DZone 2014 GUIDE TO MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

2014 GUIDE TO MOBILE DEVELOPMENT
DZONE RESEARCH PRESENTS
2 01 4 G U I D E TO
MOBILE
DEVELOPMENT
TOOLS, STRATEGIES, AND INSIGHTS FOR
ACCELERATING MOBILE DEVELOPMENT
B R O U G H T TO YO U I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H
dzone.com/research/mobile
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Welcome TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary & Key Takeaways 3

Dear Reader, KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS 4
This is the third guide we’ve produced in the DZone The mobile landscape: Cross-Platform
Research series this year and we’ve been excited by Problems and Solutions By ALec Noller 6
your response to the first two. It is clear that many of
The State of Native vs. Web vs. Hybrid
you are anxious for resources to help create high- By Mitch Pronschinske 10
quality products and services, and your feedback
Back-End Integration: A Major Headache
thus far has been immensely helpful in shaping the
for Enterprise Mobility
direction of these guides. By Suhas Uliyar 14
Game of Phones Infographic 18

For this guide, we heard from over 1,000 of
you and learned a ton about the ways you are Mobile UX: Refining Perceived
developing for mobile. With your insights, we Performance By Andrew Trice 22
were able to put together a strong portrait of the
The Step-by-Step Mobile
mobile development landscape and unveil many Development Checklist 24
perspectives. As you read this guide, we hope that
you will discover some new things that will help
Solutions DIRECTORY 25
accelerate your development, from best-practices to GLOSSARY 35
new tools.
As always, thanks to everybody who played a part CREDITS

in the creation of this guide, including those of
you who took the time to complete our survey, the DZone Research DZone CorporatE
experts who shared their knowledge, the vendors Jayas h re e Gopal ak ris h nan R ic k R oss
Director of Research
who helped us understand their products, as well as CEO
Mitc h P rons c h ins k e Mat t S c h m idt

our research partners. Senior Research Analyst, President & CTO
Author
B randon N ok e s
Mat t We rne r VP, Oper ations
Enjoy the guide and happy developing! Market Researcher
A l e x C raf ts
A l e c N ol l e r Senior Account Manager
Content Cur ator, Author
H e rnâni C e rqu ei r a
Lead Software Engineer
B e njam in B al l
Jayashree Gopalakrishnan Research Analyst KELLET ATKINSON
Director of Marketing
Director of Research
As h l e y S l at e
research@dzone.com Special thanks to our topic experts Alex Gr aphic Designer
Curylo, Pieter De Rycke, Raymond Camden,
C h ris Smit h
Max Katz, Jose Roy Javelosa, and our trusted Marketing Associate
DZone Most Valuable Bloggers for all their
help and feedback in making this guide.
DZone Research Guides are published by DZone, 150 Preston Executive, Cary, NC 27513.
All contents © 2014 DZone. All rights reserved.
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2 2 01 4 G U I D E TO M O B I L E D E V E LO P M E N T
Summary & KEY TAKEAWAYS

Entering today’s mobile space requires significant decisions about the development technology you want to use. Will your apps
be native, web-based, or will you choose from a variety of cross-platform tools to make something in between? If you develop
native apps, will you build for both Android and iOS? These decisions are often made without adequate knowledge of industry
trends and relevant data. The DZone 2014 Guide to Mobile Development gives readers a full picture of the various approaches to
mobile development, enabling them to overcome its biggest obstacles. Exploring the data and content in this guide and on its
companion site dzone.com/research/mobile will help you understand:
• The challenges of cross-platform mobile development and strategies for overcoming them
• The strengths and weaknesses of native, hybrid, and web-based approaches to mobile development
• Mobile development trends and preferences from a survey of more than 1,000 mobile professionals
• Feature comparisons between various Mobile Application Development Platforms (MADPs)
• Strategies for mobile user experience design and enterprise integration
Key Takeaways
A Web or Hybrid App is Becoming the Preferred Enterprise App
As enterprises start to build more B2E apps, they are likely to turn to web and hybrid apps, or use
MADPs that generate native apps from a common codebase. Our mobile development survey found
that the organizations building web and hybrid apps are making more enterprise apps than the overall
pool of respondents. The organizations that are exclusively focused on enterprise apps are also using
web technologies 15% more than Java, which is the second most common language for that group.
The lower cost of maintaining a single codebase is driving a surge of web and hybrid apps in the
enterprise world.
Many Developers are Turning to Cross-Platform Tools

Cross-platform tools are being used by 41% of the mobile developers surveyed, and it is the
most popular tooling group among a long list of common mobile utilities. This finding is further
emphasized by the two most common pain points among the mobile developers surveyed: testing
efficiently on multiple devices (53%) and building native apps for multiple platforms (50%). MADPs
are certainly not the only answer to these challenges, but the platforms compared in our solutions
directory are worth investigating.
The Majority of Mobile Customers are Still External

Among the mobile developers surveyed, 60% said they are developing for
consumers and 54% are developing for businesses outside their own. This
indicates that customer experience should be the key concern for today’s
mobile developers, and that performance must feel native. The enterprise
app space is growing, but only 30% of respondents said their organization is
developing them.
Commissioned Apps and Marketing Through Apps are Primary

Revenue Sources
Most companies are making money by building commissioned apps or by
marketing products through a mobile app. The expected revenue source for
mobile apps is correlated to the size of the organization. The most common
target revenue source for organizations larger than 99 employees is revenue from
marketing and brand awareness for another product, while organizations under
100 employees cite commissioned apps as their most common revenue generator.
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K e y Re sea rc h F indings
DZone surveyed over 1,000 IT professionals with some involvement in mobile technology for the 2014 Guide to
Mobile Development, providing key information on mobile monetization, tool usage, production levels, and
platform prioritization. The largest demographic segments are developers (39%) and development team
leads (29%). 53% of respondents come from small organizations (under 100 employees) and 47% come
from large organizations (100 or more employees). The majority of respondents are headquartered in the
US (36%) or Europe (36%).
More Mobile Hobbyists and Employees than Freelancers

Over half (51%) of those surveyed work in an organization that develops mobile apps and 48% of all
respondents have participated in their organization’s mobile efforts. Outsourcing is relatively unpopular,
with only 14% saying their organization outsources mobile development efforts. 37% of respondents
have developed mobile apps as a freelancer, showing that fewer developers choose to strike out on
their own when building mobile apps. However, 56% have built mobile applications as hobby projects,
and 30% of the overall respondents don’t expect any return on investment from their apps.
Android and Web Skills More Common than iOS Skills

Android has the largest percentage of organizations and individual respondents
targeting the platform with 84%. iOS is a close second with 70%. 56% of
respondents say they are developing for web or hybrid, and Windows Phone
has a strong showing with 24%. When respondents were asked which platforms
they personally have helped build applications for, Android has a larger lead
with 71% and web/hybrid takes second place with 50%. 47% of the respondents
have built iOS apps and 17% have built Windows Phone apps. Android has a
large set of developers in this survey most likely because its platform language,
Java, is already ubiquitous in the software industry. Web skills, along with Java
skills, are much more common than Objective-C skills, which are not often
used outside of iOS development. One of the more interesting statistics is that,
among large organizations, 14% more organizations are targeting iOS compared
to small organizations.
The Leaders Are Business and Utility Apps

The top five types of apps that respondents and their organizations are working on include Productivity, Finance, and Business (63%), Tools and
Utilities (39%), Social Networking and Communications (20%), Travel, Maps, and Navigation (17%), and News, Media, and Weather (16%). For
hobbyists, Tools and Utilities is the most common type (55%), and for freelancers, it’s between Productivity, Finance, and Business (53%) and Tools
and Utilities (46%). Hobbyists are also much more interested in developing games (27%) or entertainment apps (16%) than other developers.
Cross-Platform Development and Testing are the Biggest Pain Points What are your organization’s pain points
The most common mobile development pain points for respondents centered
around multi-platform development and testing. Testing efficiently on many
for mobile application development?
different hardware sets and screen sizes is the biggest pain point for respondents
(53%), while building native apps for multiple platforms (50%) is a close second.
1 Testing on Multiple Devices
The third most common pain point is a lack of skilled mobile developers (40%). 2 Building Native Apps for Multiple
Respondents from large organizations were 10% more likely than those from
small organizations to experience pain points around integrating with existing Platforms
in-house apps, lack of skilled mobile developers, and security.
3 Lack of Skilled Mobile Developers
Common Timeline for Mobile App Development is 1-3 Months

App development time can vary widely based on a host of factors, but finding out how
much time it generally takes organizations and individuals to develop apps is useful for
discovering industry opinions about how long an app should take to complete or how large
a project should be. The top three answers for organizations were 12 weeks (14%), 8 weeks
(13%), and 4 weeks (10%). For individuals working by themselves, their timetables gravitate
toward 4 weeks (15%) with 12 and 8 weeks (both 12%) close behind. As for the number
of apps completed per year, the chart to the left shows statistics for the number of apps
organizations are churning out.
Cross-platform tools are used by nearly half of mobile devs

41% of respondents say they or their organizations are using cross-platform tools such as
Apache Cordova/PhoneGap. This is the most popular type of mobile tool, with IaaS/PaaS as
the second most crucial development utility at 20% usage. For programming languages, Java
is very popular in this group of enterprise developers (73%), but web languages appear to be
the most common skillset (80%). Objective-C for iOS is third with 45%, and C#, the language
of Windows Phone, is fourth with 25%. The mobile usage percentages for the rest of the
programming languages can be seen in the chart to the right.
Commissioned Apps and Product Marketing are the Mobile Breadwinners

Commissioned apps (37%) are the number one overall source of expected mobile app
monetization. Marketing and brand awareness for another product (26%) and app store
purchases (25%) are the other two major sources. For small organizations, commissioned apps (43%) are still the most common expected
revenue source, but app store purchases are in second place (31%) and product marketing is in third (21%). This is probably due to the small
amount of employees needed to build an app-based business or a mobile development-for-hire shop. For large organizations, marketing for
another product is the most common expected revenue source (32%). Commissioned apps are second (28%) and app store purchases are
third (18%). Many larger organizations come with larger products, so often their focus is on moving leads through a sales pipeline toward more
valuable, non-mobile product purchases.
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The mobile landscape:

