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Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks
14 November 2011
 
Kirk Knoernschild  

Organizations want to avoid the cost and complexity of using native software development kits to develop resident mobile applications. But this desire should not come at the expense of the user experience (UX). To develop portable resident mobile applications, organizations are exploring cross-platform mobile application development frameworks. These frameworks offer portability, but development teams must be careful to select a framework that matches their application requirements, supports their target platforms, and delivers a compelling UX.





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Table of Contents

Contents
  • Summary of Findings
  • Analysis
    • Introducing Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks
      • Framework Classification
    • Framework Assessment
    • Portability
      • Toolset Reuse
      • Code Reuse
      • Platforms Supported
    • Native Experience
      • Native Capabilities
      • Native Integration
      • Native UI
      • Performance
    • Development Experience
      • Skills Transfer
      • Tooling
      • Testing
      • Time to Market and Cost
  • Comparison
  • Recommendations
    • Define a Mobile Framework Strategy
    • Limit Framework Adoption to Augmenting Frameworks
    • Use a Hybrid Framework When Portability Is Imperative
    • Use a Hybrid Framework to Leverage the Mobile Web
    • Use Custom Container When Development Experience Is Imperative
    • Use Cross-Compilation When Native Experience Is Imperative
    • Don't Abandon Native SDKs — You'll Still Need Them
    • Leverage Existing Skill Sets
  • Conclusion
  • Recommended Reading
  • Notes
Tables
Table 1.
Hybrid Frameworks
Table 2.
Custom Container Frameworks
Table 3.
Cross-Compilation Frameworks
Table 4.
Evaluation Criteria for Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks
Table 5.
Native Capabilities and Framework Support
Table 6.
Native Integration and Framework Support
Figures
Figure 1.
Portability vs. Native Experience of Mobile Development Options
Figure 2.
Lack of Toolset Reuse Throughout the Life Cycle
Figure 3.
Portability vs. Native Experience of Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks
Figure 4.
Comparison of Cross-Platform Mobile Development Frameworks




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Resource Id: 1848214