly and work seamlessly on both platforms.
API
Sencha Touch also provides an API to access deep-level functions of the device, which help in accessing critical data.
Xamarin
Xamarin allows developers to create iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile apps from a single C # codebase. All this while still retaining platform-specific features on each device type.
Features
User interface
Xamarin’s cross-platform UI allows developers to use a single codebase for developing apps on multiple platforms.
Functionality
The framework allows developers to develop features specific to different devices by using native APIs
Samples
Xamarin includes a host of sample projects which can be used as blueprints for building your apps.
Code reuse
The C # class libraries used by Xamarin allow developers to reuse their code across different mobile app development projects easily.
Time to build your app!
The best way to learn about each tool is by trying them out. You can download free documentation from the developer sites to get you up and running. Remember, Apple doesn’t allow unapproved party tools on their App Store, so it’s essential to use the approved tools.
Using a combination of these tools will also help you develop better apps and get more users interested in your product which is what it all comes down to at the end of the day.
