Cross-platform mobile development is the process by which you create apps that will be compatible with multiple mobile operating systems. These apps are usually a fusion of native applications developed for mobile platforms and specific web applications. This process involves writing codes in web programming languages ​​that will adopt native elements of the mobile platform, which makes the application cross-platform adaptable and gives access to the platform's API. The code of these apps is transmitted in the native languages ​​of each platform. As it turns out, the most popular hybrid app is the one used by the infamous LinkedIn. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Although they have moved towards the native platform in recent times, purely for technical reasons such as availability of good development tools and usage of device-specific features. Need for cross-platform applications: Fundamentally, the complexity of mobile app development has been compounded by the difficulty of creating a backend that works across multiple platforms. Although writing code for each operating system separately is time-consuming and expensive, it has been considered easier to create native applications for each mobile operating system (OS) than a cross-platform hybrid application, although very little code written for each system operational could be used. be reused. One of the most challenging situations for app developers is whether to develop a native mobile app or go cross-platform. Of course, as a business, you have to deal with different types of customers who own different types of devices. Therefore, you should have a mobile app that can work perfectly on almost all platforms (e.g. Android, iOS, Windows, etc.). Recently, the hybrid approach has been considered the most reasonable. Therefore, according to technology experts, by 2020 more than half of all mobile apps will be cross-platform hybrid applications. Different approaches for cross-platform applications: Today, it is easier for programmers to develop cross-platform apps. Newer approaches to cross-platform development include: l Cross-platform native apps: Use the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that manages the native application bundle creation process through a unified API on top of the native SDKs. l Hybrid HTML5 app development: Developers write the core of the application as an HTML5 or JavaScript mobile app and then place a native device wrapper around it. l Rapid mobile app development (RMAD): Developers use no-code programming tools. RMAD gives business users the ability to quickly build and manage “good enough” internal apps to address specific business problems. l Universal Windows Apps: Use one codebase for all Windows devices. Enable the same app to run on Windows PC, tablet, smartphone, smartwatch or XBox. Native Cross-Platform Apps Every major mobile operating system has its own SDK (Software Development Kit) for building mobile apps. These SDKs also have preferred programming languages ​​supported by the operating system vendor. For example, for iOS, Objective-C and Swift are the preferred programming languages ​​supported by Apple, while for Android, Java is the preferred language supported by Google. Typically, apps built with these languages ​​using the official SDK are called "native apps". However, you can use the Application Programming Interface (API) provided by the native SDK, in other programming languages ​​not supported by the vendor.