Cross-Platform Problems and Solutions
by ALEC NOLLER
Mobile development has become a ubiquitous part of must be skilled with the required language, IDE, and development
tools for each targeted platform, and if developers with diverse
the software industry, and most developers understand skillsets are not available, additional developers must be hired. This
the central dilemma organizations face when building can be a serious problem, given the increasing push to develop on
multiple platforms. For example, according to DZone’s 2014 Mobile
a mobile app: cross-platform development. What
Developer Survey, 62% of respondents targeted both Android
options exist for deploying an app to multiple platforms and iOS. The economic constraints of native development are a
simultaneously? What are the strengths and weaknesses major factor in the growing popularity of web apps, hybrid apps,
code translators, and Mobile Application Development Platforms
of each platform? (MADPs), which allow developers to reach multiple platforms with
just one tooling ecosystem.
The backbone of mobile development is the native application,
but there are a growing number of alternatives: web apps provide
WEB APPS
a browser-based solution, hybrid apps leverage web development
The skillset for building a basic mobile web app is more common
skills in a native package, and code translators apply one platform’s
than that of native development. Essentially, mobile web apps are
native development skillset to the codebase of another. However,
just regular websites optimized to look good and function well on
the differences can be subtle, and every option carries its own set of
mobile devices, and they can provide a quality app-like experience
drawbacks.
if the developer is very skilled in web technologies. Widely
understood front-end web development languages such as HTML,
Native Development CSS, and JavaScript provide the logic behind a web app, and there
Native applications are built from the ground up for a specific are plenty of tools and libraries out there to help web developers
platform and tailored to fit it. The precise, platform-centered direct their skills toward mobile devices. jQuery Mobile and Sencha
nature of native development means that these apps have no Touch are two examples of mobile web frameworks that provide UI
limits in terms of access to APIs and device features, performance components and logic for sliders, swipes, and other touch-activated
optimization, and platform-specific best practices for user interface controls that are common to native mobile applications.
design. Ideally, every mobile app would be built this way: to suit its
exact purpose while utilizing all of the available resources. The community around open source web technologies is another
key difference between native and web development. Web
Native Application Development technologies like Node.js and AngularJS are some of the most
popular projects in the open source community according to
Android iOS Windows Phone
GitHub statistics [1]. This suggests that the community support and
Language: Java Language: Objective-C Language: C# knowledge base around web technologies is broader than native
Primary IDE: Eclipse or Primary IDE: XCode Primary IDE: Visual Studio technologies.
Android Studio
In addition to being a more common skill set, mobile web

One of the major benefits of native mobile development is the development can also solve a fundamental issue with native
availability of resources. For example, developers targeting application development. Aside from possible browser compatibility
Android have the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) at issues, web apps present a near-universal cross-platform option.
their disposal, which includes a suite of tools to streamline the Most APIs and hardware features will not be accessible by web
development process: the SDK Manager condenses updates and apps, and because they are not discrete applications in the same
tool installations into a single menu, the AVD Manager provides way that native apps are, web apps cannot be distributed through
access to the Android Emulator and other virtual devices, and the common means, such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android
Dalvik Debug Monitor Server (DDMS) is a powerful debugging tool, Marketplace. Web apps may be a particularly flexible option, but
just to name a few. iOS and Windows Phone developers have similar they lack a presence on fundamental mobile distribution channels.
toolsets available in their SDKs, covering everything from the UI
and device feature tools of Cocoa Touch in the iOS SDK to the real
HYBRID APPS
world testing conditions of the Simulation Dashboard for Windows
Many of the drawbacks for web apps are alleviated by another
Phone 8. These toolsets make native SDKs invaluable and thorough
cross-platform option built on the same core web development
resources.
skillset: the hybrid app. Like web apps, hybrid apps require web
development skills, but unlike web apps, they include some native
Unfortunately, the native SDKs are all robust toolsets that a native
features to allow greater flexibility. It gets the name “hybrid”
developer has to learn for each platform. To develop native apps
because it is built with web languages and technologies at its core.
from scratch (rather than through an intermediate tool), developers
skillsets. MADPs are most useful in scenarios where an application

needs to work with many back-end data sources, many other mobile
apps, or many operating systems [3].
A less comprehensive but more straightforward solution is to use

code translators when building native apps for multiple operating
systems. These tools take native code and translate it into another
platform’s native code, or translate native code into a neutral low-
level alternative, such as bytecode. One example is Google’s J2ObjC,
which translates Java classes into their Objective-C equivalents,
alleviating a lot the initial development of an iOS version of the
app. Although it’s much more than a code translator, a product
called Xamarin does something similar by allowing developers
working with C# and .NET in Visual Studio to produce a native
ARM executable. They can then take advantage of ahead-of-time
(AOT) or just-in-time (JIT) compilation to run their apps on iOS and
Android in addition to Windows Phone [3].
Ideally, every mobile app would be built this

Inspired by Trigger.io [2]
way: to suit its exact purpose while utilizing all
With the help of a native packaging tool, it can be deployed just
like a native app and access more native device capabilities (device of the available resources.
APIs) than a pure web application.
A hybrid app is created by first coding the application to run in

the device’s native webview, which is basically a stripped-down As is the case with hybrid apps, the UI presents a problem.
version of the browser. For iOS this view is called UIWebView, while Because UI development cannot be translated between platforms,
on Android it’s called WebView. This view can present the HTML code translators still require significant knowledge of the
and JavaScript files in a full-screen format, and pure web apps can native platform to write the UI. In other words, code translators
achieve this full-screen view as well. WebKit is the most commonly can provide substantial benefits in terms of cutting down
targeted browser rendering engine because it is used on iOS, development time, but they’re not necessarily a “write once, run
Android, and Blackberry. anywhere” solution.
Where a web app really starts to become a hybrid app is when NO SILVER BULLETS
the app is placed inside of a native wrapper, which packages the Between native apps, web apps, hybrid apps, and the growing
hybrid app as a discrete application and makes it viable for app number of MADPs, there are a lot of options for mobile
store distribution. In addition to the native wrapper, a native bridge development. It’s important to note that there is no one solution
allows the app to communicate with device APIs, such as alarm that does everything. Some sacrifice affordability and accessibility
settings, accelerometers, and cameras. The native bridge is an for pure native performance, UI for easy cross-platform deployment,
abstraction layer that exposes the device APIs to the hybrid app as or ease of development for native authenticity. Even the simplest
a JavaScript API. This is one feature that clearly separates hybrid tools come with some degree of a learning curve. If a method with
and pure web apps, because web apps are unable to pass through no trade-offs existed, the industry would adopt it en masse, and you
the security structures between the browser and native device would know about it.
APIs. Access to many of the hardware features on mobile devices
makes hybrid apps feel more like native apps than web apps from Because there are trade-offs, developers and decision-makers will
the user perspective. have to recognize their needs, and the needs of their users, in order
to determine the best way to approach mobile development.
MADPs and CODE TRANSLATORS [1] https://github.com/search?o=desc&q=stars%3a%3E1&s=forks&type=Repositories

Some tools can go even further in terms of taking a single [2] http://trigger.io/cross-platform-application-development-blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/
codebase and deploying it on multiple mobile platforms. MADPs slide03-v5.png
are development tools, sometimes including a mobile middleware [3] http://www.kony.com/resources/glossary/mobile-application-development-platform-madp-0
server, that build hybrid or native apps for each platform using
one codebase. Some MADPs, such as Appcelerator’s Titanium and
Trigger.io, can take advantage of native elements where native WRITTEN BY
is necessary or higher performing. UI widgets may be native,
for instance, while a more flexible JavaScript API condenses the
Alec Noller
Alec Noller is the Senior Content Curator and leader of
universal parts of mobile development and maximizes code reuse.
the Mobile Zone at DZone. When he’s not creating and
As more native elements are introduced, some of the drawbacks of curating content for DZone, he spends his time writing
native development reappear, such as the costly need for multiple and developing Java and Android applications.
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The state of Native vs. Web vs. Hybrid

by Mitch Pronschinske
A continuing question in mobile development is whether it’s Code Reusability/Portability
more beneficial to build applications that are written directly for Perhaps the biggest weakness of native apps is their lack of
a native platform or to build applications on web languages and portability to other platforms. The appeal of web apps is that you
technologies. When tools like PhoneGap emerged, a third “hybrid” can have one codebase and run it on any major mobile platform.
option became available that could use native code in conjunction The appeal of hybrid apps is similar, because you are able to reuse a
with web languages to gain a set of attributes that no native or web large amount of code for each platform. However, web apps aren’t
apps have. Today, there are also Mobile Application Development 100% portable. Newer web standards aren’t always supported by
Platforms (MADPs) that can generate largely native apps from a the browsers on every device, so even web developers have to
single original codebase, which does not have to be written in web worry about compatibility issues [1]. It should also be noted that
languages. native app webviews are not the same as device browsers, and
therefore have their own fragmentation issues.
MADPs are compared on a tool-by-tool basis on DZone’s mobile
research portal (http://dzone.com/research/mobile). For native, Device Access
hybrid, and web applications, this article will serve as a comparison Although web apps can access some basic mobile device APIs, like
between the three mobile app types. In addition to the comparison the GPS for geolocation apps, they still have very limited hardware
information, you’ll also get a snapshot of the industry use cases and access. They don’t have support for Digital Rights Management
current trends around native, web, and hybrid apps. (DRM), which is needed for many multimedia services, they can’t
harness background processing, and they can’t use secure storage
Cost outside of applications. There are some new standards currently
Native apps often cost more to develop and distribute because of being drafted by the W3C that will give web apps a few more
the distinct language and tooling ecosystems, which require more capabilities for accessing device APIs, but for the next few years,
investment in developer skills if you need to develop for more than hybrid apps and native apps will provide significantly more access
one platform. However, cost is dependent on many other factors to device APIs. Hybrid app frameworks have made a lot of progress
as well, so native apps won’t be the most expensive option in every getting access to most of the low level features, like the gyroscope
case. Building an excellent mobile web app also requires a high and accelerometer.
degree of developer expertise, so no matter which type of app you
build, quality will always be expensive. UI Consistency
Mobile web UI frameworks help web and hybrid apps build native-
Testability looking UI components, but differences still remain. The frameworks
Mature and predictable native platforms with proven tools tend to also have to stay up to date with major platform design updates
make testing easier than the frameworks that create hybrid apps like iOS 7. In iOS, a web or hybrid UI is especially apparent, because
using JavaScript-to-native communication. Web app testing can when UIWebView is used, the bitmap compositing does not happen
also be a struggle if the developer isn’t skilled and knowledgeable in the hardware like it would for a native app. Subtle features
about the JavaScript ecosystem. Native app testing becomes like the bouncing effect at the bottom of a page on iOS can’t be
increasingly difficult if you maintain multiple codebases and completely recreated in JavaScript. That’s why the developers who
support a large number of devices. built forecast.io (a web app that rivals native UX) recommend that
Native vs. Web vs . Hybrid: 7 Factors of Comparison KEY CON PRO NEUTRAL
Native Hybrid Web

Commonly the highest of the three choices if Similar to pure web costs, but extra skills are Lowest cost due to single codebase and common
Cost
developing for multiple platforms required for hybrid tools skillset
Code Reusability/ Code for one platform only works for that Most hybrid tools will enable portability of a Browser compatibility and performance are the
Portability platform single codebase to the major mobile platforms only concerns
Many device APIs closed to web apps can be Only a few device APIs like geolocation can be
Device Access Platform SDK enables access to all device APIs
accessed, depending on the tool accessed, but the number is growing
Platform comes with familiar, original UI

