The Best Frameworks for Building Mobile Apps • TipsOnTricks

Although many developers like working in native code, sometimes it”s not workable in many business situations. Similar to Ionic, HTML 5 mobile UI will let developers build cross-platform hybrid mobile apps. HTML 5 has the technology that developers are familiar with; JavaScript, CSS and HTM5.

Using HTML 5 mobile UI allows developers to build responsive web apps that fit on any size screen. The best feature, you write the hybrid mobile app once and then run it on any platform.

In order to have access to native hardware components (i.e. Camera), you want to work with JavaScript APIs like Cordova. Your app is put into a platform with specific native packages and are ready to install on a mobile device.

Here is a list of the best frameworks to date:

Ionic

Ionic has become a leader in hybrid mobile apps development. The Ionic team continues to adapt the latest technology in order to update the framework. It”s a free, open source and gaining enormous popularity. You can find tons of development resources from their community to get up and running in no time.

Iphone

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Ionic has recently added Angular framework, giving the framework incredible power. Ionic uses Cordova so you can go native for iOS, Windows phones, Android and many others.

Onsen UI

New to the technology world, Onsen UI is an open source and available under an Apache license. Onsen UI uses Angular directives and Topcoat framework for most of its UI components.

Onsen UI comes loaded with jQuery based components for those who like this platform. You can use jQuery to build hybrid apps instead of Angular. It also has a large selection of ready to use components. Build versions of your apps for mobile devices, tablets and desktops. Write in HTML5 and JavaScript or go native with Phonegap and Cordova. It”s flexible, easy to use, a great performer and is free to use.

Intel XDK

Intel XDK is different from the others, with a large selection of tools for development, testing, emulation, debugging and publishing cross-platform HTM5 hybrid apps. Intel XDK also comes with ready to use templates with “app framework”.

App framework is an open source JavaScript framework supported by Intel. Their app framework themes support iPhone, iPad, Tizen, Windows phone, Blackberry and Android. Intel XDK also supports jQuery mobile, Bootstrap 3 and Topcoat UI framework.

Sencha Touch

This is a great product for building cross- platform end to end mobile web apps with HTML5 and JavaScript. This is a very popular mobile application for development in commercial areas. Though expensive, Sencha has a large selection of products that work with Sencha Touch. For individual developers, Ionic is the wiser choice, but for commercial use, Sencha Touch is the popular choice.

Kendo UI

This is another popular choice for the commercial world. They have an enormous customer base including Nasa, Microsoft and Sony. It builds any kind of web app or hybrid mobile app with HTML5, JavaScript,CSS and depends on jQuery.

It is available as an open source as well as commercial licensing. Unfortunately, as an open source, you are limited in features and will not get dedicated technical support.

Framework 7

Framework 7 is the leader for iOS mobile apps development but does not provide support building cross-platform hybrid apps. It”s perfect for iOS hybrid apps development and allows for building iOS apps with only CSS, JavaScript and HTML.

JQuery Mobile

JQuery mobile allows developers to create web and mobile apps that run smoothly. It offers a unique user experience across mobiles, tablets and desktops. It does not focus on a native look for individual platforms like iOS and Android.

Mobile Angular UI

Fans of Bootstrap and Angular, will like this, you”ll get the best of both worlds to build HTML5 mobile applications. Angular UI is more of an extension to Bootstrap 3 but without the dependencies of Bootstrap JS or jQuery. It uses Fastclick.JS and Overthrow.JS for a very smooth mobile experience. It offers directives for scrollable areas, sidebars and stabilizes navigational bars.

Monaca

Monaca is a commercial mobile app development platform with an enormous list of products for managing end to end app development. Monaca has a cloud-based IDE for creating hybrid mobile apps. It will let you assemble and publish to multiple platforms using Cordova.

Article is written my outsourcing mobile app development company Binariks.com located in Ukraine and in the USA.