Cross-platform development tools like Xamarin have been around since more than half-a-decade now, and have shown considerable evolution within a short span of time. A large portion of developer community still steers clear of cross-platform citing hybrid approach to be the more viable middle ground between cross-platform and native applications.
It is very necessary to address this unfound perception through solid facts that establish that cross-platform development is, in fact, the best and most efficient development practice.
This will help enterprises see the value and credibility in Xamarin app development, and assure them that leveraging the latest cross-platform capabilities of Xamarin results in quality applications.
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Reinstating faith in cross-platform is basically a study in what enterprises want and what users want, and how the cross-platform technology bridges this gap efficiently while eliminating the tedious process of writing native code for multiple mobile platforms (iOS and Android).
What enterprises want
Enterprises want excellent security and performance settings in the apps.
There have been cases where consumer facing enterprise apps have become the unsuspecting vectors of malware propagation when they have used some third-party APIs (advertising, etc.). Not only the end application, but also the source code is vulnerable, as attackers tamper with the .APK files on Android Store. Code obfuscation therefore becomes a prime requirement. Enterprises want complete protection of their intellectual properties from malware/ransomware attackers.
Regardless of the platform on which the app is being run, the performance and speed should be outstanding. As the end user’s tolerance dwindles with the increasing number of app options available to replace even the most niche enterprise apps, enterprises think that only native code can provide them with the necessary performance and speed.
What users want
Users want a consistent in-app experience regardless of the platform they are using the app on. This pertains to the major app features. However, the look and feel of the app should be tailored to the platform it is being used on. This retains the loyal user-base of that platform. Like enterprises, users also want to be certain that their smartphones are not being injected with malware or ransomware at the cost of their trust in the enterprise brand. Also, users want their apps to run at highest possible speeds and provide highest possible performance in terms of computing, rendering, and appearance.
How Xamarin helps
Xamarin solves this expectation crisis by catering to both – the enterprises and the users. Since it is backed by Microsoft now, its trustworthiness has seen a new boost. Developer community has begun looking at Xamarin with new-found respect and acceptance – as viable cross-platform tool.
Being a native cross-platform framework, it allows apps to retain the native look and feel of the platforms on which the app is configured to run. Xamarin app development India writes code once in C# and compile on both iOS and Android. It uses the APIs provided by the native SDKs (iOS and Android) in C# by creating a unified API on top of the native SDKs. This allows Xamarin to support multiple OSes with a single code base (written in C#). As most enterprises already have experienced C# developers, it is a minor and justified investment to train them as Xamarin app developers.
This helps save development time and increase code efficiency (as the excess time can be devoted to application testing), both of which are crucial factors affecting the final app quality. Thus, instead of using hybrid or native approaches out of lack of competitive options, enterprises can safely use Xamarin as ‘the default’ rather than ‘on experimental basis’ to develop all apps in their application suite.
