New and looking for some direction...

[PhilAJ]

Hi to all - I have just registered on this forum and hope I can get a little help and advice from more experienced developers.

I have been in software development for 30 years, but just looking to start developng some APPs for iPhone, Android etc etc

I don't really want to use native tools specific to the devoces as I want to hopefully code once and deploy many, so have been trying to find a suitable development tool that will allow this. Wow - there are so many and it will take months to investigate all and trial to find the 'best'. SO far I've looked at appMobi; Rhommobile; Corona; and a couple of others

Can anyone advise what they feel would be the easiest and most efficient to use and get going quickly, with minimal learning curve, and that will produce native apps on all of the major systems.


Also - 1 other question (from a newbie) - is it possible to create an APP that stays running in the background of iOS / Android etc - maybe just 'polling' a server and popping to foreground when a particular event occurs?


Thanks for any help or advice

Phil

[ChinaMobi]

Hello Phil, welcome.

My current focus is building story-based .mobis. When I look at the mobile space, I see HTML5/CSS/JavaScript becoming the preferred choice for development. The way these technologies go, I see them allowing more and more powerful web-based apps to be possible. I think over the long term web apps will become the mainstream with device-dependent, native apps catering to very specific needs. I have .mobi set aside for web app development, but so far I've not found a tool that is free, powerful, and easy to use. I tried Eclipse but gave up. If there is an open-sourced tool that has form painter, property window, and event-driven programming that ties together HTML, CSS, and Javascript, I may start development. Otherwise, I'll wait until the technologies are mature enough.

Sorry, I don't have any suggestion to give. But, do share with us your plan.

[PhilAJ]

Thanks for that Chinamobi - I think I have come to the same conclusion.

Are there any others that endorse this view?

From a commercial popint of view, for a small development tteam (ie 2), it does seem a big ask to learn 2, 3 or even 4 new environments and languages to get an app onto multiple platforms.

In your opinion, for business apps, would anyone actually notice the difference between web apps and native?

Phil

[coast]

Hi PhilAJ,

For business apps, you want to ask if the business person is expecting to use the app on a plane without wifi. If it doesn't make a difference, I would go with webapps since you don't have to recode them for different mobile OS. Other than that, I see no difference personally.

Holly

[ChinaMobi]

For business apps, you want to ask if the business person is expecting to use the app on a plane without wifi.

From what I've read, you can use HTML5's application cache and local storage functions.

While my experience is still limited, I've used the HTML5's MANIFEST element with satisfaction on all my story-based sites. An example is alma .mobi which I use to host the Mother Goose story. (I just love the many beautiful pictures in the story.) When a user visits this site, the story is downloaded automatically to the phone if permitted.

Now you can enjoy reading all my 150+ stories while riding the subway etc.

[Pedros]

Unfortunately these are the times we live in and with the advent of digital technology, price of affordable dslrs and family members who will work for free, the work of a photographer is not wanted by people who simply want everything for free these days. I see dozens of questions like yours a week and it is always sad to see, but like I said, it's a sign of the times.