UI Consistency UI frameworks can achieve a fairly native look UI frameworks can achieve a fairly native look
components
App stores provide marketing benefits, but also App stores provide marketing benefits, but also No restrictions to launch, but there are no app
Distribution
have requirements and restrictions have requirements and restrictions store benefits
Native code has direct access to platform For complex apps, the abstraction layers often Performance is based on browser and network
Performance
functionality, resulting in better performance prevent native-like performance connection
More monetization opportunities, but stores More monetization opportunities, but stores No store commissions or setup costs, but there
Monetization
take a percentage take a percentage are few monetization methods
you build an original UI for web apps, rather than trying to recreate an app-like experience, whether it’s through native or hybrid code, is
the native UI and having your app look “wrong” to users [2]. the preferred mode of consumer interaction.
SEO If that’s not enough evidence, you just need to look at the most
This may not be the fairest criterion for native applications, but if you popular mobile apps right now and you’ll find that most of them are
want the textual and semantic content of your app to be found and native. Facebook and LinkedIn both tried to build hybrid apps for
ranked by search engines, your app has to have a web component. A accessing their websites, but they found that the experience and
web component is required because apps are closed environments, performance weren’t up to their standards, so they built native apps
and search engines cannot access that information. for all of the major platforms [5]. However, those companies can
certainly afford to have many developers with the skillsets to build on
Distribution those platforms.
With app stores, native and hybrid apps are able to harness marketing
tools such as rankings and featured placement all in a well-maintained An area where
system. Web apps, by contrast, don’t have to fulfill any app store web and hybrid
requirements, and they are accessible through any compatible
The choice between native, app development
browser. The disadvantages for native and hybrid apps are the is becoming more
app store requirements and content restrictions. For web apps, the web, or hybrid is dependent common is in the
downsides are that you don’t get the marketing benefits of an app enterprise. The need
store. Web apps also have to be manually bookmarked if the user on a number of factors, for business-to-
wants a shortcut on their homescreen. employee apps (B2E)
including business is expected to grow
Performance exponentially over the
Native code will always be the most straightforward path to the
needs, app requirements, next few years, and
snappiest performance. Hybrid app performance can be strong, most companies will
developer skill, and
but will sometimes suffer depending on how the tools build code to not want to build and
interface with the native OS. Web apps can have strong performance development timelines. maintain two or more
as well, if you have skilled web developers and use modern standards codebases for every
like appcache. Web and hybrid performance will also improve as app. Another option
mobile browsers get faster JavaScript engines. Other things that for these enterprises is
can help mobile web performance include using WebKit’s overflow using MADPs, which were described in the introduction. The expected
scrolling to create scrolling divs, using tools like FastClick to speed up growth of B2E apps has led some analysts to recommend choosing
hyperlinks, and only animating GPU-accelerated properties [3]. hybrid apps or MADPs for large scale internal app development, while
building native apps for external customers with high performance
Deployment/Updates expectations [6]. Web apps tend to be recommended if the
If app updates aren’t automatic, they can be a real annoyance to organization needs to circumvent app stores, build an e-commerce
the user. A huge advantage for web apps is that you can deploy storefront that is searchable on the web, or create a marketing site
them like any other desktop website. Hybrid apps can make some that is also easily searchable and accessible through the web.
updates through the web without app store approval, but hybrid apps
and native apps still have to jump through the hoops of app store The point of this exploration is not to pick a winner, but to know the
approval, and they need to download any updates from the app store. strengths and weakness of each application type. The choice between
native, web, or hybrid is dependent on a number of factors, including
Monetization business needs, app requirements, developer skill, and development
For web apps, you can make money through advertisements, timelines. All potential types should be explored and evaluated before
subscriptions, or an app store for web apps, though the vast majority implementing a mobile strategy.
of app downloads still happen in the native platform stores. Native
[1] http://mobilehtml5.org/
and hybrid apps have more options for monetization, including in-app [2] http://blog.forecast.io itsnotawebappitsanappyouinstallfromtheweb/
purchases, platform-native ads, and the app purchase itself. However, [3] https://github.com/ftlabs/fastclick
to be in the high-profile native app stores, you need to hand over a [4] http://blog.flurry.com/bid/109749/AppsSolidifyLeadershipSixYearsintotheMobileRevolution
[5]https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebookengineering/
percentage of your app download revenue to the company that owns
underthehoodrebuildingfacebookforios/10151036091753920
the store (usually around 30%). There is also an initial fee to develop [6]http://www.techtimetea.com/trendsenterprisemobility2014/
for the platform and deploy on the app store.
Native vs. Web vs. Hybrid: The Trends WRITTEN BY

When looking at the trends in the native vs. web vs. hybrid
conversation, it can’t be denied that native apps are heavily favored
Mitch Pronschinske
Mitch Pronschinske is the Head Analyst for DZone’s
by consumers. A recent survey by Flurry, a mobile analytics company, Research division. He has been writing, curating, and
found that mobile users in the US spend 86% of their time using editing content for an audience of IT professionals
native or hybrid apps [4]. That number is still 54% even if you filter for over four years. In that time he has learned the
out gaming apps. Comparatively, 14% of their time is spent in the complexity that software producers deal with on a
daily basis, and he strives to make their world easier
browser using mobile websites. This is a pretty good indication that
to understand and digest.
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 11
Painless Move to Mobile

The forces pushing enterprises to mobile These early wounds
are so well documented and talked about developed into scar tissue The state-of-the-art for mobile has advanced
that they don’t really bear repeating. that still leaves some IT to a point where enterprises can meet high
The business case has been made. The shops hesitant to engage.
demands ... with amazingly rich UX that weaves
organization has spoken, and the response The many that are pushing
from IT is quite varied. (or being pushed) past that data, process, and practice cohesively.
fear are understandably
The early adopters listened to public cautious and curious: UX that weaves data, process, and practice
examples, like Facebook, and decided that cohesively inside apps that run beautifully on
native was the way they had to go – even if • What are my options? any form factor they are used on.
their app bore no resemblance to the public • Which path should I choose (pros and
use case. What they unfortunately ran into cons)? For more information, go to http://bit.ly/m-
was a big bag of hurt. The fundamentally • What first app gives the biggest bang for dzone
splintered approach of hand-coded, cross- my buck?
device native mobile app development • HOW DO I GET STARTED QUICKLY?
crushed many of these projects after the
WR I T T E N B Y
first test app. Much has changed since the time of these
first painful forays, as is always the case
Sean Allen
Others went down the path of trying to with technology. The state-of-the-art has Director of Product
cram a desktop browser app onto a four- advanced to a point where enterprises can Marketing, OutSystems
inch screen, often with disastrous results. meet the high demands of their customers,
partners, and employees with amazingly rich
OutSystems Platform by Outsystems TWITTER @outsystems PHONE (404) 719‑5100
CATEGORY OutSystems Platform empowers developers to create, deploy, and manage amazing mobile and web applications
MADP more efficiently with current skills.
STRENGTHS DESCRIPTION
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑IDE‑
• Create once for all devices utilizing responsive web design OutSystems provides an open, high-productivity
‑Version Mgmt‑‑ ‑Usage Analytics‑ • True no lock-in: customers can detach on to industry-standard
PaaS that allows users to create, deploy, and manage
enterprise mobile and web apps with integration into
Rest + Soap‑‑ ‑hosted‑ application stacks with open Java or C# code; no proprietary
existing systems. OutSystems includes Continuous
runtime
Delivery facilities to deploy and manage those apps
• Can use flexible deployment scenarios from on‑premises to after release, including lifecycle governance and
TARGETS public, private , or hybrid cloud integrated UX monitoring.
Web • Allows creation of more complex systems, including those using
large volumes of data and non‑trivial workflows
 Hybrid
• Not just for building single‑function apps
 Native
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Free Trial Free version for individual • Liberty Insurance • FICO • Warner Brothers
users, no ALM or staging capabilities
• PlayRight • Bacardi • Charles River Laboratories
USES
Liberty Seguros is a leading insurance company and part of the Boston‑based Liberty Mutual Group ‑ a global insurer and
sixth largest property and casualty company in the United States. Liberty’s vision was to connect every single department
and external partner through an end‑to‑end solution that placed the customer at the core of operations and analytics. The
FULL PROFILE LINK single information system would streamline collaboration with external partners such as agents, repair shops, customers, and
more. Liberty is a great example of what long‑term use of OutSystems Platform can produce. Fast forward 10 years and Liberty
dzone.com/r/ GMRL Connect is a mature collaborative platform with customers at its core. It allows every area of the company, including external
partners, to interact in real time, and that has made it possible for Liberty to completely sustain its business without losing the
ability to offer customer‑centric services.
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 13
B ac k- en d I nt e g rat i o n :
A Major Headache for Enterprise Mobility
by Suhas Uliyar
A few months back, I was asked to talk about my job are finding it difficult to meet new expectations for project
timelines.
in front of a class of 8th graders during a local school’s
Additionally, it is rare for customers to say that they need a
career day event. To simplify things, I told the class mobile app in the next 12 to 18 months. Most customers expect
that I build mobile applications for companies. I applications to be delivered in a few days or weeks. Customers
and even development professionals often underestimate how
explained that the apps I create are like the apps that difficult it is to build, connect, secure, deploy, and manage a
you find on the app store, except they are built for mobile app.
businesses. One of the students raised her hand and The reason for this is because writing a standalone client
app and posting it to the app store isn’t the difficult part.
said that she had built an iPhone app in two weeks! The difficult part, especially for the enterprise, is making that
application talk effectively to back-end enterprise systems. It is
That’s right, 8th graders are now building iPhone apps, and
also about securing the data accessed by the app as it connects
one of them was asking me what was so tough about my job?
to the back-end systems. To do that, developers must devise
Upon reflection, I realized that over the last 15 years of building
ways to extract critical information from back-end applications
mobile apps, we have come a long way from the time when
and data repositories, while also delivering output optimized for
it used to take developers months or sometimes more than a
mobile devices.
year to build one app. You would need highly skilled mobile
application developers for Windows Mobile, Symbian, or
Hard Decisions
Blackberry, but now even kids can build iOS and Android apps.
Mobile development also forces hard decisions about what
features to include from the backend. Mobile is not about
There does seem to be an app for everything these days, but
putting wheels on the system of record (SOR) and calling it
the one area over the last decade that remains a complex
mobile. Mobile apps must be designed with context in mind and
and costly endeavor is integrating the mobile facing client
with the supporting data source(s) to deliver the context. In
application with enterprise systems. Integration comes with
the past, mobile applications were mostly integrated to one on-
challenges that include adherence to IT security policies for
premise back-end application. Today, enterprises are beginning
Single Sign-On (SSO), integrating with one or more back-end
to deploy a distributed application environment with the core
applications, complying with data encryption policies, and
applications remaining on-premise and others being moved to
other obstacles that still exist after a decade of unprecedented
the cloud (sales, HCM, etc.). In addition, there are other public
technological progress.
cloud services, such as geolocation, payment, social networking,
collaboration, and messaging, that drive additional context for
Today, there are many frameworks and tools that help
the user when integrated with mobile applications.
mobile client developers build native, web, or hybrid mobile
applications. However, there are fewer tools that make your
These “mashups” deliver a final challenge to IT, which is that
life just as easy when integrating the client facing application
these applications must scale reliably with enterprise-grade
with enterprise systems. I wonder what the 8th grader’s
performance. Many enterprises have not faced this challenge
response would have been if I had asked her to authenticate
because they have only dealt with the tactical deployment of
her application via SSO and integrate it with an enterprise
one or two mobile apps.
application for data?
However, as the user volume grows from a predictable B2E

Enterprise Integration Makes Mobile Harder volume to an unpredictable B2C volume, the ability of the
Creating mobile applications continues to create new
infrastructure to scale and perform at an enterprise-grade
challenges for the IT team. Even talented programmers find
becomes critical to providing an excellent quality of experience
that they might not have the specific expertise required for
(QoE). A slow response for data from the backend will have
exposing back-end services so they can be readily and securely
end-users abandoning an application despite the best user
consumed by mobile applications. Not only is IT struggling
interface, which will cripple the overall user experience.
to provide the required skill sets for a mobile world, they
SOA and Mobile that can be consumed

