Mobile application development

Mobile application development is the process by which application software is developed for low-power handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants, enterprise digital assistants or mobile phones. These applications can be pre-installed on phones during manufacturing, downloaded by customers from various mobile software distribution platforms, or delivered as web applications using server-side or client-side processing (e.g. JavaScript) to provide an "application-like" experience within a Web browser. Application software developers also have to consider a lengthy array of screen sizes, hardware specifications and configurations because of intense competition in mobile software and changes within each of the platforms.

Execution environments

iOS, Tizen, Android, BlackBerry, webOS, Symbian OS, and Windows Mobile support typical application binaries as found on personal computers with code which executes in the native machine format of the processor (the ARM architecture is a dominant design used on many current models). Windows Mobile can also be compiled to x86 executables for debugging on a PC without a processor emulator, and also supports the Portable Executable (PE) format associated with the .NET Framework. Windows Mobile, Android, HP webOS and iOS offer free SDKs and integrated development environments to developers.

Platform development environment

Each of the platforms for mobile applications also has an integrated development environment, which provides tools to allow a developer to write, test and deploy applications into the target platform environment.

The following table summarizes the elements in each of the development environments.

	Programming language	Debuggers available	Emulator available	Integrated development environment available	Cross-platform deployment	Installer packaging options	Development tool cost
Adobe AIR	Action Script, HTML, CSS, JavaScript	Yes	Yes	Flash Builder, Flash Professional, IntelliJ IDEA	iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, BlackBerry	The native distribution format of each platform	Flash Builder, Flash Professional, IntelliJ IDEA - Commercial licenses available Adobe AIR SDK (command line tool) - Free
Android	Java but portions of code can be in C, C++	Debugger integrated in Eclipse, standalone debugging monitor available	Yes	Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, Project Kenai Android plugin for NetBeans	Android only, because of Dalvik VM, March 2009	apk	Free, IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition - Free
Appcelerator	JavaScript	Yes, in Titanium Studio, currently in beta.	Emulator is available using 3rd party tools	Internal SDK	Android, iPhone; BlackBerry planned	The native distribution format of each platform	Apache 2.0 license, commercial licenses available
Aqua	C, C++, JavaScript	Yes	Yes	Visual Studio, Xcode, Eclipse	Android, BlackBerry Playbook, iOS, Palm/webOS, Samsung bada, Windows Mobile 6.x, Windows Desktop	The native distribution format of each platform	Free & commercial licenses available
BlackBerry	Java	Debugger integrated in IDE	Yes	Eclipse, BlackBerry JDE	BlackBerry only, because of RIM API	alx, cod	Free
BREW	C; the APIs are provided in C with a C++ style interface	Debugger support for the native ARM target code.Can use Visual Studio to debug the x86 testing code	No Emulator for the target ARM code, has a simulator for the x86 testing code	Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Studio 2003 .NET, Visual Studio 2005	Compile for the specific BREW version available on the handset	OTA	Related dev fees typically needed for Brew App Certification - VeriSign annual fee for becoming a certified developer. Realview ARM compiler for BREW (the free GNU C/C++ is available, but with limited function and support). TRUE BREW testing fee for distributing the application.
Convertigo Mobilizer MEAP	HTML, CSS, JavaScript	Yes Any web development debugger such as Chrome/Safari or Firefox	Yes Web-based emulator	Eclipse-based IDE, shipped as standalone or Eclipse Plugin	Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile	The native distribution format of each platform	Open Source Affero GPL licence, free Community edition, or subscription-based Enterprise Editions
Corona SDK	Lua	Yes	Yes	Xcode	iOS, Android, NOOK Color	Native deployment for each platform	Free unlimited trial; commercial licenses available for deployment
DragonRAD	Visual drag & drop tiles	Yes	Uses 3rd party emulators	Proprietary IDE	Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile	OTA deployment	Free & commercial licenses available
GeneXus for Mobile and Smart Devices	Knowledge Representation and Declarative Modeling for easy development, then code is automatically generated for each platform	No	Publish in the Cloud, test native in the device (No emulator required)	Proprietary IDE	Android, Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad), BlackBerry and even HTML5 if desired	The native distribution format of each platform and also Cloud/browser-based	Free to try, Commercial and Enterprise licenses available
iOS SDK	Objective-C	Debugger integrated in Xcode IDE	Bundled with iPhone SDK, integrated with Xcode IDE	Xcode, AppCode	iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch	Only via App Store, needs review and approval by Apple Inc.	Apple tools are free for an Intel-based Mac. Simulator testing is free, but installing on a device needs a fee for a developer signing key. AppCode - Commercial licenses available.
