3 Cross-Platform Framework That Comes From Future
Today’s, there’re many framework and technology to make desktop, mobile apps. When I said “Coming From Future”, I mean the frameworks that is up-to-date by the side of other technologies.
Electron.js
Electron is a javascript library with Node.js to make cross-platform desktop apps with html, css and javascript. Also, you can use other languages like python, typescript if you need. Electron is working by combining Chromium by Google and Node.js. And you can package to Mac, Windows and Linux apps. Electron is opensourced since 2014.
Electron began in 2013 with Atom which is GitHub’s text editor. Now, apps with the most up-to-date technologies use Electron.
Most Popular Apps with Electron.js: Atom by GitHub, Visual Studio Code by Microsoft, Discord (chat app for gamers), Slack (Chat app for developers)
Flutter by Google
Flutter is framework to create cross-platform mobile, desktop and web apps with just one code. You can produce your app to Android, IOS, Windows, Linux, Mac and Web. Google developed a new language called “Dart” that is really similar to javascript and it can be compiled to native code and javascript. Google uses dart to make their apps and making new operating system named Google Fuchsia.
Flutter is extremely fast like native apps and there’re widgets to designing apps. Personally, designing with widgets in Flutter is really simple and faster. Opponent of flutter that is React native by Facebook is also good but flutter is faster, easier. Flutter has a extremely fast performance on start-up.
Also, to designing faster, there is a feature called hot reload that is refresh your design quickly. So you don’t have to build your app after you made a change to design codes.
Some developers prefers react native because of Google’s disabling habit like Google+ and angular.js.
Most popular apps with Flutter: Realtor, Some tencent apps, Google Assistant
A code block from Dart:
int fib(int n) => (n > 2) ? (fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)) : 1;
// this is a fibonacci function implementation with a ternary operator in Dart
// this code shall be read as:
// If int n > 2, return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2);
// otherwise, return int 1 as result
void main() {
print('fib(20) = ${fib(20)}');
}React Native by Facebook
React Native is a javascript framework to create cross-platform mobile apps by Facebook. React Native uses native design unlike Google Flutter’s widget designs.
By comparizing to Flutter, react native is slower but it is still nice. There’re more resources to learn and getting help unlike Google Flutter.
Like Google Flutter’s hot reload, there is a feature called fast refresh that is refreshing the view of app without building.
There are lots of apps by written with React native: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tesla, Bloomberg, Uber, Discord’s mobile apps, Skype, Wix
Example Code Block:
import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';export default class HelloWorldApp extends Component {
render() {
return (
<View style={{ flex: 1, justifyContent: "center", alignItems: "center" }}>
<Text>Hello, world!</Text>
</View>
);
}
}
Conclusion
Personally, I think these all technologies will be part of the future. I didn’t add Xamarin by Microsoft because I don’t think that is not good enough. In Xamarin, there’re no most of api’s you need. It seems that cross-platform frameworks can be used instead of native languages. Cross-platform frameworks means fewer time, less money.