Wasn’t the promise of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) by multiple channels. In
to provide a high-performing and reliable services layer that addition, this infrastructure Wasn’t the promise
must have built-in
integrates the back-end applications and abstracts them from of service-oriented
the consumers of data (i.e. the multichannel clients)? So, why reliability, scalability, and
do you need a mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP) performance that can handle architecture (SOA) to
or Mobile Application Development Platform (MADP) in order a growing and potentially
to develop mobile enterprise applications? unpredictable volume of provide a high-performing
traffic above your existing
web traffic. This is what is
and reliable services
The truth is you don’t. MEAPs and MADPs came into existence
to solve both the clientside development challenges as well going to make an enterprise layer that integrates the
as the back-end integration challenges. They do this by successful in delivering
providing a consistent way to integrate with back-end systems effective multi-channel back-end applications and
and provide additional mobile services such as bidirectional applications.
With the move towards the
abstracts them from the
sync for offline applications, push notifications, application
provisioning, and version control. cloud, Mobile-Backend-as-
consumers of data (i.e. the
a-Service (MBaaS) provides
SOA vendors were being used primarily for web applications a standard approach to deal multi-channel clients)?
or application-to-application integration. They were not with complex server-side
focused on solving the mobile integration problems, such programming. It provides a
as providing a lightweight protocol for delivering output set of rich RESTFul interfaces for all the operations required
optimized for a mobile device. This led to fragmented, by the mobile app and abstracts the backend from the mobile
duplicated, and siloed architectures, one for mobile and one for developer. MBaaS comes with built-in mobile-specific SDKs/
the rest of the applications. APIs and services, custom and third party APIs, containers to
build and orchestrate services, integrated security, analytics,
Fulfilling the Promise of SOA monitoring, and management. With all these features, client
The middleware infrastructure designed for web-based developers can focus more on front-end applications by using
applications can now support mobile clients by exposing their choice of mobile client development tools for native,
existing services or reshaping existing services as RESTful web, or hybrid apps. This enables developers to simplify
APIs, which are the preferred mechanism to integrate services development by integrating with mobile-ready APIs exposed in
for mobile applications. Those features, which used to be the cloud.
unique to MADP vendor platforms (e.g. push messaging, sync,
caching), are now often available as features of the middleware The promise of SOA is being fulfilled, so now what? You might
technology stack. not need a MEAP or MADP that solves a niche problem. Mobile
is no longer tactical; it is critical to business success. Businesses
As data gets distributed are looking for an enterprise-wide mobile-first strategy for
and fragmented, B2E and B2C applications that leverages and complies with
orchestrating data between their back-end infrastructure for security and integration.
Mobile development these back-end systems Enterprises are looking to reduce cost of ownership and deliver
becomes a requirement. to their business by reusing common components. They are
forces hard With user identity always looking for ways to simplify enterprise mobility. After a
decade of mainly front-end innovations, we’re finally starting to
decisions about what distributed, it becomes
see solutions that also simplify back-end concerns.
a critical requirement to
features to include have a federated identity
with integration to SSO
from the backend. that supports different WRITTEN BY
authentication protocols Suhas Uliyar
(such as OAuth 2.0
Mr. Suhas Uliyar is a 19-year mobile industry veteran,
Mobile is not about
and SAML) along with known as a strategist and technology evangelist
traditional enterprise responsible for designing and developing enterprise
putting wheels on the user stores (LDAP, AD). mobile applications, middleware, and tools. Suhas
is responsible for driving Oracle’s mobile strategy
It is critical to have a
and vision. He is a seasoned executive with years of
system of record and middleware architecture technical and business management experience in
that brings together enterprise software. He has a successful track record
calling it mobile. an integrated identity as both an entrepreneur in small start-ups and as
an executive with major industry leaders. Suhas
management solution and
has held leadership positions with SAP, Motorola
an integration architecture Solutions, Spring Wireless, Dexterra (Antenna
that exposes services Software), and Micromuse (IBM).
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 15
A Different Kind
of Hybrid
HTML5 Development
Access Native Features
Cross-platform Support
No Native Code
No App Store Submissions
No New Tools
www.bridgeit.mobi
BridgeIt: Not All Hybrids Are Created Equal

Hybrids deliver native features using and the BridgeIt utility is automatically utility augments the standard browser with
web-based development techniques. installed when required. native features and is automatically installed
Conventional hybrids bundle the web when required.
app into a native app, but BridgeIt Development Ease
eliminates this requirement and opens new Bundling conventional hybrids requires Simple Distribution
possibilities. additional tooling and reduces developer Conventional hybrids are native apps
efficiency. Furthermore, the capabilities of and are typically published to platform-
HTML5: Yes, but... embedded browsers have lagged behind specific app stores. External approval and
Hybrids use HTML5/CSS3/ best-in-class mobile publication processes are onerous and time
JavaScript, but are typically
Conventional browsers like Safari and consuming, which increases support costs.
bundled with an embedded Chrome. Developers
browser into platform-specific hybrids bundle must use only the lowest As web apps, BridgeIt hybrids leverage
native apps. These apps are
the web app into common capabilities of server-based distribution. They are not
installed through app stores the embedded browsers, subject to app store submission processes or
and run locally on the device. a native app, setting aside the approvals, and support costs are reduced.
but BridgeIt
powerful new features of
BridgeIt apps are pure web HTML5/CSS3.
WR I T T E N B Y
apps. The BridgeIt utility eliminates this
Steve Maryka
requirement
augments the standard mobile No bundling is required
browser with native features with BridgeIt, and the CTO, ICEsoft
accessible directly from the and opens new web app leverages Technologies
best-in-class browser
possibilities.
web app. Web deployment
eliminates external approvals, capabilities. The BridgeIt
ICEmobile by ICEsoft TWITTER @icefaces PHONE (403) 663‑3322
CATEGORY
ICEmobile is an easy and cost‑effective way to mobilize Java EE web applications. Go beyond HTML5.
MADP
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ \
• Automated device theming enables a single web application to ICEmobile is a framework for developing
‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑‑ adopt the look of the native mobile device it is viewed from cross‑platform mobile web applications with Java
EE and JSF. ICEmobile supports hybrid application
‑IDE‑ • Extends the ICEfaces Ajax Push capabilities with Cloud
development with the ICEmobile containers and
Push, leveraging native platform push capabilities to deliver
integrates with the BridgeIt utility application.
notifications even when the application is not active
TARGETS
• Extends the ICEfaces framework with a suite of mobile controls
Web for UI development
 Hybrid
 Native
NOTABLE CUSTOMERS
Free Trial Open source version • Aetna • U.S. Steel • Thermo Fisher Scientific
available
• FedEx • BNSF • US Government
USES
A large parcel delivery company had a legacy application running on Java EE infrastructure, and was accessed by employees
using desktop browsers. Evolving business demands required the functionality be extended to include external users/
customers accessing the application via tablets and smart phones. Development and support costs associated with native
FULL PROFILE LINK mobile development were unacceptable, and app store publication was undesirable. ICEmobile enabled them to leverage
legacy software investments and easily extend their existing desktop application into the mobile space. ICEmobile’s suite
dzone.com/r/ hkyX of mobile JSF components simplified the application design, and minimized development and support costs. Additionally,
ICEmobile’s push and hybrid capabilities future proofed their product roadmap.
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 17
Mobility And Leaving The Nest

Data is critical to an organization, but question becomes, “how do I let my data
PaaS and Pre-built Connectivity
that’s not news to anybody. It’s not just leave the nest, but make sure that it stays
The future of productivity in building
a by-product of doing business, it is the safe and protected?”
“connected” mobile apps is not in creating
business. Being able to access and digest
more services and acquiring
that data is a competitive edge. For many The Traditional more technical debt. The future
years, it sat behind large CRT monitors and Services Layer
how do I let my is in leveraging the productivity
enterprise grade firewalls. The data stayed Services are the key
safe and sound in the data center. Laptops to securely unlocking data leave the features that PaaS offers, such as
pre-built connectors, to securely
were the first to challenge the system. VPN enterprise data on nest, but make expose enterprise data, thereby
connections arose to answer the outcry and mobile devices. We
help keep data safely at home. used to call them “web sure that it allowing development teams to
concentrate on building world-
services” but now they stays safe and class applications.
Then mobile showed up and knocked on the are known as “APIs”.
door. Mobile devices with their silky smooth One of the difficult protected?
For more information, please
designs and futuristic form factors that let things about services visit: www.telerik.com/platform
you access your email, approve workflows, is that they present
and close a sale. architectural challenges that are not easily WR I T T E N B Y
answered until you implement them. While
Keeping It Safe the services layer is a necessary abstraction, Burke Holland
Building mobile apps is not the same as it’s also an added level of complexity and Product Manager,
developing desktop and web apps. Our maintenance. Telerik
standardized tools buy us little to nothing
when it comes to mobile devices. So the
Telerik Platform by Telerik TWITTER @telerik PHONE (888) 365‑2779
CATEGORY A modular platform that combines a rich set of UI tools with powerful cloud services to develop web, hybrid and
MADP native apps.
TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑Mobile
• Includes a comprehensive mobile UI library Telerik Platform is a cross‑platform solution that
Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑‑ includes UI libraries for web, hybrid, and native
• Supports all three development approaches: web, hybrid, and
development as well as a suite of integrated cloud
‑Usage Analytics‑ native
services. It addresses the entire lifecycle of the app,
• Integrates with Apache Cordova and integrates with any development environment.
TARGETS • Addresses the entire lifecycle of the project (from design to
deployment)
Web
• Modular platform that can be integrated with other tools and
 Hybrid services
 Native
NOTABLE CUSTOMERS
Free Trial 30‑day free trial • Paylocity • Ernst and Young • HP
• Verizon • Symantec • Microsoft
USES
• Consumer Apps CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
• Enterprise Apps (for internal use) With a focus on technology and service, Paylocity is constantly striving to offer the latest tools and solutions to make payroll and
HR processes easier. With the shift to a mobile‑focused world, the company recognized the need for a mobile app that would
enable their ESS users to view and make changes to their accounts via any mobile device. With Telerik Platform, Paylocity was
FULL PROFILE LINK able to create a secure cross‑platform mobile app to serve its client‑base of over 7000 organizations in less than 6 months.
dzone.com/r/ PLMa
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 21
Mobile UX Refining Perceived Performance