iOS SDK	Object Pascal	Debugger integrated in Xcode IDE	Included in Delphi XE2 professional or higher	Embarcadero Delphi XE2	iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch	Only via App Store, needs review and approval by Apple Inc.	Development requires Intel-based Mac besides the IDE on Windows. Design is on Windows, Compilation and deployment has to be done on Mac. Simulator testing is free, but installing on a device needs a fee for a developer signing key
Java ME	Java	Yes	Free emulator, Sun Java Wireless Toolkit, mpowerplayer	Eclipse, LMA NetBeans Mobility Pack	Yes although many VM implementations have device specific bugs necessitating separate builds	Jad/Jar packaging; PRC files under Palm OS	Free
Lazarus	Object Pascal	Yes, can debug in IDE via ActiveSync for Windows CE	Uses the emulators of the platforms	Lazarus IDE, including integrated GUI designer and debugger	Compiled language available for Windows CE, Linux-based devices, SymbianOS port in development	The native distribution format of each platform	Free
Macromedia Flash Lite	ActionScript	Yes	Bundled with IDE	Macromedia Flash MX2004/8, Eclipse	Yes	SIS / CAB deployment or OTA/IR/Bluetooth SWF files	Varies, free but limited with MTASC
Marmalade	C, C++	Yes	Yes	Visual Studio, Xcode	All native: Android, BlackBerry, BREW, iOS (iPhone), Maemo, Palm/webOS, Samsung bada, Symbian, Windows Mobile 6.x and desktop, OSX	The native distribution format of each platform	Commercial licenses available
Meme IDE	MemeScript	Validation is provided in the problems view	Yes, Android emulator can be integrated	Eclipse RCP	Android, Windows Mobile	The native distribution format if each platform	Free for development
Mendix	HTML5, Java	Yes	Yes	Yes, The Mendix App Platform	All platforms, mobile apps are browser-based	Not applicable, Mendix is a Platform as a Service	Commercial licenses available
Metismo	Java	Yes	Yes	Eclipse	Java ME, Android, BREW, BlackBerry, Nintendo DS, iOS (iPhone/iPad), Palm/webOS, Sony PSP, Samsung bada, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, Windows Desktop, OSX	The native distribution format of each platform	Commercial licenses available
MIT App Inventor for Android	Visual blocks-based programming language, with Interface designer	Limited debugging tools built into IDE	Yes	Web-based interface designer, with connection to Java web-start program for blocks programming	Android devices	apk	free
MobiOne by Genuitec	HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, visual drag-n-drop	Yes	Yes	Use any Java IDE for back-end services, integrated MyEclipse soon	iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Android phones and tablets	OTA for device testing and native distribution format of each platform	Trial and Commercial licenses available
Mono for Android	C#	Yes	Yes	Visual Studio 2005 and MonoDevelop	Android	The native distribution format of the platform
MonoTouch	C#	Yes	Yes	Visual Studio 2005 and MonoDevelop	iOS	The native distribution format of the platform
MoSync	C, C++, Lua, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript	Yes	Yes	Eclipse, Visual Studio 2005 and later, MoBuild w/ text editors	Android, Java ME, Moblin, iOS (iPhone), Smartphone 2003, Symbian, Windows Mobile (Pocket PC), Blackberry (experimental)	SIS, CAB, JAD, JAR, APK, OTA deployment	Free, GPL 2.0, Free Indie Subscription; commercial subscription available
Mulberry	HTML5, CSS, JavaScript	Yes	No, 3rd party tools	No, 3rd party tools	Android, iOS, Mobile Web	The native distribution format of each platform, OTA deployment,	Free
.NET Compact Framework	C#, VB.NET, Basic4ppc	Yes	Free emulator, source code available, also bundled with IDE	Visual Studio 2008, 2005, 2003, Basic4ppc IDE	Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Symbian-based devices via third party tools	OTA deployment, CAB files, ActiveSync	Most tools free, but commercial editions of Visual Studio needed for visual designers
NME	haXe (similar to Actionscript and Java)	Yes	Yes	IntelliJ IDEA, FlashDevelop	iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, BlackBerry Playbook, WebOS, HTML5, Flash, Windows (exe), Linux	The native distribution format of each platform	Free
OpenPlug	ActionScript, XML	Yes	Yes	OpenPlug ELIPS plugin for Adobe Flash Builder	Android, iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), Symbian, Windows Mobile	The native distribution format of each platform	Free & commercial licenses available
Palm OS	C, C++, Pascal	Yes	OS 1.0 - 4.1: Free Emulator provided by PalmSource (Access); OS 5.0: - 5.4 Device-specific Simulators provided by Palm (palmOne)	Palm OS Development System (Eclipse), CodeWarrior, PocketStudio, HB++, Satellite Forms	Palm OS handhelds, or Windows Mobile with StyleTap emulator	PRC files, PalmSource Installer (.psi)	Free (POSE or GCC for Palm OS), or commercial (CodeWarrior), or various commercial rapid-development frameworks
PhoneGap	HTML, CSS, JavaScript	Yes	No, 3rd party tools	No, 3rd party tools	iPhone, Android, Tizen, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Symbian, Palm, Bada	The native distribution format of each platform	Apache 2
