Google Polymer looks like a simple way to make material designed web pages. I am developing a native Android application and would like to make it material designed. My question is, can I use Polymer for native Android applications?
No, you cannot use Polymer to build a truly "native" Android app. Although there are frameworks such as Phonegap which would allow you to build an app using web technologies and then compile into an Android app.
If your goal is to make an app that follows material design patterns, I suggest you get started by reading the official documentation on the subject: Creating Apps with Material Design
Polymer is a JavaScript Framework that implements web-specific standards for the front-end.
And JavaScript is not the native language of Android so Polymer cannot be used to build Native Apps (using Java) using Meterial Design.
But on the other hand you can build entire applications using HTML5 with the help of some technologies like Cordova and PhoneGap.
Yes, you can make native mobile apps with Polymer, thanks to Polymer Native.
If you are into native Android then you should use Android Official Appcompat Library(which is default) but it lacks backport of some Mateial elements and features( Official Tutorial). if you really need to implement the elements which Appcompat lacks you can use any third party librarie like MaterialEverywhere or this or you can find here if something is really availabe in the world.
Yes we cannot create pure native apps, But we can convert web apps developed in HTML, CSS, JS which is to run in a browser. Cordrava helps to convert the web app source to an apk file which can be installed in an Android devices as a native app. Cordrava makes the web app to run in the web view of android.
A good example tutorial below provided by Ashraff Hathibelagal
http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-to-do-list-app-with-polymer-and-cordova--cms-25434
Related
I need help with some information which I couldn't find anywhere online. is it possible to convert my existing android app to ios using PhoneGap/Cordova? if it is yes, could u guys send me any link to do it. if its no, can I know why? please...
No, you can not convert it. Code base and frameworks are to different. For making cross platform app you can use Flutter, Xamarin or others...
Only if your android app is already a web application. Cordova and phonegap are a set of libraries for extending mobile web applications with native functionalities.
Apache Cordova is an open-source mobile development framework. It allows you to use standard web technologies - HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript for cross-platform development. If your current Android application is a Native application; you cant convert application to iOS.
For more details : https://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/latest/guide/overview/
I'm maintaining a plethora of apps for one of my clients all of which have native projects for each of the three main platforms. The apps are relatively simple in functionality. My client wants to always take advantage of the latest features in each platform for marketing opportunities. They also want to appear to be a native app (responsive, not laggy). I haven't followed cross-platform development very much lately, so that's why I'm reaching out to SO.
My initial idea is to write a C++ library that has all the functionality shared by the three platforms. Then, for each platform, I'll write some network, file access, and UI-code that connects the abstract library code to the concrete platform.
Of course, this is exactly what cross-platform systems aim to do. Would it be a waste of my time to write the above myself when this has already been done by platforms like PhoneGap? My concern is that I would be dependent on a third-party. If I write the code myself, I have full control, and I will always have access to the latest features.
Hope to get some pro's and con's.
Thanks!
Yet a third option (after Facebook's React Native and Microsoft's Xamarin) is Google's new Flutter and as the other answers suggests "then writing the Windows app purely natively". BTW, React Native does have Windows support the lack of which in Flutter could be a plus or a minus depending on how you look at it.
Have you considered using React Native for iOS and Android, then writing the Windows app purely natively?
There are tons of articles out there about pros and cons for React Native.
PhoneGap is just a web, written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. React Native actually renders native components for iOS/Android.
There is also Xamarin. It supports multiple platforms and uses c#. The new features from the native languages all work great.
I am new to mobile development with a requirement to develop applications for Android and IOS. My programming background is in C#.
Which is the best language and framework to start developing mobile applications?
Is it better to use native development or use cross-platform frameworks?
Please suggest frameworks and languages with respect to ease of development, development support etc..
I am no expert in Cross Platform Mobile Development (in fact, I was just searching for a cross platform mobile development languages/frameworks), but you could take a look at Xamarin, especially as you have a C# Background.
You may also want to take a look at Apache Cordova (and Adobe Phonegap), they use HTML+CSS+JavaScript.
I recently found Flutter, the development language is Dart and it's an early stage OSS project (as of 2016 october) and Haxe. They both seem like active projects, so worth following the progress on GitHub.
If I had to choose and I already had skills in C#, I'd go with Xamarin.
I strongly recommend you give a try to Flutter... It just came out from Google... It's in Beta, but Google heavily used it until now in production mobile applications. It uses Dart, as a programming language and it's awesome. If you have a background in C# (or similar languages, like Java for example) you won't have any problems - it's quick to learn and there are a bunch of tutorials already.
Do a search on YouTube for Flutter, and also on medium...
Here's the website link: http://flutter.io
You can also download some sample applications with all the Android / iOs widgets you can use in a Flutter application. Here's the app for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.flutter.gallery&hl=en
The key difference between Flutter and React native for example is that there's no Javascript bridge... and it compiles to native code. You also write the code once, and it will work by default both on Android and iOs... Hack, you can even switch to iOs widgets on an Android phone.
It's AWESOME!!!
Last night I learnt that it is possible to develop apps for Android using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, much like you would do a client side website. Is this a widely used approach? Because I have started to learn developing with the SDK but I naturally know more about HTML, CSS and Javascript, so I'd like to leverage that knowledge if possible.
So basically my question boils down to this: Are Android web apps as good as native apps? Can the same functionality be achieved through web apps?
Regards
Renault
Check http://www.phonegap.com/start/#android
PhoneGap is based Web Technologies HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
It's very simple to use it. Try it.
Check out Appcelerator Titanium
While other HTML/Css/JS frameworks run your apps inside a web-browser-like environment, Appcelerator claims to run your apps natively. And it seems (almost?) all the functionality that can be achieved through native apps can also be achieved through their SDK.
They also have several convenience features like directly running the app on an emulator or a device, packaging the app for deployment etc., and Titanium Developer runs on Windows, Linux and OS X.
I'm beginning to look into Android programming.
When developing a mobile application, are there other options besides using the SDK to develop a native application?
For instance, is it possible to develop an application using only web technologies?
If so, what is your experience on the different techniques (limitations, etc)?
Thanks
With Gingerbread now you have the possibility to create an app just with the NDK using NativeActivity.
This release of the NDK includes many
new APIs, most of which are introduced
to support the development of games
and similar applications that make
extensive use of native code. Using
the APIs, developers have direct
native access to events, audio,
graphics and window management,
assets, and storage. Developers can
also implement the Android application
lifecycle in native code with help
from the new NativeActivity class. For
detailed information describing the
changes in this release, read the
CHANGES.HTML document included in the
downloaded NDK package.
If you are willing to use web technologies I would recommend you this book:
Programming the Mobile.
For instance, is it possible to develop an application using only web technologies?
Yes. You can use PhoneGap, Rhodes, or Titanium Mobile for this.
If so, what is your experience on the different techniques (limitations, etc)?
Of the three, I prefer PhoneGap, as it seems the cleanest and simplest. Rhodes might be good if you are a Rails developer and want to use that style of Web development on-device.
You can also develop applications on top of Adobe AIR.
So it seems you have quite a few options:
Java based app
Native app
Adobe AIR
Mobile website