TPDP Episode #2: Picking the Right Mobile Development Technology for Your Needs

In this episode of The Polyglot Developer Podcast I discuss the differences between native and hybrid mobile application development and my experience in both. Episode #2: Picking the Right Mobile Development Technology for Your Needs covers quite a bit and is broken into the following four sections:

1. My background as a mobile application developer
2. What is native mobile application development
3. What is hybrid mobile application development
4. How do you choose between the two types of mobile application development

This podcast episode is heavily based on my opinion, but I try to keep it honest based on my experience as a developer.

Fill Empty Space With UI Elements Using The NativeScript GridLayout

So recently I found myself needing to create a screen in a NativeScript Android and iOS app that had a ListView that sat below, or above, a Label UI element. The problem I faced was that there were issues with element sizing. On my first attempt I ended up with a Label and ListView that only took up a small portion of the screen, when I wanted the ListView to take up all remaining space. This is where the GridLayout comes in with its ability to have custom row and column sizing.

Using a GridLayout you can specify how rows and columns are fit around the screen.

Creating a Real Time Chat Application with Ionic and Socket.io

Have you ever wanted to build a mobile real-time chat application? Previously I demonstrated how to build a real-time chat application using the CEAN web stack using Socket.io. This is essentially part two to that tutorial.

We’re going to take a look at what it takes to create a chat application using Socket.io and the mobile web framework Ionic 2.

Use The Android Palette Class With NativeScript

I’m a big fan of Material Design, the ripple (ink) effect and the use of color are my favorites. According to the Material Design spec in regards to color:

Color in material design is inspired by bold hues juxtaposed with muted environments, deep shadows, and bright highlights. Material takes cues from contemporary architecture, road signs, pavement marking tape, and athletic courts. Color should be unexpected and vibrant.

The other day I wanted to change the action bar color to style with a user’s profile picture. Since there is no way to guess what color the picture is going to be, the Palette class and its methods to extract colors from the image were exactly what I needed.

My Experience Developing with Ionic Framework

I’ve been developing with Ionic Framework since it was beta at the beginning of 2014. Since then I’ve published two applications and done other things that I cannot talk about due to non-disclosure agreements that I’ve signed over the years.

I wanted to take the time to do something that I should have done after my first year, but never got around to. I want to share my experience with using Ionic Framework so anyone who reads this can get a rough idea about what they’re getting themselves into with the platform.

Determine Network Availability In An Ionic Mobile App

Continuing to freshen up my popular Ionic Framework tutorials in preparation for the release of Ionic 2, I figured it was time to revisit how to determine network availability in an application. Previously I showed how to check for a network connection using Ionic Framework 1, but this time it makes sense to do the same using Ionic 2.

We’ll use the same Apache Cordova Network Information plugin from the previous tutorial, but this time we’ll evaluate how to use it with Angular.

Make HTTP Requests In An Ionic Android And iOS App

Anyone looking to build a mobile application is going to find themselves needing to make HTTP requests to some remote web service at some time. It is just how the modern web and modern app development process is now. Previously I had demonstrated how to make HTTP requests in an Ionic Framework 1 application, but since Ionic 2 is all the rage right now, we’re going to switch gears and see how it is done in the latest framework version.

The bulk of this tutorial will be demonstrating how to make these web service requests in Angular since it is fairly different from the first AngularJS version.