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Development Tools

Brad Woods
Brad Woods
13,772 Points

Building apps using html, css, javascript

Does anyone have any knowledge relating to building apps for iOS and android using html, css, javascript combined with things such as PhoneGap and jQuery mobile?

3 Answers

Well it is too good to be true :) I tried that first to and you were not getting the right performance out of your apps and also you had problem with how the apps where looking and that led to many apps not passing into Appstore for example. Some people did their best to make it look like iOS or Android but stuff like jQuery Mobile just wasn't the same and it was slow and looked horrible. But there is a new generation of tools and services starting to become available and stable enough that is improving all of that.

I have personally used something called Steroids JS from a company called Appgyver and it's free :) It's built up on Phonegap / Cordova but has added something they call hybrid UI that gives you access to a lot of those native controls that you need in your apps to make them go fast and look good. You can use all your html5, javascript and css experience when you're coding the app and with the Steroids JS API you can also access the native tab bar, navbar etc etc. I have seen others doing similar stuff and i think that it is the way forward if you want to build an app that could do similar stuff as the native apps but avoid having to learn Java or Objective C.

I have some experience with building apps with html5/js/css that uses Phonegap, jQuery mobile isn't my favorite framework tho and do my best to stay away from it. Do you have any specific questions you are wondering over?

Brad Woods
Brad Woods
13,772 Points

Thanks for the reply. I have experience in html, css & javascript and want to build apps for both iOS and Android so it would make sense that I learn something like Phonegap. I was curious as to whether it's fully capable of doing the job of the native languages. To me it just seems a little too good to be true.

Brad Woods
Brad Woods
13,772 Points

Thanks for the reply. I have experience in html, css & javascript and want to build apps for both iOS and Android so it would make sense that I learn something like Phonegap. I was curious as to whether it's fully capable of doing the job of the native languages. To me it just seems a little too good to be true.