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In the early days of the modern smartphone applications era, mobile applications went through a similar evolution as first websites. Most cross-platform frameworks such as - React Native and Native Script - provides native components to work with the cross-platform code, while some others such as Flutter and Xamarin compiles cross-platform code to the native code for better performance. Similarly, PWAs are written using traditional web application programming technologies usually including some variant of JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS, and are accessed initially through a browser on the device or computer. As rendering and runtime performance of mobile browsers are ever-increasing, hybrid development is a viable alternative for web developers who want to build mobile apps quickly. Hybrid apps allow developers to use web technologies of HTML5/CSS/JavaScript and then encapsulate those web applications in a container that allows the web application to act like a native application on the device. Since hybrid mobile apps are just web apps running on an embedded browser environment, most of the code from a web app can be used to build a mobile app. How Hybrid and Cross-platform Frameworks Work? In fact, skilled native app developers are in such demand, that many companies are hard-pressed to hire and retain them on staff, and instead they frequently have to resort to outside 3rd party design and development houses to build their apps for them. Although there are large and vibrant developer communities for C and Java - the language families that are mostly used for native development -, there are fewer developers who are knowledgeable in platform-specific versions of those languages and their respective IDEs. One problem with native mobile application development is that it requires a highly specialized skill set. These are distinct specializations, so it’s crucial to either specify what technology you intend to use in the app or make it clear that you are open to technology propositions.Why Choose the Hybrid/Cross-platform Approach? It can also include hybrid app developers working with frameworks such as Cordova or Ionic, and JavaScript and C# developers, who are using React Native and Xamarin to write mobile apps. “Mobile app developer” is a very wide term, because it’s not limited to developers who write native code for platforms like Android and iOS. A developer must be also aware of how to deal with device fragmentation, often working closely with a designer to achieve the best user experience (UX) results. Mobile development requires staying in the mobile head space, meaning that it’s even more important than with other hardware contexts to optimize performance, battery, network, and memory management. A mobile app developer is able to create software for phones and tablets, and is familiar with the newest technologies in the mobile world.
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