Web-based mobile apps are quite popular today. Let us remind you that such mobile applications do not require installation and manual updating as they run on a web server. As a result, users interact with a remote server via a web browser. One of the main reasons why many business owners opt for web-based apps is the fact that this software, unlike native apps, will work on a wide range of devices running on different operating systems.
We have already taken a closer look at the benefits that apps of this type can offer you in one of our previously published articles. That’s why if you want to learn more, please, follow the link. In this article, we are going to explain what tools you can use for building this type of software.
Embarcadero tools for web-based app development
For more than two decades of its existence, Delphi, which is currently maintained and developed by Embarcadero, has been known as a perfect option for the simple and fast programming of Windows apps. However, today the range of cases when Delphi can be of great use is much wider, especially if we take into account numerous modern tools that are available to programmers today. And one of the spheres where Delphi can be efficiently applied today is the development of web-based mobile apps, including PWAs.
And one of these Embarcadero tools that we’d like to start with is TMS WEB Core. The possibility to create modern web-based mobile apps with it appeared in early 2018. Using this tool, Delphi developers build advanced apps that fully run in web browsers as they are translated into JavaScript.
TMS Web Core can be installed in different versions of Delphi starting from Delphi XE7. It is also compatible with Microsoft Studio Visual Code.
It does not require any specific web servers as apps contain JavaScript, HTML and CSS files. Such files can be processed by any modern web server without any issues.
Building and launching apps with TMS Web Core, you can be sure that it will be extremely easy to use them and execute in any browser without additional plugins or something else like that.
The UniGUI framework offers a new experience and a new level of simplicity for web app developers. It provides a set of unique visual components that help to build, design and debug web applications in the integrated development environment. Each component that is offered in this framework has the same functionality as its analogue in Delphi VCL which ensures a convenient IDE that looks and feels very similar to the native VCL app development. As a result, developers won’t spend much time on learning and getting accustomed to the interface.
UniGUI presupposes the possibility to deploy apps to a server with the help of such options available as ISAPI Module, Windows Service or Standalone Server.
With UniGUI, developers can focus directly on business logic and not concentrate only on the details of the app development process itself. Using this framework, it is possible to significantly reduce the time needed for the development and deployment and, as a result, cut down costs. UniGUI can become a perfect option for both small and large teams.
Intraweb is a framework and a component set that allows developers to create interactive websites with the help of Delphi, Kylix, JBuilder and C++ Builder. With all its capacities, it offers a new way to create web apps much easier and faster. Developers even do not need to have any knowledge of HTML or JavaScript to create web apps with this framework. The work with its tools is based on a drag and drop approach.
In general, the process of building apps with IntraWeb is quite similar to the process of creating GUI apps with Borland’s RAD tools. IntraWeb and regular GUI applications presuppose the same basic design method for the UI. Though IntraWeb forms and components are not just the same as their VCL counterparts, they have similar names and are arranged similarly as well.
One more option for building web-based mobile apps with Embarcadero tools is to use the combination of FireMonkey + WebBrowser components.
FireMonkey applies the Web Browser component as TWebBrowser. TWebBrowser can be used in web, desktop as well as mobile apps.
Why use Embarcadero tools?
Just like any other tool, Embracadero tools for building web-based mobile apps have their advantages and disadvantages. However, the main benefit of using them is that work with them is based on easy-to-understand principles that are usually already well-known to investors. And the fact that programmers do not need to spend a lot of time on getting used to them is one of the factors that helps to reduce development time and costs.
Let’s take a look at some other tools that can be used for building such apps.
- React Native: It is a popular framework that is widely used for creating web-based mobile applications offered by Facebook. Developers like this framework for the programming language that is used – JavaScript which is very fast to code in it. Among the disadvantages, we can name poor documentation, limitations in working with third-party components and instability in functioning. Moreover, everything is quickly evolving in this technology and developers constantly have to re-learn how to use it in their work.
- Flutter: It is another popular option for creating apps of this type. This open-source framework is provided by Google. It ensures a comparatively fast development and has proper documentation. However, it is still not very mature as well as the programming language (Dart) that should be used in it. As Flutter and Dart are changing quickly, it makes it rather difficult to support and maintain apps in the long term. Moreover, if you have a complex software project, it may become a real challenge for you to build it with Flutter as there are still not a lot of materials on it that can be used as guidelines.
- Xamarin: It is a framework that can be used for building web-based apps and that is based on the Microsoft technology stack. It was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 and was integrated into the .NET platform. It uses the C# language which is already mature and the code written in it is protected from unexpected behavior. Apps can be easily maintained which is a huge plus. But this platform is rather expensive for developers to use it and there are not many professionals who work with this tool. So, it can make it very difficult for you to find specialists who will support and modernize your app in the future.
Of course, it is far not the full list of all the tools available today. There are numerous options for those who want to build a web-based mobile app. And there isn’t a solution that will be suitable in all cases. Before choosing a tool that we are going to use in this or that case, we always consider a great number of factors that already have influence or will have it in the future.
If you think about building a web-based mobile app or you already have such an application and now want to add some features or need to update it, you should know that the Softacom team will always be ready to help you.
