In case you know web development but are entering the mobile sphere for the first time, Cordova offers to deploy those abilities in iOS and Android application creation as well as such resources.
Introduction to Apache Cordova
Cordova is an open-source mobile engineering framework that originated from Nitobi and is now controlled by Apache Software Foundation . It allows HTML, CSS and JavaScript to be wrapped into mobile app packaging to deliver to the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or any other market.
Cordova apps execute within wrappers targeted to each platform, relying on standards-compliant web views to render the UI. This allows accessing device capabilities like the camera or accelerometer via JavaScript.
Key Cordova Benefits
- Write once, deploy to many platforms using web languages
- Access native device features via plugins
- Active community with a robust plugin ecosystem
- Free, open-source, and cross-platform
Important Aspects of Apache Cordova Framework
Single Code Base:
One of the benefits of Cordova is that it has made it possible to construct apps for various mobile OS such as iOS, Android, and Windows phones using one codebase from writing using web technology like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This allows huge code reuse and maintainability benefits.
App Templates
Cordova offers starter app templates to bootstrap development for different platforms. Templates include working boilerplate code with a default Cordova project structure to simplify getting started.
Variety of Development Tools
Cordova is not limited to a single IDE. Developers have the freedom to deploy any tool of their choice regarding IDEs or text editors like Visual Studio Code, Atom, Sublime Text, WebStorm, Xcode or Android Studio for Cordova app development. So you can use existing web dev tools you are comfortable with.
The Cordova framework streamlines cross-platform mobile development using familiar web languages with the ability to access native device APIs still and distribute through the major app stores.
Requirements
To start Cordova development, you'll need:
- Basic web dev knowledge (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
- Node.js installed (to install Cordova command line tools)
- For each target platform:
- iOS: Xcode
- Android: Android Studio
- Windows: Visual Studio
- etc.
Getting Started with Cordova
Install Cordova CLI:
- npm install -g cordova
Create a Cordova project:
- cordova create hello com.example.hello HelloWorld
Add platforms like iOS and Android:
- cordova platform add ios
- cordova platform add Android
Modify the web code in www (index.html, .js files, etc.)
Build and run the app:
- cordova build
- cordova run ios
- cordova run android
Adding Cordova Plugins
Cordova plugins provide access to core native device capabilities. To add a plugin:
- cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-camera
You can now call navigator.camera.getPicture() in JavaScript.
Popular plugins include camera, geolocation, barcode scanner, SQLite, contacts, calendar, and more.
Distributing Cordova Apps
Use the SDK platform tools like Xcode or Android Studio to create final binaries for submission to the app stores. Add required icons and splash screens during this process.
The Cordova workflow allows building production-ready native mobile apps powered by web technology!