Top 10 Cordova Alternatives

This article will provide an overview of Cordova and the best ten alternatives for this cross-platform framework.

This is the era of mobile devices. That is why most people do almost 80 to 90% of their tasks on their phones. It is only possible because of the user-friendly operating systems and interfaces of those mobile phones. Even more, the thing that matters is the mobile application that helps people do all their tasks.

We have seen that in the past few years, the functionalities and the level of convenience mobile applications provide have significantly increased. It is all because of the advancement in the technologies of the tools used to make these applications.

These tools have not added a lot of efficiency in the applications for the users. Still, it has also become straightforward and less time consuming for the developers to develop stunning mobile applications.

One of the primary reasons behind this is that mobile applications are currently built as hybrid web applications that work for different types of mobile devices with different operating systems. This is the reason why the scope of mobile applications has significantly increased.

To make it convenient for the developers, many tools have been made that help them develop hybrid web applications to work cross-platform. However, here we will discuss what Cordova is and what are the top 10 alternatives for Cordova.

Keep reading to know more about the best Cordova alternatives.

What is Cordova?

Relying on platform-specific APIs has been a problem for the developers since the day mobile applications were started to be developed. If the developers used platform-specific APIs, they would have to create different applications for almost every device with another operating system running on it.

This problem was very time-consuming, but it also has significant adverse effects on the developers’ efficiency. This problem is saved with the help of frameworks like Cordova. It allows the developers to make an application that will work on the devices based on different operating systems.

This is achieved by converting the mobile applications that used native APIs to the hybrid web applications that are built using the following languages.

• HTML5.
• CSS3.
• JavaScript.

When the mobile application is built as a hybrid application on these platforms, they can easily run on all the devices working on iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems in the form of one unique code.

Pros of using Cordova

Here are some of the benefits of using Cordova.

• The platform offers quick development of hybrid mobile applications to save a lot of development time.
• You will not have to learn any platform native languages to develop applications.
• The add-ons that can be added with Cordova add a lot of functionality, not the application you develop.

Cons of using Cordova

• The applications made on Cordova might be a little slower if you have to add a lot of data and functionality.
• You might face issues regarding the optimization of applications for different platforms.
• Some necessary plugins are not yet compatible with Cordova.

The Top 10 Alternatives to Cordova

Although Cordova is an excellent platform for building attractive and functional hybrid web applications and mobile applications, some features are still short in it. That is why some people want to switch to different alternatives that have all the features they require and provide them with some additional features.

Here we will have a detailed discussion about the top 10 Cordova alternatives that any developer can use for their unique features.

1.    React Native

React Native is a cross-platform framework given by Facebook to develop stunning and functional mobile applications without any problems quickly, and it is the first choice as a Cordova alternative. 

The main reason behind this framework is that when an application is developed for different operating systems, you either have to be perfect in the native languages or get help from someone expert in that language.

React Native, on the other hand, provides the functionality of creating code for one application and using it for all the platforms without any problems.

Pros of React native.

• This will be a great platform for developing amazing mobile applications if you are looking to make something more focused on the UI.
• This is one of the most used and trusted platforms for creating cross-platform applications.
• The development time for developing applications is very short.
• You can add extra features because of the Third-party library support.

Cons of React Native.

• You will need to use external libraries for adding most of the functionality.
• There are not a lot of testing options.
• Complex to learn for the new developers.

2.     Flutter

Flutter is an open-source framework from Google mobile UI that enables the developers to develop the native applications quickly and efficiently on both the Android and iOS frameworks. Although it allows us to make native applications, this still uses a single codebase that directly compiles the native arm code.

Additionally, Flutter is also a great tool because the applications developed here have the access to the following things.

• GPU.
• Platform API.
• Services

Pros of using Flutter

• The process of developing applications is very fast.
• It is very easy to change things in code and fix bugs immediately.
• Flutter provides the options of fast rendering and full customization.

Cons of using Flutter

• The Dart language is not as mature as some others, and few devs know it.
• Although the applications are native, they do not feel 100% native to the operating systems.
• You will find it very difficult to get any guidelines for developing flutter applications.

3.    Xamarin

Xamarin is a platform that helps developers to make mobile applications for iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems using the .NET framework. The applications made here are modern in terms of appearance, but these applications also perform quite well.

Xamarin manages the communication of shared code for different platforms with an underlying platform code.

Pros of using Xamarin.

