CHOOSING THE RIGHT APPLICATION IN 2021: REACT, FLUTTER, JAVA, OR IONIC?

by Ketan Parmar Founder

Do you want to develop your application but do not know which technology to choose? Then, this article should guide you. Indeed, the development of an application is more expensive than a website, so it is necessary to learn well upstream and broaden your field of knowledge regarding the different technologies, such as React, Flutter, Java, and ionic. Namely that there are several types of application development such as native, hybrid, and multiplatform.

JAVA, NATIVE FOR ANDROID

Java is ubiquitous; it is not difficult to find developers. Very efficient and highly secure, it is widely used in the financial sector. However, developing your application with Java implies making it available only on Android; if we want our application to be available on iOS, we must create it a second time, with a different technology (Swift, for example). Thus, the development time and cost are pretty large.

THE FEW BASICS OF JAVA TO KNOW

Java was created in 1995; it is native development for Android, it's equivalent for iOS in Swift. Java technology is the basis of most network applications; it is operated worldwide to develop and deliver mobile and nested applications, games, web content, and business software. Java has an API (programming interface that allows applications to communicate and exchange services or data with each other) efficient such as string manipulation, image/sprite, etc. Namely, Java is used a lot in the finance sector (Fintech).

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF JAVA

Java benefits from great robustness, that is to say, that its language is strongly typed, its memory and errors are managed automatically. It's an all-object language, except primitive types; its portability is exemplary because no compilation is necessary: once the Java code is compiled, its execution without errors depends only on the JVM8 (Java Virtual Machine: runtime environment for Java applications). This programming language is also advantageous in terms of security management, its strong capacity for integration into web environments, and its ease of writing professional graphical interfaces. Its disadvantages lie mainly in accessing hardware resources, and its execution speed is generally lower than a language compiled natively. Indeed, this technology being simultaneously a compiled and interpreted language, Java requires an interpreter to become executable. It needs to be constantly translated, which induces a more extended loading.

WHY USE JAVA?

Highly efficient, Java has 9 million developers worldwide, 97% of corporate offices run Java, it is the # 1 development platform, 3 billion mobile phones run Java. These few data show us that Java is very well known and used around the world. Therefore, it is interesting to use Java for a powerful and efficient application for laptops, remote processors, microcontrollers, wireless modules, sensors, gateways, consumer products, and all other types of electronic devices. Also, using Java is relevant if you want to combine applications or services based on the Java language to create more personalized ones. To develop, in particular, server-side applications for forums, stores, and online surveys, for processing HTML forms, the Java language is proving to be very powerful while using all of Android's capabilities.

Java is, therefore, somewhat a traditional technology, prevalent, ultra-powerful, and native type: exclusively for applications on Android. So, for example, NASA WorldWind uses Java, just like Minecraft, NSA Ghidra, or Wikipedia.

Now let's look at a reasonably current technology corresponding to a type of hybrid development.

IONIC, FOR HYBRID DEVELOPMENT

An application under Ionic is quick to develop because only one code is needed to be available on both iOS and Android. Who says rapid development says attractive cost, and it is not difficult to find Ionic developers. However, its performance is limited: Ionic supports applications of a specific size less well, and access to native functions is more complicated.

PRESENTATION OF AN INTERESTING TECHNOLOGY: IONIC

The application made by ionic will be deployable on Android and iOS because it is a hybrid development technology. Ionic is an open-source framework created in 2013 that is a mix of tools and technologies to develop hybrid mobile applications quickly and easily. Ionic is, first of all, Apache Cordova and its many native plugins, Angular from Google, NodeJS, and many other Open Source technologies, which have been proven for years and continue to grow exponentially. Ionic, therefore, has a solid foundation.

THE ADVANTAGES OF IONIC

First and foremost, Ionic has a large community of enthusiastic developers ready to help with code conflicts. In addition, literature-rich, straightforward, and easy to handle is also available. But, then, being a technology for a type of hybrid development implies that only one code base is needed, so there are many advantages. Indeed, development costs are reduced, maintenance is facilitated by integrated instruments and debugging tools, the launch on iOS and Android is fast, and the possibility of transforming the Ionic application into a desktop application or PWA is possible.

