In computing, cross-platform software (multi-platform, or platform independent software) is computer software that is implemented on multiple computing platforms.

Cross-platform software may be divided into two types; one requires individual building or compilation for each platform that it supports, and the other one can be directly run on any platform without special preparation, e.g., software written in an interpreted language or pre-compiled portable bytecode for which the interpreters or run-time packages are common or standard components of all platforms.

Cross-platform programs may run on as many as all existing platforms, or on as few as two platforms. Cross-platform frameworks (such as Xamarin, Phonegap, or Ionic) exist to aid cross-platform development.

As accessibility to computers with varying operating systems becomes more and more affordable, the necessity of cross platform software solutions proves increasingly vital to a business’ success. Sometimes, an off-the-shelf approach doesn’t provide you or your customers with what is needed. When you need a software program developed that is easily implementable across Linux, Apple, Microsoft, and more, New Line Technologies has the skills to deliver a solution that is affordable and consistent. We work to bring its clients quality software solutions that work across multiple platforms using a shared code approach that cuts down on the time to implement and keeps your costs lower.

New Line Technologies team uses a shared code approach when developing cross platform software programs for its clients. The shared code approach allows New Line Technologies to better utilize its time and talents during the development process–allowing for the core code to be shared between platforms and decreasing costs to you, our client. We begin the process by conducting extensive platform research and then develop a comprehensive strategy for the end result. We then develop the base software platform using the shared code approach. Once final coding for each platform has been implemented, we implement a lengthy quality assurance process to ensure your software does what you want it to do, regardless of the environment in which it is being used. Once final testing is complete, your business is able to bring its product to multiple markets at once, thus reducing the cost of development per platform.

Although each platform can have a similar user experience, the approach to how the user has that experience is different based on the platform.

Developers are now finding themselves having to author applications for a diverse range of mobile platforms (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, …), each of which have their own ‘native’ development languages, tools and environment.

There is an ever growing list of cross-platform frameworks that allow you to minimise the cost and effort of developing mobile apps, but which to choose?

Selecting a Framework

The APK and XAP files for the Android and Windows Phone versions of each framework are available within the project download. For iPhone you will have to build and sign the projects yourself in order to deploy them onto your own device.

Some of the frameworks deliver a native user interface, whereas others construct a native-like interface using HTML5 technologies. When selecting a framework it is important to test the end-user experience that the framework delivers and ensure you are happy with any compromises.

The code-sharing which can be realistically achieved with each framework varies considerably.

In this article we are going to give a short insight of cross platform New Line Technologies has profound knowledge and vast experience of. We guarantee our clients best possible results that will match your expectations 100% and to save your time and money.

Xamarine

Xamarin have two commercial products, Xamarin.iOS for iOS development and Xamarin.Android. The Xamarin frameworks allow you to write applications using C# and the .NET framework. For each platform Xamarin provide bindings to the native platform APIs. As a result Xamarin applications make use of the native UI for each mobile platform. Xamarin do not provide a Windows Phone product because the C# and .NET code used for Android and iOS development is directly portable to Windows Phone.

The PropertyCross implementation makes use of the Model View Presenter (MVP) pattern in order to share as much UI logic as possible. The Model and Presenter code is shared across all three mobile platforms, with the View code, which makes use of native UI components, being distinct for each platform. This is reflected in the code-sharing statistics.

Electron

Electron (formerly known as Atom Shell) is an open-source framework developed by GitHub. It allows for the development of desktop GUI applications using front and back end components originally developed for web applications: Node.js runtime for the backend and Chromium for the frontend. Electron is the main GUI framework behind several notable open-source projects including GitHub’s Atom and Microsoft‘s Visual Studio Code source code editors and the Light Table IDE.

React Native

With React Native, you don’t build a “mobile web app”, an “HTML5 app”, or a “hybrid app”. You build a real mobile app that’s indistinguishable from an app built using Objective-C or Java. React Native uses the same fundamental UI building blocks as regular iOS and Android apps. You just put those building blocks together using JavaScript and React.

Ionic

Ionic is a complete open-source SDK for hybrid mobile app development. Built on top of AngularJS and Apache Cordova, Ionic provides tools and services for developing hybrid mobile apps using Web technologies like CSS, HTML5, and Sass. Apps can be built with these Web technologies and then distributed through native app stores to be installed on devices by leveraging Cordova.

Ionic Creator is a drag-and-drop interface building tool. App Builder for Ionic is also provided by Appery.io.

PhoneGap

Apache Cordova (known by many as “PhoneGap“) holds the top slot in developer mindshare. Cordova/PhoneGap developers write their mobile applications using HTML, JavaScript and CSS. These assets run in a “WebView” inside a native application container on the target platform. It is, conceptually, a web application packaged within a native application container where your JavaScript has access to device-level APIs that normal web applications would not.

Why use New Line Technologies for my cross platform software development needs?

New Lines Technologies understands the need for businesses to provide unique experiences to their customers across multiple operating system platforms, and at a cost that isn’t exorbitant or beyond scope. We are here to help businesses attract more customers and brand themselves as flexible, straightforward, and up to speed on current technology trends. We help you with software development so you can focus on your customers and growing your business.