Hybrid Apps Development



Hybrid apps are web apps that have a native app shell. Once a user downloads the app from an app store and install it on the mobile, the shell connects to all the capabilities that the mobile platform provides through a browser that's embedded in the app.



A hybrid application is a software app that combines elements of both native and web applications. Hybrid Apps may perform a bit slower than native or web versions of the same app due to the presence of an extra layer between the source code and the target platform.



Hybrid apps run inside a native container, and leverage the device’s browser engine to render the HTML and process the JavaScript locally. A web-to-native abstraction layer enables access to device capabilities that are not accessible in Mobile Web applications, such as the accelerometer, camera and local storage.



Hybrid apps use a web view control (UIWebView on iOS, WebView on Android and others) to present the HTML and JavaScript files in a full-screen format, using the native browser rendering engine. WebKit is the browser rendering engine that is used on iOS, Android, Blackberry and others. Thus, the HTML and JavaScript used to construct a hybrid app is rendered by the WebKit rendering engine, and displayed to the user in a full-screen web view control.



Hybrid software is very appealing because developers can create a single code base to be used for the app on different platforms. Except for some aspects of the app (the main one being the UI, which users expect to be tailored to their platform of choice), developers only need to write the code once, and then it can be reused when developing the app for any other platform.



Hybrid apps are developed with front-end development technologies and languages like HTML5, JavaScript, CSS etc., giving them a cross-platform functionality. The main advantages of hybrid apps are cross-platform compatibility, scalability, lesser development time, and cost effectiveness. There are many hybrid app frameworks available today. Each framework has its strengths and weaknesses.



For a hybrid app, developers don’t have to create separate code for Android and iOS. They can write code for a mobile app once, while still accommodating multiple platforms. By using a hybrid approach, you can reach more users because your app will work on various devices. This is especially important if you want to target users who are not using the latest and greatest technology.



The limitations of a hybrid app is that it has a design that doesn’t have a native feel. The user interface isn’t as seamless. Possibilities (e.g. 3D) are also restricted due to the fact that WebView is used and that this doesn’t allow the exploitation of the devices’ full potential.