Mobile app development: Difference between revisions

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

'''Mobile app development''' is the act or process by which a [[mobile app]] is [[software development|developed]] for one or more [[mobile device]]s, which can include [[personal digital assistant]]s (PDA), [[enterprise digital assistant]]s (EDA), or [[mobile phone]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Mobile Application Development {{!}} IBM |url=https://www.ibm.com/topics/mobile-application-development |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=www.ibm.com |language=en-us}}</ref> Such software applications are specifically designed to run on mobile devices, taking numerous hardware constraints into consideration. Common constraints include CPU architecture and speeds, available memory (RAM), limited data storage capacities, and considerable variation in displays (technology, size, dimensions, resolution) and input methods (buttons, keyboardkeyboards, touch screens with/ or without styluses).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-03 |title=Essential Aspects to Consider While Designing Mobile Apps {{!}} GlobalLogic UK |url=https://www.globallogic.com/uk/insights/blogs/essential-aspects-to-consider-while-designing-mobile-apps/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=GlobalLogic |language=en-gb}}</ref> These applications (or 'apps') can be [[Installation (computer programs)|pre-installed]] on phones during manufacturing or delivered as web applications, using server-side or client-side processing (e.g., JavaScript) to provide an "application-like" experience within a [[web browser]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a mobile app (mobile application)? – TechTarget Definition |url=https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/mobile-app |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=WhatIs.com |language=en}}</ref>

Mobile app development has been steadily growing, in terms of revenues and jobs created. A 2013 analyst report estimates there are 529,000 direct ''app economy'' jobs within the EU thenof which there are 28 members (including the UK), 60 percent of which are mobile app developers.<ref>VisionMobile, Plum Consulting, "European App Economy", September 2013</ref>

== Overview ==

In order to facilitate the development of applications for mobile devices, and the consistency thereof, various approaches have been taken.

Most companies that ship a product (e.g. Apple, iPod/iPhone/iPad) provide an official software development kit (SDK). They may also opt to provide some form of Testing and/or Quality Assurance (QA). In exchange for being provided the SDK or other tools, it may be necessary for a prospective developer to sign a some form of non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, which restricts the sharing of privileged information.

As part of the development process, mobile [[user interface]] (UI) design is an essential step in the creation of mobile apps. Mobile UI designers consider constraints, contexts, screen space, input methods, and mobility as outlines for design. Constraints in mobile UI design, in constraintswhich include the limited attention span of the user and form factors, such as a mobile device's screen size for a user's hand(s). Mobile UI context includes signal cues from user activity, such as the ___location where or the time when the device is in use, that can be observed from user interactions within a mobile app. Such context clues can be used to provide automatic suggestions when scheduling an appointment or activity or to filter a list of various services for the user.

The user is often the focus of interaction with their device, and the interface entails components of both hardware and software. User input allows for the users to manipulate a system, and the device's output allows the system to indicate the effects of the users' manipulation.

Overall, mobile UI design's goal is mainly for an understandable, user-friendly interface. Functionality is supported by [[mobile enterprise application platform]]s or [[integrated development environment]]s (IDEs).

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Today, mobile apps are usually distributed via an official online outlet or marketplace (e.g. Apple - The App Store, Google - Google Play) and there is a formalized process by which developers submit their apps for approval and inclusion in those marketplaces. Historically, however, that was not always the case.

Mobile UIs, or front-ends, rely on mobile back-ends to support access to enterprise systems. The mobile back-end facilitates data routing, security, authentication, authorization, working off-line, and service orchestration. This functionality is supported by a mix of [[middleware]] components, including mobile app serverservers, mobile backend as a service (MBaaS), and [[service-oriented architecture]] (SOA) infrastructure.

== Platform ==

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Criteria for selecting a development platform usually containsinclude the target mobile platforms, existing infrastructure, and development skills. When targeting more than one platform with cross-platform development, it is also important to consider the impact of the tool on the [[user experience]]. Performance is another important criteriacriterion, as research on mobile apps indicates a strong correlation between application performance and user satisfaction. Along with performance and other criteria, the availability of the technology and the project's requirementrequirements may drive the development between native and cross-platform environments. To aid the choice between native and cross-platform environments, some guidelines and benchmarks have been published. Typically, cross-platform environments are reusable across multiple platforms, leveraging a native container while using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the user interface. In contrast, native environments are targeted at one platform for each of those environments. For example, Android development occurs in the Eclipse IDE using Android Developer Tools (ADT) plugins, Apple iOS development occurs using the Xcode IDE with Objective-C and/or Swift, Windows and BlackBerry each have their own development environments.

===Mobile app testing===

Mobile applications are first tested within the development environment using emulators and later subjected to [[field testing]]. [[Emulator]]s provide an inexpensive way to test applications on mobile phones to which developers may not have physical access. The following are examples of tools used for testing applicationapplications across the most popular [[mobile operating system]]s.

* '''Google Android Emulator''' - an [[Android (operating system)|Android]] emulator that is patched to run on a Windows PC as a standalone app, without having to download and install the complete and complex [[Android SDK]]. It can be installed and Android compatible apps can be tested on it.

* '''The official Android SDK Emulator''' - a mobile device emulator which mimics all of the hardware and [[software]] features of a typical mobile device (without the calls).

* '''TestiPhone''' - a [[web browser]]-based [[simulator]] for quickly testing [[iPhone]] [[web applications]]. This tool has been tested and works using [[Internet Explorer 7]], [[Firefox 2]] and [[Safari 3]].

* '''iPhoney''' - gives a [[pixel]]-accurate web browsing environment and it is powered by [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]]. It can be used while developing [[web sites]] for the [[iPhone]]. It is not an iPhone simulator but instead is designed for web developers who want to create 320 by 480 (or 480 by 320) websites for use with iPhoneiPhones. iPhoney will only run on [[OS X]] 10.4.7 or later.

* '''BlackBerry Simulator''' - There are a variety of official BlackBerry simulators available to emulate the functionality of actual BlackBerry products and test how the device software, screen, keyboard and [[trackwheel]] will work with the application.

* '''Windows UI Automation''' - To test applications that use the Microsoft UI Automation technology, it requires Windows Automation API 3.0. It is pre-installed on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and later versions of Windows. On other operating systems, you can install it using Windows Update or download it from the [[Microsoft]] Web site.

* '''MobiOne''' Developer - a [[mobile Web]] [[integrated development environment]] (IDE) for [[Windows]] that helps developers to code, test, debug, package and deploy mobile [[Web application]]s to devices such as [[iPhone]], [[BlackBerry]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], and the [[Palm Pre]]. MobiOne Developer was officially declared End of Life by the end of 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=MobiOne Developer 1.0 M4: Create App Store-ready Mobile Web Applications, Experience True Device Behavior on Windows |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/iphone/10/prweb2980934.htm |website=PRWeb |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref>

Tools include

* [[Eggplant (GUI testing tool)|eggPlant]]: A GUI-based automated test tool for mobile appapps across all operating systems and devices.

* [[Ranorex]]: Test automation tools for mobile, web and desktop apps.

* [[Testdroid]]: Real mobile devices and test automation tools for testing mobile and web apps.