Comprehensive Analysis of Innovative Cross-Platform App Development Frameworks

Abstract

Mobile apps are increasingly realized by using a cross-platform development framework. Using such frameworks, code is written once but the app can be deployed to multiple platforms. Despite progress in research on cross-platform techniques, results (i.e. apps) are not always satisfactory. They are subject to tedious tailoring and the development effort tends to be notable. In these cases, either pure web apps (realized through web browsers) or native apps (realized for each platform separately) are chosen. Recent activities have led to new approaches. In this paper, we have a closer look at three of these, namely React Native, the Ionic Framework, and Fuse. We present a comprehensive analysis of the three approaches. Our work is based on a real-world use case, which allows us to provide generalizable advice. Our findings suggest that there is no clear winner; the frameworks incorporate notable ideas and general progress in the field can be asserted.