by Andrew Trice
Performance is critical when you are building apps interface that doesn’t acknowledge the user input, then there is
no way for the user to know that the input has been received.
for mobile devices. When using a device that is built Regardless of whether or not this app is actually slow, the user
for accomplishing tasks quickly and on the go, like a will perceive the app as being slow or buggy simply because
there is nothing to let the user know that their input has been
smartphone, performance is an even bigger concern
received and that the app is preparing a response.
than on desktops. Being users ourselves, we all
understand this, but we also understand that users can’t Loading Animations
After you’ve tapped a button, does your app let the user know
see an app’s network timelines or latency scores. The
that something is happening, or does the UI simply lock up until
user’s perception of application performance depends the next piece of data is ready? If it’s possible (and in most cases,
upon aesthetic design, feedback to the user, speed of it is), you should never lock up the user interface thread while
you are requesting data from a remote source. This is a major red
information, and much more. All they see is the user
flag and users will immediately notice when the entire application
experience you have crafted for them, so even if your locks up and becomes unresponsive.
performance metrics are great, your apps can still feel
A better way of handling this would be to request data in a
slow if you don’t employ the right techniques in your background thread (so it does not lock up the UI) and present
code. In many ways, perceived performance is more the user with some sort of visual cue that an action is being
important than actual performance. In this article, we’re performed. By handling data in a background thread, the app
stays responsive and never feels like it’s freezing up. If you’re
going to focus on the user’s perception of performance. building a hybrid or mobile web app, don’t worry; the browser’s
XMLHttpRequest won’t lock up your webview’s UI, so this is less
Let’s first examine two major use cases for mobile apps: accessing
of an issue.
information on the go, and entertainment. If you are accessing
information on the go, there is a good chance you are in a hurry
Rather than just making your user wait until data is available
or you’re on a limited-speed connection. You need the app to
before changing views, you can change the user perception
give you the information you need as fast as possible. In the
and trick them into feeling that the app is faster by providing
case of entertainment, you just need the app to provide fluid
some sort of feedback. It could be as simple as a spinner or a
interaction. In this case, performance is part of the entertainment
progress bar, however, these have also been known to draw the
factor. In both of these cases, the app’s performance is not simply
user’s attention to the fact that they are waiting. Alternatively,
characterized by how fast the app is processing information
you could create a loading view animation that slowly removes
behind the scenes. Rather, this extends into the app’s design and
the previous page’s data or shows pieces of the new data as it is
system architecture.
loaded. Overall, you want to have some way of entertaining and
distracting the user while they wait. By engaging the user with
Instant Feedback animation, you are changing the perceived performance and user
The most immediate factor of an app’s performance actually experience of the application, even if the loading time does not
has nothing to do with raw processing power. User feedback, or actually change.
some sort of response to user input, is probably the most critical
factor to having an app that seems to perform well. If you touch a
Familiar Native Physics and Gestures
button, that button should immediately provide feedback to the
Buttons and animations are great for any form factor, but the
user. If you swipe across the screen to drag an object, that object
features that make mobile so convenient and elegant to use
should follow the user’s touch immediately.
have always been the touch controls. There is a common set of
interface physics and gestures that all popular mobile platforms
Most native components will handle user feedback (ie: button
share, including momentum scrolling, side swipes, pull-to-refresh,
states) for you. However, if you are building a mobile web or
and multi-touch zooming controls.
hybrid application, it is extremely important that you build in
some sort of user feedback to inform your users that their input
It’s important for app designers to harness these mobile-specific
has been received and you are performing some sort of action.
controls wherever they can, and they need to be snappy.
The button press case is extremely basic, but if you have a user
Natively built apps don’t have too many issues with these built-in
controls, but web and hybrid apps can have issues recreating this You start uploading that image before the user has actually said
functionality. Luckily, there are tools and CSS controls that can help. they’d like to upload the image. The user then enters a name and
description, and by the time the user hits the upload button the
For implementing momentum scrolling, you can use the overflow- image is already uploaded. Then, when the user does hit upload,
scrolling: touch property on the container and then write some they will be amazed at how quickly the upload took place. This
JavaScript that only applies that class if the container is visible. The is exactly what Instagram does in their app, and it is part of what
JavaScript is necessary because that CSS property disables the set Instagram apart from their competition early on. Preemption
tap-the-top feature of mobile browsers that commonly sends you doesn’t work in every scenario. You don’t want to aggressively load
back to the top of the page. For implementing gestures like pull-to- data that may never be necessary, but it can work extremely well in
refresh and zooming controls, there are plenty of great JavaScript the cases where it does fit.
libraries that can help, such as Hook.js and Hammer.js.
All Decisions Must Consider UX
Harness the GPU In a nutshell, perceived performance is really all about
In many cases, you’ll use animations in your mobile apps, especially understanding how the user experiences UI performance, not the
in the loading instances mentioned above, but how do you make actual performance metrics. You need to consider how the end
sure those animations are fluid and snappy? Obviously, stuttering user is going to be impacted by every technical and architectural
or choppy animations can be very problematic. They give the decision that you make. If there is ever a situation where the user
user the feeling that the app is slow and buggy. This is one of the needs to wait, then give them feedback to let them know that the
major issues that people often complain about with HTML-based app is still working. Request data during an animation sequence,
applications. In native applications, this is less of an issue unless or play animations while the app is doing something else in the
you are doing something extremely complicated. Generally, native background. Preempt data loading if you can. If you can’t, then
animations are fast and smooth. you might want to consider lazy-loading your data. If you’re
Another technique that you can use to make your application feel
extremely fast is to preempt user actions before the user performs them.
This is exactly what Instagram does in their app, and it is part of what set
Instagram apart from their competition early on.
In HTML applications there are ways to make the app feel faster and building a web app, let the GPU handle the UI in any way possible.
make animations smoother. Avoiding computationally-expensive Regardless of the interaction, it is critical to develop your apps in a
browser reflow operations is critical for making fluid animations. fashion that tailors the experience to the user’s delight.transitions
Browser reflow operations occur when your content’s size changes, or animations with the transform:translate3d (x,y,z) style. This style
or the position of your content changes, causing it to impact the forces rendering of your DOM content on the GPU and can also
layout of neighboring DOM elements. If you change width, height, be used to move or animate your content without triggering those
or top/bottom/left/right styles of a DOM element, this will trigger expensive browser reflow operations. This technique can be used
browser reflow operations. to achieve solid 5060 frames per second animations in mobile web
experiences. However, it is also important to make sure that the
If you want to animate your content in HTML, you can use CSS DOM elements you are animating don’t exceed the GPU maximum
transitions or animations with the transform:translate3d (x,y,z) texture size. Otherwise, you could end up with an annoying flicker in
style. This style forces rendering of your DOM content on the GPU your animations, which completely ruins the user experience.
and can also be used to move or animate your content without
triggering those expensive browser reflow operations. This
technique can be used to achieve solid 50-60 frames per second
animations in mobile web experiences. However, it is also important
WRITTEN BY
to make sure that the DOM elements you are animating don’t
exceed the GPU maximum texture size. Otherwise, you could end Andrew Trice
up with an annoying flicker in your animations, which completely Andrew Trice is a Technical Evangelist with Adobe Systems.
ruins the user experience. He has more than a decade of experience designing,
implementing, and delivering rich applications for the
web, desktop, and mobile devices. He is an experienced
Preemptive Performance architect, team leader, accomplished speaker, and
Another technique that you can use to make your application feel published author, specializing in object-oriented
extremely fast is to preempt user actions before the user performs principles, mobile development, real-time data systems,
GIS, and data visualization.
them. For example, let’s say you capture an image with your app.
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 23
the Step-by-step
Mobile Application Development Checklist
FF Reduce screen elements down to the bare essentials.

General App Planning
FF Build wireframes for each screen in the app along with a navigation
FF Write a statement of purpose or “elevator pitch” for your map.
application.
FF Build a functioning prototype with MVP features.
FF Gather expected user requirements (a survey of potential users
could be helpful). FF Do usability tests on the prototype, covering every item on your
user and business requirements lists.
FF Gather business requirements for the application.
FF Examine the potential competition for your app (business model,
strengths, weaknesses).
Security
FF Determine the IT resources required to support this application.
FF Decide if your app will use custom tokens or security standards
FF Create a list of the core functionality for version 1.0 (Minimum (e.g. SAML, OAuth).
Viable Product).
FF Determine if your app needs SSO for logging into multiple apps.
FF Make a whiteboard drawing of the architecture.
FF Decide if your app will be a native, web, or hybrid app (or if you will
build multiple types).
Testing
FF If your app is native or hybrid, determine the platforms for
distribution. FF Prepare an appropriate on-device, real-time testing and debugging
strategy.
FF Determine if you will build a different app for different form factors
(phone, tablet, TV, etc.). FF Determine which devices you need to acquire, then integrate them
into the team’s testing workflow.
FF Decide on the development sourcing strategy (insourcing,
outsourcing, or co-sourcing). FF Have a plan for reacting quickly to issues on untested devices.
FF Identify the team members and stakeholders for this project along FF Harness user simulation scripts and load testing tools to test user
with their responsibilities. and business requirements in high traffic conditions.
FF Determine who will support the app when it’s finished. FF Log and visualize all appropriate data for easy pinpointing of
problematic code.
FF Collaborate with team members to build a structured and
repeatable project calendar. FF Ensure that your app meets the requirements for any target app
stores.
FF Construct a marketing strategy in parallel with app development.
Execute pre-release marketing. FF Conduct private beta testing with all of your employees (not just IT).
FF Conduct beta tests with real-world users. Try giving out gift cards at
a coffee shop to recruit testers.
Enterprise App Planning
FF Ask employees what they would like to have in a mobile app.
Launch
FF Identify processes that could be handled more efficiently with a
mobile app. FF Determine a build and deployment process that lets you deploy
updates early and often.
FF Identify data that could be monitored more often with a mobile
app. FF Complete the tasks necessary for deployment to your target app
stores.
FF Find out which systems mobile workers need to access frequently
(e.g. internal web portals). FF For non-app store distribution, prepare an app server for wireless
distribution.
FF Ensure your enterprise mobile systems have fast data access using
authorized methods. FF Follow any platform requirements for non-app store distribution.
FF Execute your marketing plans for launch.
FF Monitor app performance and track new software bugs.
Design and Development FF Collect data on real-world usage and monitor feedback from
FF Harness design and development tools that will make your team customers.
as efficient and effective as possible. FF Continue to improve the app according to a roadmap based on
FF Compile a list of objects and actions for the application and their customer behavior.
relation to each other.
2014 GUIDE TO MOBILE DEVELOPMENT MA D P
Adobe Phonegap by Adobe

The Solutions Directory PhoneGap lets you create native apps using HTML, CSS, and
JavaScript for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and more.
In this section of the guide you will find profiles of the most
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Objective‑C‑ ‑C#‑‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑
promising mobile development platforms and frameworks
to help you develop mobile apps more efficiently. Targets Strengths
• Allows developers to remotely build apps in the
 Web cloud using PhoneGap Build
 Hybrid • Can instantly update apps without recompiling
To view an extended profile of any product, you can use
 Native • Features an App Store for building apps
the short-code link found at the bottom of each profile, or without installing separate SDKs
• Hundreds of plugins are available for accessing
SYSTEMS
simply go to dzone.com/research/mobile and enter in the native device APIs
• Cordova/Phonegap
shortcode at the end of the link. • Android
• iOS
• Windows Phone
• BlackBerry
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @phonegap

USES
FREE TRIAL Open source solution
• Consumer Apps
• Enterprise Apps (for
internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ vQ6x
Get easy access to full product profiles with this URL
Alpha Anywhere by Alpha Software Appcelerator Titanium by Appcelerator

Alpha Anywhere is a prototype‑to‑production environment to Build, test, package, and publish mobile apps using JavaScript
develop and deploy enterprise‑level, cross‑platform mobile and and a single code base, without managing multiple toolkits or
web business apps. languages.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑‑ ‑IDE‑ TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑OAuth2‑
Targets Strengths Targets Strengths