THE LIMITS OF IONIC

Ionic is less well positioned on "heavy" applications; its performance is limited. An application is said to be heavy when it requires, for example, augmented reality, 3D renderings, or games: if it is made with Ionic, the application will be slow and the rendering unsatisfactory. So, in terms of performance, choosing Ionic for applications requiring heavy use of telephone equipment is not a good idea. Also, building an app with Ionic involves using plugins to access native features (iOS and Android), and there are some cases where the plugin or module may not exist. It happens if specific functionalities or access to non-standard hardware are required. You will then have to develop the plugin yourself, which takes time and increases the development cost.

After explaining two technologies for two different types of development, namely native and hybrid, let us now see a particular technology.

REACT, THE COMBINATION OF NATIVE AND HYBRID

React allows you to develop an application with 80% identical code for both iOS and Android platforms; only 20% of the code needs to be adapted specifically for each of them. The development time is, therefore, less than a native development, which reduces the cost. In addition, react is recognized as very efficient, particularly in terms of functionality, display, and maintenance. As a result, React developers are more and more numerous, with a more attractive cost.

REACT: 2 OPERATING SYSTEMS FOR 1 CODE

React Native is a javascript framework developed by Facebook in 2015 and is used by a wide range of reputable applications such as Leboncoin, Instagram, Pinterest, Skype, Uber, Tesla, etc. Its combination of hybrid and Native partly explains its popularity. Indeed, React Native is fully optimized for each platform (Native) while having a large part of its shared (hybrid) code. React starts from a web language using the views of Android and iOS. It has the advantage of having only the same code to develop for iOS and Android. The time and cost are thus halved; only one maintenance is necessary, and React allows considerable agility thanks to hot-reload (real-time modification).

REACT, A YOUNG TECHNOLOGY

React, therefore, meets an application's requirements on iOS and Android, with a very competitive time and cost. This combination seems to be the perfect solution, so it is not the only one in this market.

The fact that React is a young framework, the support community, is limited and documentation is scarce. Therefore, it may be that the code still has some peculiarities unknown to developers who must devote a little time to research when the conflict is not documented. To conclude, React is exemplary in terms of adaptability, maintenance, optimization, and agility while having its slight dark side due to its recency.

FLUTTER, A MULTIPLATFORM FRAMEWORK

Flutter allows you to develop an application in one go, available on two platforms: iOS and Android. Therefore, the development time is less. However, it remains to find a Flutter developer, which is not easy because they are rare and cost more. Also, if you plan to bet a lot on ASO (App Store Optimization: application SEO ), Flutter is not ideal for its optimization. Finally, Flutter shows good performance, which makes it a promising framework. Namely, Flutter is used in particular by Google, Alibaba, Groupon, eBay, BMW.

FLUTTER, NEW TO A TRENDY MARKET

Flutter is the framework developed by Google at the end of 2018; it is the most recent. It allows designing cross-platform applications for Android and iOS. The significant advantage of Flutter is its ability to build native cross-platform apps for Android and iOS (Windows / Mac / Linux are also supported). Like React, Flutter allows you to design applications using native operating system features, using the same source code. The operation is also quite impressive. However, his recent arrival in the cross-platform framework market means standing out from its main competitor React Native, which has already established itself in the market.

FLUTTER, A PROMISING FUTURE

Flutter applications are written with the Dart programming language and allow many more advanced language features to be used. Of course, learning a new language may seem restrictive for some developers, but it is a risk taken by Google to have a combination close to perfection. The community is in full expansion, which is an encouraging sign. In addition, the agility of Flutter is remarkable thanks to the "just in time" compilation, which allows "hot reload": modification in real-time, without needing to restart the running application. Another compilation is used by Flutter: "ahead-of-time (AOT)" on both Android and iOS, allowing high performance. Thus, Flutter is positioning itself as a future leader in mobile development.

TO SUMMARIZE, HERE IS OUR VISION OF THESE 4 APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES:

Java, the traditional, popular technology that reassures and ensures
Ionic, the practical
React, an excellent student who learns from existing ones
Flutter, the youngest, very promising

To conclude, the mobile application development market has grown in recent years, leading to new multiplatform development technologies. The latter is a good compromise between the search for performance, visibility, and cost/time savings. If this last criterion is the most important for you, the type of hybrid development with Ionic is best positioned. However, when it comes to performance and user experience, nothing beats the native application. Ultimately, your priorities dictate your choice.

In our opinion, React Native represents the best compromise to develop your application today.