Anyone have any experience with hybrid app development?

Hogie1418Hogie1418
in Everything Else
I'm looking to create an app for GameValueNow and was wondering if anyone out there has any experience with hybrid app development. As far as convenience goes, it seems to be the way to go now a days but I was hoping I could get some opinions before diving in. I am currently looking at using the Ionic Framework but would be open to any other suggestions.



 

Comments

  • rlhrlh
    I've always been intimidated by cross-app development, though I've always wanted to make games rather data-driven apps.



    I know a lot of people use Xamarin and I think with recent updates to Visual Studio from Microsoft, it's now free. If you have a Mac, they also released a Mac version of Visual Studio with Xamarin baked-in (actually, they updated Xamarin Studio for Mac and rebranded it as VS for Mac *shhhhhh*) so you could actually make such an app for free with that tool.



    I know you mentioned to me that you're a Java guy but to my knowledge, there aren't to many (if any) code-once tools that you can write your apps in Java and then they will convert them to OSX/Windows Phone projects. This is why most tools are based in C# (Unity, for instance) or just straight C++. It's easier to port to Android/iOS than Java is to WinPhone/iOS so it might be worth the effort to learn C# development.



    Honestly, it's not much different than Java. There are some subtle, underlying differences that you'll have to adjust to, but it's similar enough.



    If you choose to go this route, PM me and let me know. I know I could have PMed you but I'd kind of like to bump this discussion. Others might have good/better contributing advice, so I thought I'd say it out loud for all to see.
  • ginoscopeginoscope
    Funny you mention creating an app for your website I was looking at your site to see if you provided an api.



    As far as hybrid development goes I always been a fan of just coding the app in it's native language. It's annoying to have two code bases but I feel like you get to really get the best out of the device if it is a native app. When I was working on my app I considered a hybrid approach but just ended up making the android version first and then porting the code over to ios. The database backend I used worked in both environments so that made the ios port way easier than I expected.
  • chromableedstudioschromableedstudios
    I'm a big fan of c# xamarin/mono now that it's free. Used it for ludum dare game jam last couple times and have been happy with the results. I don't have a Mac/iDevice though so have only done Android/windows cross platform.



    I've been poking at prototypes for making a game tracker in my free time in it using sqlite as the backed DB and calling out to Amazon api so I could do barcode scanner via camera or otg USB barcode scanner--seems like the concept tests have worked pretty ok. I'd be happy to lend a hand if you need and go with xamarin--I just want something I can scan through a bookshelf quickly and also use at the game store so I don't buy dupes.

    Edit: ionic looks pretty slick too, particularly if you are already familiar with JavaScript or typescript--can't say I've had occasion to use it though
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