• Focus on front‑end to back‑end and • Create rich native iOS, Android, hybrid,
 Web prototype‑to‑production development for  Web and mobile web apps from a single
online and offline enterprise applications JavaScript‑based SDK
 Hybrid  Hybrid
• Uses a single code base across all platforms, • Integrates with other Appcelerator tools such
 Native and integrates with several existing databases  Native as Studio, Alloy, and Cloud Services to simplify
and web services the development process
SYSTEMS • Offers a coding‑optional approach to improve SYSTEMS • Efficient code modules to reduce development
• Cordova/Phonegap developer productivity • Android time by allowing users to write less code
• Responsive application design for both mobile • iOS • Built to create apps that scale with business
and desktop • Windows Phone needs
• Blackberry
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @alphaSWcorp CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @appcelerator

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial FREE TRIAL Open source solution
• Enterprise Apps (for • Consumer Apps
internal use)
FULL PROFILE LINK internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ xkYW dzone.com/r/ ysX9
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MA D P
Appery.io by Exadel AppMachine by AppMachine

Accelerate enterprise mobile app development with Appery.io, AppMachine offers Apps‑as‑a‑Service, a new code‑free or
the cloud-based platform with visual development tools and code‑lite way to create custom mobile apps, both native and web.
integrated mBaaS.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑‑

TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑‑ ‑IDE‑
‑Usage Analytics‑

• Visual, drag‑and‑drop UI builder for creating • Designer uses a drag‑and‑drop “building block”
 Web HTML5, jQuery Mobile, and PhoneGap apps  Web paradigm
 Hybrid • Integrated backend services (database, push,  Hybrid • Web design effort results in completely native
server code) code output
 Native  Native
• Connect to 3rd party APIs with visual data • Extensible via JavaScript and custom web
binding editor service integration
SYSTEMS SYSTEMS
• Integration with enterprise data via APIs, Web • Built in CMS, analytics, and push notifications
• Cordova/Phonegap Services, LDAP, or other custom data sources • Android
• Android • iOS • Web crawler allows users to use existing
• iOS materials and plugins from their site in their
• Windows Phone AppMachine app
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @apperyio CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @appmachine

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Full-featured free version FREE TRIAL Free to use, but cannot publish apps without a
• Consumer Apps • Consumer Apps
license
• Enterprise Apps (for • Enterprise Apps (for
internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK
• B2B Enterprise Apps dzone.com/r/ 7Quh dzone.com/r/ jPGR
BlackBerry Webworks by BlackBerry BridgeIt by ICEsoft

Build cross‑platform web apps with the BlackBerry 10 Webworks BridgeIt is a simple way to develop hybrid HTML5 apps that run
SDK, now powered by Apache Cordova. on cross‑platform mobile devices. Write once, run everywhere for
mobile apps.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑OAuth2‑ ‑Drag‑n‑Drop‑‑ TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Bug Tracking‑ ‑Hosted‑‑ ‑On‑Premise‑

• Built on open source Apache Cordova to • Allows native mobile browsers to access
 Web provide cross‑platform capabilities  Web hardware features such as the camera,
microphone, and contacts
 Hybrid • Allows developers to reuse current JavaScript  Hybrid
libraries or any public javascript libraries • No native application packaging or app store
 Native  Native submissions required to publish apps
• Large network of supported developer tools,
making it easier for developers to migrate to • Automatic installation triggers when a web app
SYSTEMS developing native BlackBerry apps SYSTEMS uses BridgeIt
• Cordova/Phonegap • Allows developers to reuse many existing web • Android • BridgeIt’s Javascript API is open source and
• Blackberry assets when porting to systems such as iOS and • iOS available on GitHub
Android • Windows Phone
• Blackberry
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @BlackBerryDev CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @bridgeitmobi

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Open source solution FREE TRIAL Open source solution
dzone.com/r/ rCNp dzone.com/r/ NLpH
ClickMobile by Click Software ComponentOne Studio by ComponentOne

ClickMobile provides visual tools that enable drag‑and‑drop Studio for Windows Phone includes 30+ UI controls with unique
creation of forms, fields, workflows, and functionality to cover functionality for building enterprise apps.
business scenarios.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑C#‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑ TAGS ‑C#‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Drag‑n‑Drop‑

• HTML5 and native mobile and Windows • Share code with Windows Store and WPF
 Web desktop applications  Web controls to target multiple platforms
 Hybrid • Dynamic forms based on work type or role  Hybrid • Data visualization controls include charts,
maps, and gauges
 Native • A growing community enables downloads of  Native
ready‑to‑use apps from the ClickAppStore • Allows for reporting with a PDF library and
viewer
• Inherited integration with backend ERP, CRM,
SYSTEMS SYSTEMS
and asset management tools • Display and edit RTF and HTML natively in
• Cordova/Phonegap • Windows Phone XAML
• Predictive intelligence built into apps
• Manage Microsoft Excel files with FlexGrid and
XLSX library
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @ClickSoftware CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @componentone

USES USES
FREE TRIAL No free trial FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial
• Enterprise Apps (for • Consumer Apps
internal use)
FULL PROFILE LINK internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ MLaA dzone.com/r/ HvQ4
Appmethod by Embarcadero IBM Worklight by IBM

Appmethod is an app development platform for building natively IBM Worklight Studio is designed to provide an enterprise
compiled, multi‑device apps with a single source codebase. environment for cross‑platform mobile app development.
TAGS ‑C/C++‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑Usage Analytics‑ TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑

• Appmethod compiled apps run directly on the • Integrates native, HTML5, and third‑party code
 Web CPU to improve speed and responsiveness  Web in the same app
 Hybrid • AppMethod uses high‑performance, natively  Hybrid • Command Line Interface allows the customer
compiled, object‑oriented languages such as to use familiar native and web tooling
 Native C++ and Object Pascal  Native
• Mobile middleware capabilities for native
• Includes an IDE with code editors, project applications, with device storage, advanced
SYSTEMS management, visual design, and integrated SYSTEMS analytics, security, and integration for
• Android debuggers • Cordova/Phonegap SOAP‑based and SAP enterprise back‑ends
• iOS • Appmethod’s enterprise mobility services • Android • Includes application development lifecycle
provide point‑and‑click connectivity to RESTful • iOS tools for design, testing, integration, security,
cloud services and enterprise databases • Windows Phone analytics, and user engagement
• Blackberry
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @appmethod CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @IBMMobile

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial, no commercial deployment FREE TRIAL Open source, but requires a license for commer-
• Consumer Apps • Enterprise Apps (for
internal use) cial use
internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK • B2B Enterprise Apps FULL PROFILE LINK
• B2B Enterprise Apps dzone.com/r/ GNRL dzone.com/r/ u4hy
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MA D P
ICEmobile by ICEsoft iFactr Enterprise Platform by iFactr

ICEmobile is an easy and cost‑effective way to mobilize Java EE iFactr specializes in bringing legacy mobility to modern consumer
web applications. Go beyond HTML5. grade devices.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑‑ ‑IDE‑ TAGS ‑C#‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑REST‑‑ ‑OAuth2‑

• Automated device theming enables a single • Designed to support the latest native and
 Web web application to adopt the look of the native  Web HTML5 technologies so applications can easily
mobile device it is viewed from be updated for new devices
 Hybrid  Hybrid
• Extends the ICEfaces Ajax Push capabilities • Keeps mission‑critical data in sync without
 Native with Cloud Push, leveraging native platform  Native proprietary middleware, either online or
push capabilities to deliver notifications even offline
when the application is not active
SYSTEMS SYSTEMS • Includes a coding‑optional UI prototyping tool
• Android • Extends the ICEfaces framework with a suite of • Android • Supports hosted and on‑premise
• iOS mobile controls for UI development • iOS environments
• Windows Phone • Windows Phone
• Blackberry
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @icefaces CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @iFactr

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Open source version available FREE TRIAL Open source solution available
internal use) internal use)
FULL PROFILE LINK FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ hkyX dzone.com/r/ Qh4k
Infragistics Ultimate by Infragistics Intel XDK by Intel

An enterprise ready toolset for hybrid and native apps running on The Intel XDK includes built‑in tools that let you design HTML5
desktop, mobile, or the web. responsive apps, as well as app performance tools.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Objective‑C‑ ‑C#‑‑ ‑IDE‑ TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑REST‑‑ ‑SOAP‑

• Full‑featured data visualization controls • XDK’s interface is built on HTML, CSS,
 Web including charts, maps, and gauges which  Web JavaScript, and a Node‑Webkit back‑end
are used to create any type of interactive
 Hybrid dashboard and analytics apps
 Hybrid • Integrated with design, test, and build tools to
improve productivity
 Native • Automatic adaptive CSS styling on mobile  Native
• Includes theme templates and a UI designer
devices
• Able to deploy apps across a variety of app
SYSTEMS • Responsive web design built into data grids, SYSTEMS
stores and form factors
• Android charts, and other controls • Android
• iOS • iOS • Includes an emulator debugger, JS debugger,
• Native UI controls with the same data
• Windows Phone • Windows Phone and JS remote debugger for Android devices
visualization feature‑set in Objective‑C,
Android, and C#
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @infragistics CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @intel

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Unlimited free trial FREE TRIAL Free solution
dzone.com/r/ HuQ4 dzone.com/r/ X39z
Kofax Mobile Capture by Kofax Kony Development Cloud by Kony

With the Kofax Mobile SDK, apps can be enhanced with An integrated platform that helps users define, design, develop,
functionality for processes such as mobile deposit, mobile bill deploy, and manage multi‑channel cloud‑connected app
pay, and more. experiences.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Objective‑C‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑ TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑‑ ‑IDE‑

• Delivers many mobile capture and • Open and standards‑based platform
 Web engagement use cases from a single open  Web
• Customer has several choices for the
platform under full customer control
 Hybrid  Hybrid deployment model
• Real‑time data extraction, validation, and
 Native  Native • Connect with any enterprise or third‑party
entry, eliminating the need for tedious manual
system to mobilize and orchestrate your data
entry
• Transition from design to development and
SYSTEMS • Captures and improves image lighting, blur, SYSTEMS
back using the bi‑directional integration with
• Cordova/Phonegap jitter, optics, background, and document size • Android Kony Development Cloud
• Android • Automatic correction of data • iOS
• iOS • Windows Phone • Choose from hundreds of cloud‑based APIs
• Blackberry spanning UX/UI, device features, utilities,
security, and i18n
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @kofax CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @kony

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Requires the approval of an Eval License FREE TRIAL 90‑day free trial
internal use)
internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ v46x dzone.com/r/ kWs3
LiveCode Commercial by RunRev Mendix App Platform by Mendix

Always on coding. No compile step. Iterative and cross platform, Mobile isn’t an island. Build once, use anywhere with Mendix ‑ a
with natural language programming for desktop and mobile. platform to build, integrate, and deploy multi‑channel enterprise
apps.
TAGS ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑‑ TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑

• Offers unique “always on” coding which has no • Models are interpreted at run‑time, which
 Web compile step, leading to an iterative process  Web supports rapid change cycles
 Hybrid • Run the same code on Mac, Windows, Linux,  Hybrid • Unique approach to business and IT
iOS, Android, and servers collaboration for full app delivery cycle
 Native  Native
• Code in natural language without arcane • Single‑click deployment of apps in the cloud or
symbols on‑premise
SYSTEMS SYSTEMS
• Self documenting, making it easy to read and • Launchpad for unified end user access to
• Android remember the meaning of written code • Cordova/Phonegap apps connected to the Mendix App Store or
• iOS corporate app store
• Uses a drag‑and‑drop development paradigm
• No‑strings Community Edition to build and
deploy apps for up to 10 users for free
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @runrev CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @MendixSocial

