What Does Mobile Application Development Include When it Comes to Technology?
Have ever asked yourself how mobile applications are developed? The popularity of mobile devices has grown significantly, so does the popularity of mobile apps. Today, mobile applications and software have become an inseparable part of human life. Activities such as checking emails, reading news, chatting, watching YouTube Videos, updating projects can be executed from mobile devices. In fact, mobile apps are playing a significant role in critical sectors such as the health. According to FDA, the adoption of mobile technologies is changing how people manage their own health.
With over 2 billion people worldwide using smartphones, the popularity of mobile applications is not expected to reduce soon. On the enterprise level, mobile application development is more important than it has ever been. Most of the big brands such as Twitter, Snapdeal, Uber, and Amazon have their own mobile apps. For these organizations and many others, having a mobile app is essential to reaching out to the next generation and staying ahead of the competition.
In order to develop these life-changing applications, various technology and skills come into play. So, before diving into the deep end of app development, it is vital to familiarize yourself with mobile app technology.
Mobile Apps Development Options
One of the important factors to consider when designing a mobile strategy is choosing the between native apps targeted at specific platforms, and web platforms. The intense competition in the mobile software is becoming increasingly complicated. For instance, both Android and Apple iOS have undergone changes with new releases. Likewise, Windows Phone has revamped into Windows 10 mobile. Below are the three broad choices to deploy mobile apps to users.
Native Mobile Apps
Native apps are targeted at specific mobile apps. This means they are developed for specific platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, and BlackBerry. Generally, these apps are more reliable and faster than other mobile apps because they are designed to run specifically on these platforms. In order to develop Google’s Android apps, developers need have knowledge of Java, a popular programming language. Google has some development tools such as Android Studio that make tasks a bit easier for developers.
To develop native apps for Apple’s iOS, you need to have a strong foundation on either Objective-C or Swift programming languages. Swift is the latest language which is gaining popularity. Like Google, Apple has several developers Tools such as Xcode. For Microsoft’s Windows, the main languages for development are VB.NET and C#. BlackBerry developers use Java language.
Among the native apps, Android and Apple’s iOS are the most popular. According to Statista, the two control significant portion of the market. So, knowledge of two or more programming languages such as Java or Swift will put you in a good position to develop in-demand native apps.
Mobile Web Apps
In simple terms, a web app is a software that runs on a web server. There are significant advantages for learning how to develop mobile web applications. First, only one system is developed and optimized for better user experience. General, the development, and maintenance of these apps tend to be less laborious. These apps are developed using major programming languages such as PHP, SQL, Java, Python, or Ruby. Due to the advancement of mobile browsers, it is becoming difficult to differentiate between desktop and mobile apps functionality.
Hybrid Mobile Apps
As the name suggests, hybrids apps are a combination of web and native apps. They have cross-platform functionality and they are mainly developed using JavaScript and HTML5. They can run on both web browser and on a platform. These apps are also easier and cost-effective to develop. Initially, LinkedIn and Facebook developed their apps through this technology before moving to native apps. Even today, several companies still use Hybrid apps.
Background Training is Essential for Mobile Development
Considering the above options, one must possess programming and software development skills. It is even better when one focus on mobile development specialization. Mobile app develop differ slightly from general software development. Resources such as computer cycle, memory, and storage are precious and scarce on a mobile platform.
Irrespective of platform or mobile development choice, one may have to work with more than one programming language. Typically, the minimum requirement for entry level is a bachelor's degree.
Are you ready for a mobile application development career? If you are interested in a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer and Information Science with a Major in Software Development - Mobile Development Track, consider ECPI University for the education you need to make a splash. For more information about this exciting degree program, connect with a friendly admissions counselor today.
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