{"id":16568,"date":"2019-04-25T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T04:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/?p=16568"},"modified":"2023-08-11T18:20:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T12:50:13","slug":"cross-platform-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Cross-Platform Development and What You Should Know About It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are you curious about cross-platform development? This article aims to explain to you what cross-platform development is and what you should know about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the last 10 years, app development has become an essential part of businesses and organizations. There has been a continuous debate among IT professionals and the IT industry on the best approach to building them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if the apps should be <a href=\"https:\/\/codeburst.io\/native-app-or-hybrid-app-ca08e460df9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">hybrid or native<\/a> and if the operating system should be android or iOS. It is evident that there are many different approaches to build an app. One of these approaches is cross-platform development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents:<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/#What_is_Cross-Platform_Development\" title=\"What is Cross-Platform Development?\">What is Cross-Platform Development?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/#Benefits_of_Cross-Platform_Development\" title=\"Benefits of Cross-Platform Development\">Benefits of Cross-Platform Development<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/#Challenges_of_Cross-Platform_Development\" title=\"Challenges of Cross-Platform Development\">Challenges of Cross-Platform Development<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/#Differences_Between_Cross-Platform_and_Single_Platform_Development\" title=\"Differences Between Cross-Platform and Single Platform Development\">Differences Between Cross-Platform and Single Platform Development<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/#Cross-Platform_Development_Tools\" title=\"Cross-Platform Development Tools\">Cross-Platform Development Tools<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/cross-platform-development\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Cross-Platform_Development\"><\/span>What is Cross-Platform Development?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cross-platform development refers to the development and usage of apps that can be used across different platforms including <strong>Android<\/strong>, <strong>iOS<\/strong> and <strong>Windows<\/strong>. It not only involves the development of mobile apps but also software and other services which can operate on more than one platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"657\" height=\"433\" src=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/cross-platform-development.png\" alt=\"cross platform development\" class=\"wp-image-16569\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/cross-platform-development.png 657w, https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/cross-platform-development-200x132.png 200w, https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/cross-platform-development-300x198.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 657px) 100vw, 657px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Just a few years back it was enough for applications and software to work on a single platform. However, in today\u2019s digital world where a variety of mobile devices have been developed, people expect applications to work consistently across all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apps are required to run on any given device whether a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone. <strong>Cross-platform development<\/strong> is the key to providing consistent or uniform access of applications and software to users on these different devices and platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cross-platform development itself has several different approaches such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Creating multiple versions of a given application or software with each version designed to work on a particular platform (Apple, Microsoft).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Creating specific parts of an application abstract so that they can work in different environments. This approach is known as platform agnostic, meaning that the application does not support one particular environment.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several benefits and challenges associated with cross-platform development. Each of these is explained below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"background-color:#eeeeee\" class=\"has-background\"><strong>Also see: <a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/programming-languages-mobile-app-development\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"Top 5 Best Programming Languages for Mobile Apps Development\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-theme-primary-color\">Top 5 Best Programming Languages for Mobile App Development<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Benefits_of_Cross-Platform_Development\"><\/span>Benefits of Cross-Platform Development<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #39b54a;\">\u2713<\/span> Less Cost:<\/strong> You will only need to invest once in tools and technologies, your development costs will be reduced and controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #39b54a;\">\u2713<\/span>&nbsp;Less Development Time:<\/strong> Since you are only developing one app that will work across different platforms, your development time will be sufficiently reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #39b54a;\">\u2713<\/span>&nbsp;Consistency:<\/strong> Cross-platform development allows you to have a consistent code and design and provide a better user experience overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #39b54a;\">\u2713<\/span>&nbsp;Better Performance and Security:<\/strong> Security is better ensured through cross-platform development as there is only one app to secure rather than two or more. AirG reviews that this also allows the app to have better credibility and hence better performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Challenges_of_Cross-Platform_Development\"><\/span>Challenges of Cross-Platform Development<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>????Different Design Specifications:<\/strong> Different platforms such as Android and iOS have different design specifications. Therefore, you will have to spend time and effort in developing a user interface that works well across all platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>???? Transferring Difficulty:<\/strong> Similar to design, the code languages used on platforms is also different. If you are transferring an app from Android to iOS or vice versa, you will have to work out all code differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"background-color:#eeeeee\" class=\"has-background\"><strong>Must check: <a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/mobile-app-development-platforms-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"Top 15 Best Mobile App Development Software &amp; Services\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-theme-primary-color\">Top 15 Best Mobile App Development Software and Services<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Differences_Between_Cross-Platform_and_Single_Platform_Development\"><\/span>Differences Between Cross-Platform and Single Platform Development<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By now, you have some knowledge of cross-platform development. Now let us compare it with single or native platform development:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Compared to <a href=\"https:\/\/buddy.works\/actions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/buddy.works\/actions\">cross-platform development<\/a>, single platform development is costly. In single platform development, you are building more than applications and require separate codes for each. Single platform development is almost double the cost of cross-platform development.