Types of Applications
From Quantum Visualizer 7.3, you can create several different types of digital application projects.
You can create, build, and deploy applications using various approaches. At one extreme, you can use a given platform’s native SDK, while at the other extreme, you can use traditional web technologies. And in between these extremes, you can use a combination of the two. The build and deployment modes available in Quantum Visualizer are as follows:
- Native. Representing one extreme, these applications reside on the device, where all the forms and user interface (UI) definitions of the widgets are packaged along with the application.
- Hybrid. These applications are a variant of native applications, where the layout, rather than being rendered by native SDK widgets, is rendered using a native shell provided by the respective platforms (WKWebView for iPhone and WebView for Android). The native SDK is invoked only for native device features like Camera, Contacts, and so on. Hybrid applications are supported only on the iPhone and Android platforms.
- Desktop Web. These run on a desktop web browser. The supported browsers include Firefox 3.6 and above, Internet Explorer 8 and above, Safari, and Chrome. Desktop Web applications can only be built for JavaScript projects.
The characteristics of each of the application types are summed up in the following table.
| Characteristics | Application Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Native | Hybrid | Desktop Web | |
| Is available as a natively deployable package (.app , .apk, .bar, .xap, and .ipa) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Uses the native widgets, such as the title bar, application menu, ListView, TableView, Search bar, and so on. | Yes | No | No |
| Has access to native device functions like GPS, Camera, Contacts, Accelerometer, Encryption libraries (and thousands of other native SDK functions) | Yes |
Yes Native SDK functions are accessed using JavaScript bindings. |
Yes |
| Can be distributed through the app stores (Apple App Store and Google Play) | Yes | Yes | No |
| UI elements (forms, images, and internationalization content) are packaged along with the application | Yes | Yes | No |
| Server access only for downloading data | Yes | Yes | |