I have been very quiet since initially creating my first app called Handsfree ETA. I have learned a lot about attempting to use a Hybrid approach to create mobile apps. The moral of this story is that no development environment will provide you with complete compatibility across platforms. Even an approach that uses HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. The webkits from device to device, manufacturer to manufacture and Android version to Android version are just not the same. This causes sublte differences. One webkit may be more forgiving to a Javascript coding mistake than another. Testing on as many devices as possible and modifying your program to use Javascript that works across devices is your only real option. The use of the emulator can help but it was notoriously slow and painful. Google has supposedly made this faster but I have not yet tried the latest emulator versions. Is it really faster? If you know please respond to this post.
However, I've recently discovered that Google has now made their V8 engine the default option for later SDKs. They did this a while back; I just didn't know cause I didn't look. Staying current is not an easy task but it's important and can save you lots of tie and frustration if you manage to do it.
I have not given up on the Hybrid approach. The fact that V8 is now the default for the webkit engine on Android is a real good thing. Hybrid apps will run faster and be more predictable across devices, manufacturers and release. Users are upgrading away from 2.4 as they buy new phones. Android versions 4+ versions are now dominating the market so changing your apps to use V8 as the default is a good idea.
I've also been tinkering with some other things over the last year. Like learning the latest jQuery Mobile version and coming up to speed on the latest Phonegap releases. If you stay away from updating the core versions of the open source used by your apps for too long you are looking at a lot of work and very possibly a rewrite of your code. Open source authors have a desire to make their Platforms/SDKs better and will not sacrifice this for the sake of backwards compatibility. I don't really blame them for this as they need to compete with similar platforms for market share.
I really just wanted to swipe the dust off my blog and give you a taste of what I've been up to. I have a lot more to say about my latest project and I will write additional posts about my adventures to move to the latest versions of the platforms that I've tied to my development efforts.
Stay tuned and we can take this journey together!
However, I've recently discovered that Google has now made their V8 engine the default option for later SDKs. They did this a while back; I just didn't know cause I didn't look. Staying current is not an easy task but it's important and can save you lots of tie and frustration if you manage to do it.
I have not given up on the Hybrid approach. The fact that V8 is now the default for the webkit engine on Android is a real good thing. Hybrid apps will run faster and be more predictable across devices, manufacturers and release. Users are upgrading away from 2.4 as they buy new phones. Android versions 4+ versions are now dominating the market so changing your apps to use V8 as the default is a good idea.
I've also been tinkering with some other things over the last year. Like learning the latest jQuery Mobile version and coming up to speed on the latest Phonegap releases. If you stay away from updating the core versions of the open source used by your apps for too long you are looking at a lot of work and very possibly a rewrite of your code. Open source authors have a desire to make their Platforms/SDKs better and will not sacrifice this for the sake of backwards compatibility. I don't really blame them for this as they need to compete with similar platforms for market share.
I really just wanted to swipe the dust off my blog and give you a taste of what I've been up to. I have a lot more to say about my latest project and I will write additional posts about my adventures to move to the latest versions of the platforms that I've tied to my development efforts.
Stay tuned and we can take this journey together!
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