What is the best platform to create an app?
Creating an app requires some skills besides the proper platform to design the app. In this article, we will see the most used and most appropriate platforms to make an app.
 | 8 minute(s) read | Published on: May 09, 2022 Updated on: May 10, 2022 |
Choosing a platform to create and design an application is one of the most important and basic parts needed before creating an app for your business or other purposes. Selecting the platform for building an application is one Of the basic steps for building a business application. Several things can explain the importance of familiarity with these platforms. But one of the most important things in determining the cost of building the application. In this article, we want to acquaint you with the types of application platforms, the advantages and disadvantages, and a few details about them.
Types of application platforms
In general, application development platforms can be classified into four categories: personal computers or laptops, mobile phones, web applications, and finally, cross-platform applications. These platforms play a very important role in application design. This section will introduce you to each of these categories in more detail.
- PC and laptop
As the name implies, these programs need to be downloaded, installed, and run on computers or laptops (the same familiar exe files). These platforms are divided into other groups, such as Linux or Mac OS. The advantages of this platform are rich work experience, speed, and optimal quality of reaction referred to user actions.
In contrast to these advantages, there are several disadvantages, such as the need to download, install and run, which is certainly not possible for all people to install and start using them; there is a need for a specialist to install and run these applications and this will make things difficult. Other problems with this platform include the need to familiarize yourself with the API of each of those sub-categories (Windows, Linux, and Mac OS) separately for coding.
Suitable programming languages for this purpose include options such as C ++, Java, Python, and others. You can also use the coding environments of each of these languages for this purpose.
- Mobile phone
Because today mobile phones are getting used by people widely, this platform is a good option for applications that people may use every hour. The platform itself is divided into other categories, including Android, IOS, and Windows Phone. The advantages of this platform include:
Speed and responsiveness due to its locality.
Easy download and installation due to the existence of app stores.
Easy updates.
On the other hand, this platform has disadvantages, including the limited display of information due to suffering from smaller screens than PCs and laptops and the need to be familiar with the APIs of the subset ( Android, iOS, and Windows Phone) suitable for coding separately.
Programming is mostly done in Java language and environments such as Android Studio, E Clips, and Basic Four Android for the Android operating system. IOS with Swift and Objective C language and in XCODE coding environment.
- Web application
This platform is a very good solution to avoid the weaknesses of PC and laptop platforms and mobile phones. The most important example of this is the ability to run iOS-related applications on the web. Another advantage of this platform is the easy update by placing a new program version on the webserver.
These applications are generally run on web browsers, and their coding is done on both the user side and the server side by experts in each section. For user-side programming, mostly in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS languages, and to build the server-side, AJAX, PHP, and ASP.NET languages are used. There is also another way to build applications on the web called WordPress. WordPress is generally one of the easiest ways to build web applications (without the need for coding). Still, on the other hand, applications have many limitations (although the web platform applications themselves are more limited in usage than other platforms).
Cross-platform applications
Creating an application for a particular platform (so-called NATIVE design) is both more time-consuming and costly.
Tools for creating cross-platform applications
- Zoho
With this software, you can produce programs for PC and laptop platforms (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux), mobile phones (IOS), and even single-board computers (such as Raspberry Pi).
Zoho is a web-based CRM designed to attract, retain and satisfy customers to grow their business. The core of Zoho CRM is purchasing control and purchasing process management and managing leads and contacts. The Zoho module panel has about ten components, but users can still customize it to suit their business.
- APPMAKR
This platform is suitable for building Android, IOS, and HTML5 applications. The advantages of this platform are:
- Simple updates
- Play music and video
- Chat environments
- Use Google Map locations
- Have calendars and app stores
- Admin panel support
- Ability to change the appearance and appearance of the program
- GAMESALAD
Free software for making Mac OS, Android, IOS, and HTML5 games through the drag and drop technique without the need for programming information. Other advantages of this software include support for in-app payments.
- APPY PIE
An environment for building applications for Android, IOS, Windows, HTML5, and BlackBerry environments using the Drag and Drop method without the need to know coding knowledge. Advantages and features of this software:
- Ability to publish applications on iTunes and Google Play
- View analysis as REAL-TIME
- Ability to place ads within applications
- Supports device location usage
- Ability to communicate with secondary media such as a website
- Ability to change the appearance of the program
- Appery
Simple and fast environment for building Android, IOS, and Windows applications in cloud environments (without the need to download and install) through Drag and Drop. One of the most important advantages of this program is the ability to add functions through plugins. Unfortunately, this environment is not free and requires a monthly payment of $ 180.
- SWIFTIC or COMO
Free software for building cross-platform applications without the need for programming and drag and drop. The most important advantages and features of this software are:
- Take over the analysis of different parts of the application
- Ability to receive comments from users
- Build special purpose lists
- Can be connected to social networks and RSS feeds
- Customize the look and feel of the program
- NetBeans
NetBeans is another application platform. It is also possible to program and build different types of apps in this environment.
- Zamarin
Free and cloud environment created by Microsoft to produce applications and games for Android, IOS, and Windows platforms with C # language. Another advantage of this software is the ability to connect with Visual Studio.
- Von Gap or Cordova
Ability to produce multi-platform applications with JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, and other web design languages such as webview. Apache Cordova is a set of device APIs that allow mobile developers to use JavaScript to access the device's native functions, such as a camera or accelerometer. If you use Cordova with a UI framework like jQuery Mobile or Dojo Mobile, or Sencha Touch, you can make smartphone applications much more beautiful and professional using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
When using Apache Cordova APIs, you can build the application without using the native code used by the application developer (such as Java, Objective-C, etc.).
- Unity
A very popular and free game engine for building multi-platform games using Java or C # programming languages.
Unity is a multi-platform gaming engine developed by Unity Technologies and first introduced in June 2005 at Apple's Global Developers Conference as the proprietary Mac OS X game engine. As of 2018, the engine was developed to support more than 25 operating systems.
- Unreal
The Unreal game engine was developed by Epic Games company (maker of Fortnite game) and was first released in 1998 and was used in making Unreal game, a first-person shooting game. This game engine is based on C # and C ++ programming languages. Later, this game engine was used in making games in other styles such as role-playing and stealth. This game engine is one of the first game engines that has fully combined collision detection, artificial intelligence, visibility, networking, scripting, file system management, and rendering.
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