I’m in the process of evaluating Microsoft’s ReactXP for one of my customer. The promise is to share most of the code of a new development between the web, iOS and Android. But beyond that, it is to be able to scale apps and be more productive while increasing quality. To learn more, I encourage you to look at this F8 video:
Hacker Way : Rethinking App Development at Facebook
I think that we can achieve this. But you really need to mock and test your UI on the various platforms, if you want to rely on the native controls:
- For instance, forget about using a web DateTime picker on mobile.
- The iOS dropdown will use way more space on screen compared to the Android version.
- The android picker has no border.
See for yourself in the screen capture below:
I’m kind of a newbie to native mobile development. That is true. I have way more experience on desktop and web apps. I’m also new to the the open source ecosystem. Sorry, but I was a Microsoft guy, from desktop (for more than 25 years) to phone (I still own and use a Windows 10 Mobile device tough). I used to own an Android device before Windows Phone 8. And I decided to change that and reinvent myself.
These first steps with a new set of frameworks and patterns made me flip the switch.
The key takeaway here is that you should design for mobile first, it will run well on the web. In that particular case, we can see that the android and web versions are really close.
Very interesting stuff. Stay tuned for more.
Embracing the cloud 