5 Reasons JavaScript Is Crucial for Mobile App Development
Since the popularity of mobile apps is snowballing, the demand for finding a practical and fast solution to create and update them is more than necessary.
In recent years, JavaScript has become one of, if not the leading programming language for mobile app development. Apps like Facebook, Netflix, and PayPal are just a few popular service platforms that run on this programming language.
It can be used to build webpages and applications and is easily adaptable to different operating systems and platforms. In this article, we will define JavaScript, how you can utilize its features for mobile app development and why it is crucial for mobile web development.
What Exactly Is JavaScript?
JavaScript was primarily created to be a browser-only language for web development. However, because it provides a variety of uses, you can also use it for building other kinds of projects.
Other uses of JavaScript are found in game development, animation, and virtual reality. JavaScript is mainly used for building web and mobile apps and creating them to work on multiple devices and operating systems.
There are three primary reasons why more and more developers use this language:
- It is much simpler than many other programming languages.
- All major browsers support it.
- It can be fully integrated with HTML/CSS.
Why Is JavaScript Crucial for Mobile App Development?
JavaScript is a popular and powerful language widely used for building mobile apps, both web-based and native. Here are the top five reasons we think it is crucial for mobile app development.
1. It Is Used for Both Front-End and Back-End Programming
JavaScript is frequently used by both front-end and back-end developers. It primarily served as a language to create web pages that would work across different platforms, but now it is used for developing desktop apps, server apps, and animations.
Before JavaScript, other programming languages like PHP, Java, and Python dominated front-end development. However, with node.js, full-stack web programming reached its peak – it is a framework in which developers can quickly build web apps using JavaScript.
Because it can be used on both sides of the development process, mobile app development outsourcing has become much more frequent. You can have everything done by one team, saving you a lot of money.
2. It Provides Better UX/UI
When building any program or app, JavaScript quickly handles its visible and invisible features. One of them is an appealing design that provides a better user experience. It can create eye-catching visuals like animations, 3D effects, interactive maps, etc.
Apart from the visuals, JavaScript is useful for responsive web design. Responsive web design is crucial in today’s app development because it means one app can fit into different screen sizes; therefore, you can easily use it on various devices.
3. It Makes App Development Run Quicker and Smoother
The main reason programs written in JavaScript run faster is that JavaScript requires fewer lines of code than other programming languages like Java.
JavaScript is also a scalable language. This means less work on the back-end and less loading time on both web pages and apps. JavaScript is an open-source language easily modified with code based on Android or IOS.
It consumes fewer resources, making it useful when building hybrid apps. Hybrid apps are built to work on different operating systems, but their disadvantage is that they are usually much slower.
JavaScript provides the necessary features to make hybrid webpages look similar to native ones, which are usually much faster and more secure.
4. It Is Easy to Learn
Unlike back-end programming languages that rely heavily on object-oriented programming, JavaScript is an object-based scripting language, eliminating the need to understand concepts such as inheritance and classes.
This might be important to people who want to learn more about mobile web development but need help figuring out where to start. If front-end developers decide to learn more about back-end programming, the transition will be much easier if they are familiar with JavaScript.
Developers and designers alike can quickly learn JavaScript to bring their designs to life with various animations. They could rely entirely on themselves to ensure the final result matched what they imagined.
5. It Supports Various Frameworks
JavaScript programs can be built in different frameworks, depending on what you are trying to create, your experience with mobile or web development, and what suits you the most as a web designer or developer. Here are some of the most popular ones:
NativeScript
NativeScript is a mobile app development framework that provides tools for building native apps in JavaScript. It includes code for IOS and Android systems, free plugins, and templates for creating stunning UI interfaces.
Ionic
Ionic is a user-friendly framework great for building responsive mobile apps. It has a complete app creation kit that enables the apps to be used on other platforms.
It is also compatible with other frameworks and has various elements and features necessary for front-end development.
React Native
The distinctive feature of this framework is that it allows the creation of two applications simultaneously, both for IOS and Android operating systems. It also shares a majority of code with these system’s platforms. It also offers reusable UI components, supports third-party plugins, and is easy to modify.
Apache Cordova
Apache Cordova is an open-source framework. It can help developers turn their web pages into web apps that function as native apps. It has a set of plugins called Core Plugins that make it adaptable and can also help developers expand the use of their projects.
Node.js
Node.js is used in back-end programming, where JavaScript works on the server side of the program. It converts JavaScript code into machine code and uses threads to send the instructions ordered by the client to the server.
React JS
React JS is used for front-end development and web design. It is an excellent tool for creating interactive UI design and uses the web as its platform. It is suitable for designers who understand HTML because this framework can turn HTML into JavaScript.
Vue
Vue is an open-source, front-end framework designed to create appealing UX/UI interfaces and layouts. Like React JS, it is used in web applications.