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Single platform development is quite time-consuming. Although in cross-platform development, some coding has to be done natively, but obviously the time is taken to build one app is less than the time required to build two.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Cross-platform development requires optimizing for the requirements of multiple platforms. iOS is quite stringent about its UI and UX design formats. Hence, apps developed through this platform may have to face multiple rejections before being accepted. This, in turn, also increases the development costs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Native or single platform apps are generally better optimized for the operating systems which make the installation of updates easier. This is sometimes very complicated for cross-platform apps.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"background-color:#eeeeee\" class=\"has-background\"><strong>You might also like: <a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/ecommerce-website-development-books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"10 Best Ecommerce Website Development Books\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-theme-primary-color\">Top 10 Best E-commerce Website Development Books<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cross-Platform_Development_Tools\"><\/span>Cross-Platform Development Tools<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For developing your app, you can hire app development companies like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appverticals.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">app vertical<\/a>. Your developer will be using a development tool to build the app. Below we have reviewed some of the topmost cross-platform development tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adobe:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Adobe offers PhoneGap Build and PhoneGap for cross-platform development. PhoneGap is based on Cordova. Cordova is an open source for device APIs allowing the developers to access specific native device functions on different platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developers can use a language of their choices such as <a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/free-php-html-css-javascript-code-editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CSS3, HTML5, or Java Web<\/a>. These languages are already hosted in the app. Therefore, developers are using a single code to develop an app which can work on all platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Appcelerator:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Appcelerator offers a single JavaScript codebase for its apps. The environment offered by Appcelerator is open and extensive enabling to produce apps for multiple platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has an open source <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodfirms.co\/glossary\/software-development-kit-sdk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Software Development Kit<\/a> (SDK) supporting more than 5000 devices and operating systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Xamarin:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Xamarin allows developers to build native apps using a single code. The interface development tools are offered by Xamarin itself.\u00a0Its features include the addition of components directly from an interface, backend integration, interfaces with sharing code facility, and native API access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SAP:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>SAP has allied itself with Cordova. It allows the users to access hundreds of SAP Fiori apps and optimize them with Cordova.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kony:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Kony is a perfect tool for organizations that have to cater to a large population of varied devices. It is also great for apps that require integration with SAP and Oracle backends. Kony offers a Kony visualizer, Kony studio, and Kony management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">iFactr:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>iFactr is one of the easiest cross-platform development tools. Developers can start making apps on IFactr after only a few days of training. App prototypes can be quickly created for collecting feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alpha:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Alpha supports cross-platform apps for major mobile operating systems as well as for PCs and Macs. It uses JavaScript and HTML5. Apps developed on Alpha can also be used offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cross-platform development can help you reach the largest number of audience with the least spend on resources. Obviously, they cannot substitute native apps and have their trade-offs. Deciding which approach to use will depend upon the scope of the project and intended use of the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Author Bio:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"128\" height=\"130\" src=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/andrea-bell.jpg\" alt=\"andrea bell\" class=\"wp-image-16578\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Andrea Bell is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Find her on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IM_AndreaBell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IM_AndreaBell\">@IM_AndreaBell<\/a><\/em><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #333333;\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #39b54a;\"><strong>You may also be interested in checking out:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/hire-shopify-developers-experts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">E-Commerce Guide: Hiring Shopify Development Specialists<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/best-forum-software-free-paid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Top 13 Best Online Forum Software (Free and Paid)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/free-php-html-css-javascript-code-editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Free PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript Code Editor \u2013 CodeLobster IDE<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/getresponse-online-marketing-platform-smbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GetResponse \u2013 A Complete Online Marketing Platform for SMBs<\/a><\/li><li>Important Facts About Android and iOS Platforms You Should Know<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; color: #333333;\"><em class=\"alignleft\">&nbsp;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you curious about cross-platform development? This article aims to explain to you what cross-platform development is and what you should know about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,68],"tags":[153,69],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16568"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22674,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16568\/revisions\/22674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zerodollartips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}