• The development cycle is fast because 90% of the source code for different applications’ functionalities can be shared and reused.
• You will see almost no difference between the native application and the applications built here in terms of performance.
• The plugin support makes it support the hardware of different devices, making it perform well and extremely compatible.

Cons of using Xamarin.

• The loading time of the application is a little more than you would expect.
• The interface development process is very time-consuming.
• Some libraries will change the app size for different operating systems making it unpredictable for cross-platform usage.

4.    Ionic Framework

Ionic Framework allows developers to make high-performing mobile, web, and desktop applications because of its integration with Angular and React. It used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the development of these applications.

The cross-platform applications built here are web applications, but they perform like a native application for the operating system.

Pros of using Iconic Framework

• Reduced development costs.
• Easy maintenance because of being cross-platform.
• Fast time to market over different platforms.

Cons of Ionic Framework

• Not the same performance if compared to the native applications.
• Plugin dependent system means that the application size will increase a lot.
• Debugging may be difficult

5.    Phone Gap

Phone gap is another platform that uses frameworks like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to develop cross-platform applications. These applications are hybrid web applications that work fluently on different mobile operating systems.

Pros of using a phone gap

• The applications developed here will have the same appearance for all the operating systems.
• There will be no need to learn complex native languages as all you will be knowledge of developing web applications.
• The apps developed here not only feel like native applications, but they also work like native applications.

Cons of using phone gap

• Performance may not be the same as native
• If you are aimed to build hardware intensive applications, this will not be the best tool for you.
• If you are looking to develop an iOS application, you will need a Mac.

6.    Native Script

Native Script is a mobile cross-platform framework to make iOS and Android apps. It uses the following language for the development of applications.

• JavaScript.
• True Script.
• Angular.
• Vue.js.

Using this framework can get native access for the applications to make them look and perform well.

Pros of using Native Script

• This is a very fast platform as compared to other alternatives.
• The application is compiled down to a native code that makes the application run like a native application.
• This platform has a great community of development on it.

Cons of using Native Script

• The documentation can be improved.
• This tool is easy to use for the experts, but beginners may face many difficulties.
• There is no great support for the users of this framework.

7.    Swift

If you are looking to make a very reliable and well-performing application for Apple devices, then Swift will be the best platform for you. This is a platform that has been used for making applications for Apple devices and Linux devices, so we can say that it is a trusted platform with a good community on it. Additionally, it allows developers to make great applications without adding unnecessary clusters of code to the applications.

Pros of using Swift

• This is a platform that can help you because of its faster development features.
• This platform’s syntax is very simple, and fixing bugs and removing errors will be very easy.
• It is very easy to understand and use for fresh developers.

Cons of using Swift

• This is not compatible with some operating systems and some versions are also not compatible with themselves.
• As it can be used on a limited number of operating systems, the community is not as big as some other platforms.

8.    Android Studio

If you are looking to build mobile Android applications that are native, Android Studio will be the best tool. This tool is the official integrated development environment for developing android applications, which has some great features, like Realtime resource changes and push code.

Pros of Android Studio

• Created by Google
• The debug mode is exceptionally great
• There is a huge community of developers here

Cons of Android studio

• Does not work with Apple devices
• Takes a lot to start even if you have an SSD
• The computer specs needed to run this tool are more than average

9.    Unity

Unity is a platform that is used for building a lot of mobile-based games. As most popular mobile games are built on this platform, it has a great base of developers of games working on it for their projects. Apart from standard mobile games, it also has functionalities for using things like augmented reality and virtual reality.

Pros of unity

• The code for the most stunning games can be written in the easiest C# language.
• The games built on this tool work on almost every platform.
• Compatible for graphics access for providing a great gaming experience.

Cons of unity

• You need to start from scrap, and you cannot use templates.
• If you are looking to edit games with open-world maps and great graphics, you will have to face a lot of lags.
• Not open source

10. Apache Flex

Apache Flex is a platform that can be used a lot beyond just developing mobile applications for iOS and Android devices. It is because it can also develop great blackberry OS. and tablet OS applications.

Pros of Apache Flex

• Open-Source
• The user interface is great.
• There are no issues with using it over different browsers.

Cons of Apache Flex

• Needs good hardware to run smoothly.
• It’s heavy
• Dependency on Flash

Conclusion

This article compared the best ten alternatives to Cordova. For each framework it provided an general overview, advantages and disadvantages of using the technology. Hope it helps to make a good decision and the select the best tools for your project requirements.

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