Mobile Platforms And Apps Cross-Platforms Development Tools

Apps are the new model of application software that originally developed for the software distribution to mobile devices, is emerging also in the other categories of devices. User finds the apps in a custom website called the store, whereas apps in the form of an auto-installing software package can be downloaded freely or after paying a fee, and easily installed and configured. The mobile platform environment shows a plethora of systems considering the large number of mobile hardware and software manufactures. The apps regardless of the type of category they belong (i.e., social, educational, games), are distinguished in native, web or hybrid apps depending on the tools and technologies used to develop. The paper analyzes mobile operating systems from a software developer perspective focusing on cross-platforms tools in order to propose actual and future platforms where to deploy apps. The work is part of a research aimed at designing and developing apps for science outreach and education. The selection of mobile platforms target influences the tools needed to develop apps. Cross-platforms development tools allow greater distribution to different platforms, but have some limitations and cannot be the only methodology adopted. The choice of mobile development framework depends both on the type of the app and the mobile platform.