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Free community edition available FREE TRIAL Community edition available ‑ free up to 10 users
internal use)
dzone.com/r/ 9jzr dzone.com/r/ W3wd
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 29
MA D P
MicroStrategy Mobile by MicroStrategy Oracle Mobile Platform by Oracle

MicroStrategy’s code‑free app platform helps enterprises create Oracle Mobile Platform is a flexible product for building a variety
iOS and Android apps that make your workforce mobile. of apps securely for multiple devices with a variety of data
integrations.
TAGS ‑Java‑ ‑Objective‑C‑ ‑Performance Analytics‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑‑

TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑
‑Usage Analytics‑

• Code free, click‑to‑configure development • Complete end‑to‑end multichannel‑support
 Web  Web for mobile and traditional web, as well as social
• Build once and deploy across iOS and Android
 Hybrid devices  Hybrid • Supports native, hybrid, and mobile web
architectures
 Native • Enables pre‑caching, transactions, and  Native
multimedia • HTML5, JavaScript, and Java MVC framework
for cross‑platform mobile client application
• Integration with Sharepoint and WebDAV
SYSTEMS SYSTEMS development
environments
• Android • Android • Modular and reusable
• iOS • Pre‑built infrastructure with security, • iOS
• Blackberry scalability, and performance • Integrated security with full mobile app
management
• Provides a wide array of app performance and
usage analytics
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @MicroStrategy CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @OracleMiddle

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 10 named user licenses FREE TRIAL No limits to free trial, license required to deploy
apps
dzone.com/r/ fzVb dzone.com/r/ uUhy
OutSystems Platform by Outsystems Pega AMP by Pegasystems

OutSystems Platform empowers developers to create, deploy, and Antenna Software enables enterprises to build, run, and manage
manage amazing mobile and web applications more efficiently mobile apps to optimize crucial business processes from the field
with current skills to the front office.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑‑ ‑Usage Analytics‑

TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Java‑ ‑Objective‑C‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑‑ ‑IDE‑
‑Hosted‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑

• Create once for all devices utilizing responsive • Offline functionality via store‑and‑forward
 Web web design  Web messaging and data synchronization
 Hybrid • True no lock-in: customers can detach onto  Hybrid • Comprehensive app and device management
industry‑standard application stacks with through an integrated, centralized dashboard
 Native open Java or C# code; no proprietary runtime  Native
• Enterprise integration streamlined through a
• Can use flexible deployment scenarios from mobile middleware layer with preconfigured
SYSTEMS on‑premises to public, private , or hybrid cloud SYSTEMS adapters for most enterprise backends
• Cordova/Phonegap • Allows creation of more complex systems, • Cordova/Phonegap • Integrated with the BPM, case management,
including those using large volumes of data • Android and decisioning systems from Pegasystems,
and non‑trivial workflows • iOS providing the choice of model‑driven or
• Windows Phone code‑based development
• Not just for building single‑function apps • Blackberry
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @outsystems CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @AntennaSoftware

USES USES
FREE TRIAL Free version for individual users, no ALM or FREE TRIAL No free trial
internal use) staging capabilities internal use)
dzone.com/r/ GMRL dzone.com/r/ TQv6
PhoneJS by DevExpress Progress Pacific by Progress Software

PhoneJS, part of DevExtreme, allows developers to create native Rapidly develop & deploy business apps using the mobile,
applications using HTML5 and JS with a single codebase from data integration, self‑service, and collaboration capabilities of
within Visual Studio. Progress Pacific.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑Usage Analytics‑

TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑REST‑
‑Performance Analytics‑‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑

• Provides a native UX through hybrid apps • Easily meet the web and mobility requirements
 Web  Web of your users
• Comprehensive set of touch‑optimized
 Hybrid widgets  Hybrid • Easily assemble, manage, and deploy web and
mobile apps: powerful applications at low cost
 Native • Device‑optimized kinetic scroller  Native
• Leverage multiple data sources with Progress
• SPA view management
data integration for web and mobile apps
SYSTEMS • View caching and state management SYSTEMS
• Deliver powerful native apps without writing
• Cordova/Phonegap • Provides data access layers • Android device specific code
• iOS
• Supports jQuery and optionally supports • Rich PaaS support for all your web/mobile or
Knockout.js for MVVM user interface mobile‑only apps
development
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @DXPhoneJS CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @progresssw

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial
internal use) internal use)
dzone.com/r/ dCPM dzone.com/r/ xsYW
Salesforce1 Platform by Salesforce SAP Mobile Platform by SAP

Salesforce1 Platform combines its popular PaaS with a SAP provides an integrated platform to help developers build
declarative app builder that allows users to visually create mobile any‑device apps that can run on‑premise and in the cloud.
apps.
TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑ ‑sso TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑‑ ‑SSO‑

• Over 2K third‑party apps built on the • Open OSGi architecture
 Web Salesforce1 Platform  Web
• Uses Apache Cordova and its standard (but
 Hybrid • Private AppExchange allows companies to  Hybrid extended) plug‑in architecture
build a customized corporate app store
 Native  Native • Uses SAP‑provided SDKs and IDEs or the
• AppExchange Accelerate Program fuels the technology of your choice (XCode, jQuery,
next wave of enterprise ISVs on the Salesforce1 Sencha, Xamarin)
SYSTEMS Platform SYSTEMS
• No more proprietary hybrid web container
• Android • Integrated JavaScript framework support, • Android
• iOS • iOS • Replaces several proprietary technologies with
including Angular, Backbone, and Polymer.
• Windows Phone open source technologies
• Salesforce1 Mobile app container makes it easy • Blackberry
to distribute enterprise apps securely
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @salesforce CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @SAPMobile

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30-day free trial and free dev accounts FREE TRIAL 30 days, unless using SAP HANA or if the user
runs an on‑premise version through their AWS account
dzone.com/r/ Y3Ww • Partner Apps (B2B) dzone.com/r/ wbdP
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 31
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Sencha Architect by Sencha Smartface App Studio by Smartface.io

Sencha Architect, a visual app builder, provides a way for devs to A software solution that enables users to develop iOS and
build cross‑platform, HTML5 apps for the web and mobile. Android native applications that can be published to their
marketplaces.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑SSO‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑ ‑Drag‑n‑Drop‑ TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑ ‑Drag‑n‑Drop‑

• Large selection of out-of-the-box UI widgets • Design editor lets users see what they are
 Web and data sources  Web building as they build it
 Hybrid • UI Themes for iOS, Android, Windows Phone,  Hybrid • Provides native outputs for iOS and Android
BlackBerry, and Tizen
 Native  Native • Integrates with Sencha Cmd and Touch to
• Utilizes hardware acceleration to improve app package for the web or native mobile apps
performance
• On‑device debugging allows users to plug in
SYSTEMS • History, back button, and deep linking SYSTEMS
devices via usb to test and debug in real time
• Cordova/Phonegap capabilities • Android
• Integrated solutions for native packaging and • iOS
device features
• Integrates with Sencha Cmd to provide
deployment and development tools
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @sencha CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @smartface_io
USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial FREE TRIAL Free community edition available
dzone.com/r/ 9bzr dzone.com/r/ zCrN
Telerik Platform by Telerik Verivo Akula by Verivo

A modular platform that combines a rich set of UI tools with Verivo Akula is an enterprise‑grade platform for building mobile
powerful cloud services to develop web, hybrid and native apps apps that helps IT to ensure proper corporate governance across
all their apps.
TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑Version Mgmt‑‑ TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑
‑Usage Analytics‑ ‑OAuth2‑

• Includes a comprehensive mobile UI library • Works with any device‑side IDE, framework, or
 Web  Web app architecture
• Supports all three development approaches:
 Hybrid web, hybrid, and native  Hybrid • Comprehensive offline capabilities,
including incremental data sync and online
 Native • Integrates with Apache Cordova  Native authentication
• Addresses the entire lifecycle of the project
• Authentication, authorization, and encryption
(from design to deployment)
SYSTEMS SYSTEMS are used to secure apps
• Cordova/Phonegap • Modular platform that can be integrated with • Cordova/Phonegap • Open architecture integrates with top tools
• Android other tools and services • Android and frameworks
• iOS • iOS
• Windows Phone • Windows Phone • Enables code reuse across multiple projects
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @telerik CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @verivosoftware

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial FREE TRIAL No-cost evaluation
internal use)
dzone.com/r/ PLMa dzone.com/r/ H6Q4
2014 GUIDE TO MOBILE DEVELOPMENT MADP & FRAMEWORKS
Wijmo by ComponentOne WSO2 App Factory by WSO2

Wijmo is a suite of UI Controls for mobile and web application An open source mobile application lifecycle management tool
development. It offers enterprise charts and grids powered by that manages the creation and delivery of the app to the device.
HTML5.
TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑REST‑‑ TAGS ‑Hosted‑ ‑On‑Premise‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑ ‑OAuth2‑

• The Adaptive Widget Framework allows • Self‑service provisioning of workspaces
 Web the widgets to work in a desktop or mobile  Web including source repository, issue tracker, and
environment build configuration
 Hybrid  Hybrid
• Seamless integration with popular frameworks • Automate and integrate continuous build,
 Native like AngularJS, Knockout.js, Breeze, and more  Native continuous test, and continuous deployment
activities
• A high performance DataGrid that supports UI
SYSTEMS virtualization SYSTEMS • Perform one‑click actions for code branching,
• Cordova/Phonegap • Cordova/Phonegap versioning, and promotion
• Data visualization controls that offer touch
interaction on mobile devices • Dashboards display application status, health,
service assets, activity, and lifecycle stage
• An Event Calendar Control that offers full
scheduling capability out‑of‑the‑box
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @wijmo CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @WSO2

USES USES
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial FREE TRIAL Open source solution
internal use)
dzone.com/r/ thUJ dzone.com/r/ Qx4k
Xamarin by Xamarin KendoUI by Telerik

Reuse your favorite .NET libraries, and still incorporate A large open source jQuery library, featuring over 24 UI controls, a
platform‑specific libraries and frameworks when you want to. complete mobile solution, and professional grade widgets.
TAGS ‑Responsive Layout‑ ‑Adaptive Layout‑ ‑Cordova‑ ‑MVC‑‑

TAGS ‑C#‑ ‑F#‑ ‑IDE‑ ‑REST + SOAP‑‑
‑Open Source‑
Targets Strengths BROWSER SUPPORT Strengths

• Enables fully native iOS, Android, and Windows • WebKit • Complete set of HTML5 widgets and features
 Web mobile apps with a shared codebase • Firefox • UI tools for ASP.NET, PHP, and JSP available
 Hybrid • Allows developers to build native apps in Visual
• Provides a high‑performance MVVM
Studio
 Native framework that uses declarative bindings and
• .NET mobility scanner scans code to determine two‑way syncing between web and mobile
how much can be mobilized views and models
SYSTEMS IDEs SUPPORTED
• Component store offers hundreds of libraries, • Lightweight, built‑in templating library
• Android cloud services, and UI controls • Eclipse
• iOS • Animations take advantage of CSS3 hardware
• Windows Phone • Xamarin Test Cloud tests apps using acceleration
object‑level user interface testing
CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @xamarinhq CATeGORY Mobile Web Framework TWITTER @kendoui
USES Layout Style
FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial, but cannot ship apps FREE TRIAL Open source solution
• Consumer Apps App‑centric (navigation, layouts,
workflow, trying to be like a
internal use) FULL PROFILE LINK native app) FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ UWJf dzone.com/r/ 9Gzr
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 33
F RA ME WORK S
Sencha Touch by Sencha Dojo Toolkit by Dojo Foundation

