Getting Started with Mobile App Development
This surge in mobile usage has created a massive demand for innovative and user-friendly mobile applications. Businesses of all sizes are recognising the importance of having a mobile presence to reach their target audience. For us developers, this translates to exciting challenges and ample career opportunities.
So, you want to build mobile apps? Here’s where to start:
Choose Your Platform:
Native Development:
- iOS (Swift): If you’re drawn to the Apple ecosystem, Swift is your go-to language. Native iOS development offers the best performance and access to the latest iOS features.
- Android (Kotlin): Android dominates the global market, and Kotlin is now the preferred language for Android development. It’s concise, modern, and improves upon Java.
Cross-Platform Development:
- React Native (JavaScript): If you’re already familiar with JavaScript, React Native allows you to build apps for both iOS and Android from a single codebase.
- Flutter (Dart): Flutter, developed by Google, is another popular cross-platform framework. It’s known for its fast development cycle and beautiful UI.
The Cross-Platform Dilemma
Cross-platform tools like Flutter, React Native, and NativeScript (and newer entrants like LynxJS) promise faster development by allowing developers to write code once and deploy it on multiple platforms. However the mobile development landscape is littered with “shiny new tools” that can distract developers. There’s a risk of getting caught in a cycle of learning new APIs, only to have another framework emerge, which can ultimately slow down development in the long run.
The Native Advantage
Native tools like SwiftUI (for iOS) and Jetpack Compose (for Android) are maturing rapidly. Investing in native development offers benefits like:
- Optimal performance by directly utilising the device’s hardware.
- Access to the latest platform-specific features.
- A more consistent and intuitive user experience, as the app adheres to the platform’s design language.
- Potential for more streamlined and faster long-term development as these tools evolve.
- Greater sustainability for your development process. By focusing on native tools, which have strong backing and long-term roadmaps, you avoid the churn and learning curve associated with frequently changing cross-platform frameworks.
Strategy: Focus on One Platform First
It’s an immense task to try and learn iOS (Swift/SwiftUI) and Android (Kotlin/Jetpack Compose) development simultaneously when you’re just starting out. Each platform has its own unique set of tools, design principles, and best practices. To avoid feeling overwhelmed and to accelerate your learning, consider the following strategy:
Start with iOS and Swift/SwiftUI:
iOS development provides a focused ecosystem with strong design guidelines and a mature, declarative UI framework (SwiftUI). Mastering iOS development first can provide a strong foundation in mobile development concepts.
By starting with one platform, you can build a solid understanding of the fundamentals of mobile development. Here’s a breakdown of what each of these entails:
- UI design and implementation: This is the process of creating the visual elements of your app and how users interact with them. It involves designing the layout of screens, choosing colours and fonts, and creating interactive components like buttons and lists.
- State management: Mobile apps often display dynamic information that changes in response to user actions or external events. State management refers to how an app tracks, stores, and updates this information, ensuring that the user interface always reflects the current data.
- Networking: Most mobile apps need to communicate with external servers to retrieve or send information. Networking involves making requests to these servers, handling the responses, and managing potential errors or connectivity issues.
- Data persistence: Mobile apps frequently need to save data locally on the user’s device. This could include user preferences, cached data for offline access, or any information that needs to be stored between app sessions.
- Creating and Reading of PDFs: Some apps need to generate PDF documents, whether for reports, invoices, or other purposes. This involves programmatically creating the structure and content of a PDF file. Additionally, apps may need to read and extract information from existing PDFs.
- Push notifications: Push notifications are a way for apps to send messages to users even when the app is not actively running. This is a crucial mechanism for engaging users with timely updates or alerts.
- Navigation: Navigation refers to how users move between different screens or sections within an app. This involves designing the app’s structure and implementing transitions between views, ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience.
Once you’re comfortable with one platform, you can leverage that knowledge to more easily learn the second platform.
The future of mobile app development is bright. By focusing on a sustainable approach, such as initially investing in native tools, you can ensure your skills remain relevant and your development process efficient in the long run.