Sencha Touch is an HTML5 mobile application framework that Dojo is a JavaScript and HTML5 toolkit for building high quality,
enables devs to build cross‑platform user experiences. standards‑based desktop and mobile web apps.
TAGS ‑Cordova‑ ‑MVC‑ ‑Adaptive Layout‑

TAGS ‑Adaptive Layout‑ ‑Native Packager‑ ‑MVC‑ ‑Ext JS‑‑
‑Responsive Layout‑‑ ‑Open Source‑
BROWSER SUPPORT Strengths BROWSER SUPPORT Strengths

• WebKit • Integrates with Sencha Space, Architect, and • WebKit • Offers a UI widget collection, Dijit, and 2D
• Windows Phone Cmd to provide deployment, development, • Windows Phone graphics framework GFX
and native packaging tools
• Firefox • Blackberry • Has an extensive collection of UI components
• Utilizes hardware acceleration to improve for mobile devices
performance of apps
• Object stores for easy binding of data between
• History, back button, and deep linking UI widgets and data sources
IDEs SUPPORTED capabilities IDEs SUPPORTED
• No compiling step necessary for web and
• Eclipse • UI Themes for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, • Eclipse mobile web applications
BlackBerry, and Tizen • WebStorm
• Highly optimized events, DOM, and HTTP
requests/WebSockets
CATeGORY Mobile Web Framework TWITTER @senchatouch CATeGORY Mobile Web Framework TWITTER @dojo
Layout Style Layout Style
App‑centric (navigation, layouts, FREE TRIAL 30‑day free trial App‑centric (navigation, layouts, FREE TRIAL Open source solution
workflow, trying to be like a workflow, trying to be like a

native app) FULL PROFILE LINK native app) FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ YsWw dzone.com/r/ JWfV
jQuery Mobile by jQuery Foundation Ionic Framework by Drifty

jQuery Mobile is a cross‑platform framework, built on jQuery and Ionic is an open source HTML5 mobile app dev framework based
the jQuery UI foundation. on AngularJS that lets web developers build native‑quality
mobile apps.
TAGS ‑AngularJS‑ ‑Cordova‑ ‑Open Source‑

TAGS ‑Cordova‑ ‑Adaptive Layout‑ ‑Responsive Layout‑ ‑Open Source‑‑
‑Adaptive Layout‑‑ ‑Responsive Layout‑
BROWSER SUPPORT Strengths BROWSER SUPPORT Strengths

• WebKit • Includes ThemeRoller software for users to • WebKit • Extensive library of simple, native‑style UI
• Windows Phone create device‑agnostic custom themes for • Firefox components and layouts
their apps
• Firefox • Support for a wide array of touch gestures
• Opera Mobile • Ajax navigation with many different page
• Complex navigation capabilities, allowing for
• Amazon Silk transitions
non‑linear navigation instead of linear browser
• Platform and screen‑agnostic UI widgets history
IDEs SUPPORTED IDEs SUPPORTED
• Graded browser support (mobile and desktop) • Utilizes hardware acceleration and minimal
• Eclipse • None DOM manipulation to improve app
• Visual Studio • Flexibility to choose between auto-
performance
• NetBeans enhancement via data attributes or write
• IntelliJ IDEA markup to reduce DOM manipulation and • Integrates with AngularJS to utilize more tools
improve performance and frameworks for mobile development
CATeGORY Mobile Web Framework TWITTER @jquerymobile CATeGORY Mobile Web Framework TWITTER @ionicframework
Layout Style Layout Style
Content‑centric (flat content, FREE TRIAL Open source solution App‑centric (navigation, layouts, FREE TRIAL Open source solution
interactive elements) workflow, trying to be like a

FULL PROFILE LINK native app) FULL PROFILE LINK
dzone.com/r/ 3zjG dzone.com/r/ jrGR
Glossary of Terms
A Hybrid App - A mobile application written P
in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that uses a
Accelerometer - A sensor that measures web-to-native abstraction layer, allowing the Push Notifications - Short messages
the acceleration (change in speed) of an application to access mobile device APIs that that mobile applications can send to users
object. pure web applications cannot access. even if the application isn’t open.
Adaptive Layout - A website layout M R

that uses media queries to change the site’s
design for specified devices or window MADP (Mobile Application Responsive Layout - A website layout
sizes. This is a more manual strategy than Development Platform) - MADPs are based on a fluid grid, allowing the site to have
responsive design. development tools, sometimes including a hundreds of dynamically generated states
mobile middleware server, that build hybrid with mostly minor differences based on
API (Application Programming or native apps for each platform using one browser window size. A less manual strategy
Interface) - A specification for how codebase. Includes MEAPs and MCAPs. than adaptive layouts.
various applications can interact with a
set of software components. Applications MBaaS (Mobile Back-end-as-a-
can include APIs for external use by other Service) - A service that connects mobile S
software. applications to cloud databases while
also providing user management, push SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) - An
Appcache - An HTML5 standard that allows notifications, and social integrations. application provided over a network by the
a web application to be cached and available vendor with no installation required.
offline. MCAP (Mobile Consumer Application
Platforms) - A platform for developing SAML (Security Assertion Markup
mobile consumer apps. Language) - A common XML-based open
B data format for authentication.
Business-to-Customer (B2C) - An MEAP (Mobile Enterprise

Application Platforms) - A platform SDK (Software Development Kit) - A
application built for the average consumer. set of programming tools and resources built
for developing mobile enterprise apps.
specifically to aid software development on a
Business-to-Business (B2B) - An particular platform or technology.
application built specifically for use within Mobile Middleware - Technology that
another business. provides application management functions
that allow native and hybrid applications to SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture)
communicate securely with on-premise and - A software design pattern where pieces
Business-to-Employee (B2E) - An of software provide functionality to other
application for internal business use (i.e. an cloud-based enterprise applications.
applications as a service.
enterprise app).
MVP (Minimum Viable Product) -
A version of a product with only the features SSO (Single Sign-On) - A feature for
D that are absolutely necessary to go to market. access control systems that allows users
to log in to multiple, independent software
Device API - A mobile platform-specific API systems using one set of credentials by
that lets applications access specific mobile N internally storing and automating multiple
hardware functionality (e.g. accelerometer, login credentials.
gyroscope). Native App - A mobile application that is
written in a programming language that is SMS (Simple Message Service) - A phone
directly compatible with the target platform. service using standardized communication
E protocols to send short text messages.
Native Bridge - An abstraction layer that
Emulator - An application that duplicates gives a non-native application access to
the functionality of hardware or operating mobile device APIs. U
systems for testing purposes.
Native Packager - A tool that builds a User Experience (UX) - A term to describe
native wrapper and native bridge around a all aspects of the end user’s interaction with
F an application.
mobile application written in HTML, CSS, and
JavaScript, creating a hybrid app.
Feature Phone - A mobile phone with
internet access and music playback that lacks V
Native Wrapper - A component that
the full functionality of a smartphone.
packages a non-native app so that it is viable VIEWPORT - An HTML meta tag that tells the
for native app store distribution. browser how to behave when it renders the
G web page. The viewport is also a term for the
NFC (Near-Field Communications) section of the web page in view.
Gyroscope - An instrument that measures - A feature, based on technical standards,
the orientation of a device. that allows devices to establish radio
communication with other nearby systems or W
mobile devices.
H W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) -
The main international standards organization
HTML5 - A specification that defines the O for the World Wide Web, developing
fifth major revision of HTML. It is often common web language specifications such as
used as an adjective to describe web apps OAuth - A common open standard for HTML5 and XML.
that use newer HTML, CSS, and JavaScript authorization.
specifications (e.g. HTML5 apps). Webview - A view that displays web pages
within an application.
| dzone.com
| (919) 678-0300 35
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2014 GUIDE TO MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

DZONE RESEARCH PRESENTS

Welcome TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary & Key Takeaways 3

Game of Phones Infographic 18

As always, thanks to everybody who played a part CREDITS

Mitc h P rons c h ins k e Mat t S c h m idt

REUSE PERMISSIONS AND REPRINTS:

Summary & KEY TAKEAWAYS

Many Developers are Turning to Cross-Platform Tools

The Majority of Mobile Customers are Still External

Commissioned Apps and Marketing Through Apps are Primary

More Mobile Hobbyists and Employees than Freelancers

Android and Web Skills More Common than iOS Skills

The Leaders Are Business and Utility Apps

Common Timeline for Mobile App Development is 1-3 Months

Cross-platform tools are used by nearly half of mobile devs

Commissioned Apps and Product Marketing are the Mobile Breadwinners

The mobile landscape:

In addition to being a more common skill set, mobile web

skillsets. MADPs are most useful in scenarios where an application

A less comprehensive but more straightforward solution is to use

Ideally, every mobile app would be built this

A hybrid app is created by first coding the application to run in

Android, and Blackberry. anywhere” solution.

MADPs and CODE TRANSLATORS [1] https://github.com/search?o=desc&q=stars%3a%3E1&s=forks&type=Repositories

Quickly build and deploy apps on any cloud or device with

your mobile or web app development, connect and leverage

Future Proofing Application Development

driven mobile and web

Progress Pacific by Progress Software TWITTER @progresssw PHONE 1‑800‑477‑6473

TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Mobile STRENGTHS DESCRIPTION

The state of Native vs. Web vs. Hybrid

Native Hybrid Web

Platform comes with familiar, original UI

Native vs. Web vs. Hybrid: The Trends WRITTEN BY

Painless Move to Mobile

OutSystems Platform by Outsystems TWITTER @outsystems PHONE (404) 719‑5100

However, as the user volume grows from a predictable B2E

SOA and Mobile that can be consumed

BridgeIt: Not All Hybrids Are Created Equal

ICEmobile by ICEsoft TWITTER @icefaces PHONE (403) 663‑3322

Mobility And Leaving The Nest

Telerik Platform by Telerik TWITTER @telerik PHONE (888) 365‑2779

Mobile UX Refining Perceived Performance

FF Reduce screen elements down to the bare essentials.

Adobe Phonegap by Adobe

CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @phonegap

Alpha Anywhere by Alpha Software Appcelerator Titanium by Appcelerator

Targets Strengths Targets Strengths

CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @alphaSWcorp CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @appcelerator

Appery.io by Exadel AppMachine by AppMachine

TAGS ‑JavaScript‑ ‑Hosted‑ ‑Mobile Middleware‑ ‑IDE‑‑

Targets Strengths Targets Strengths

CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @apperyio CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @appmachine

BlackBerry Webworks by BlackBerry BridgeIt by ICEsoft

Targets Strengths Targets Strengths

CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @BlackBerryDev CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @bridgeitmobi

ClickMobile by Click Software ComponentOne Studio by ComponentOne

Targets Strengths Targets Strengths

CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @ClickSoftware CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @componentone

Appmethod by Embarcadero IBM Worklight by IBM

Targets Strengths Targets Strengths

CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @appmethod CATeGORY MADP TWITTER @IBMMobile