Python	Python	Yes	Add-on to Nokia Emulator	Several, including plugins for Eclipse	Interpreted language available natively only on Nokia Series60 (and desktops) though ports exist to other mobile platforms, including PalmOS	Sis deployment with py2sis or can use Python Runtime	Free
Qt SDK	C++, QML	Yes	Yes	Qt Creator	Symbian platform, Maemo, MeeGo, Linux, Windows, Mac OS X	The native distribution format of each platform	Free & commercial licenses available
Rhomobile	Ruby with HTML interface features compiled through an interpreter into native applications.	Yes	N/A, applications can run in Win32 runner, or in device emulators for supported platforms.	Xcode or Eclipse, on-demand RhoHub version includes full IDE	Yes, supports iOS (incl. 3.0) on iPhone and iPad, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Mobile Windows 6.0 Standard, BlackBerry 4.6, 4.7, 5.0, 6.0 (BlackBerry 4.2 and 4.5 supported but database access is very slow on these devices), Symbian and Android 1.6 and higher	OTA deployment, iOS through App store, .SIS, .CAB, .APK, .COD	Rhodes is free and open source under the MIT License, RhoSync is under GPL or commercial, Commercial support available. Subscription for RhoHub
Sencha Touch	HTML, CSS, JavaScript	Yes	Yes	Sencha Architect 2	iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, Kindle, BlackBerry, Bada	Web delivered, or hybrid via native shells for each platform	GPLv3, Free Commercial License, Paid OEM and Embedded Systems Licenses
Smartface Platform	Drag-and-drop tools and action editing	No, not needed	Yes	Smartface Designer	Yes: Android, BlackBerry, J2ME, Symbian S60	The native distribution format of each platform	Community licenses available
Stencyl	Drag-and-drop editor based on MIT Scratch, Objective-C	Yes	Yes	Xcode	iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch)	The native distribution format of each platform.	Free and commercial development licenses.
Symbian	C++	Yes	Free Emulator	Many choices	Compile per target	SIS deployment	Commercial and free tools available
Ubuntu Touch	QML, C, C++, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS	Yes	Free emulator	Free command-line tools or Qt Creator, Eclipse	Ubuntu desktop / Web-based app to be available web browser on other platform	Ubuntu OS through App store, Web URL	Development requires Ubuntu desktop 12.04 or later, Free
Unity	C#, JavaScript, Boo, other .NET-based languages	Yes	Remote used to simulate device interaction before app is uploaded to the device.	Unity Editor, also works with Visual Studios and MonoDevelop.	Android, iOS (iPhone/iPad), PC, Mac, desktop browser, XBOX360, PS3, Wii. BlackBerry Playbook, Nokia Symbian, Roku 2 and others available through company's Union program.	The native distribution format of each platform.	Free and commercial development licenses.
ViziApps	WYSIWYG, Graphical Drag and Drop	N/A	Test right in browser or device	Online design studio	Android and iOS devices, Windows Phone 7 planned	N/A	Free to design, test and demo app. Costs to publish an app. Free to update apps.
WebORB Integration Server	C#, VB.NET, Java, PHP, ActionScript, JavaScript, Objective-C, XML	Yes	Uses emulator for corresponding mobile SDKs	Works with Eclipse, Visual Studio, intelliJ IDEA and Amethyst IDE	Android, iOS (iPhone/iPad), BlackBerry Playbook, Windows Phone7	The native distribution format of each platform	Free development licenses; Free and Commercial deployment licenses
webOS	JavaScript, CSS, HTML, C and C++ through the PDK	Yes	Free emulator	Eclipse	webOS, Palm only	OTA deployment, webOS through App store, Web URL, Precentral, .ipk	Free
Windows Mobile	C, C++	Yes	Free emulator (source code available), also bundled with IDE	Visual Studio 2010, 2008, 2005, eMbedded VC++ (free), Satellite Forms	Windows Mobile, Windows FU, Windows CE	OTA deployment, CAB files, ActiveSync	Free command-line tools or eMbedded VC++, or Visual Studio (Standard edition or better)
Windows Phone	C#, Visual Basic, C, C++	Yes	Free emulator, also bundled with IDE	Visual Studio 2012, Visual Studio 2010	Windows Phone	OTA deployment, XAP files

Criteria for selecting a development platform usually contains the target mobile platforms, existing infrastructure and development skills. When targeting more than one platform with cross-platform development it is also important to consider the impact of the tool on the user experience. Performance is another important criteria, as research on mobile applications indicates a strong correlation between application performance and user satisfaction.

Mobile application testing

Mobile applications are first tested within the development environment using emulators and later subjected to field testing. Emulators provide an inexpensive way to test applications on mobile phones to which developers may not have physical access. The following are examples of tools used for testing application across the most popular mobile operating systems.

• Google Android Emulator

It is Android Emulator which is patched to run on a Windows PC as a standalone app without having to download and install the complete and complex Android SDK. It can be installed and Android compatible apps can be tested on it.

• Official Android SDK Emulator

It includes a mobile device emulator which mimics all of the hardware and software features of a typical mobile device (without the calls).

• eggPlant for mobile testing:eggPlant delivers a robotic solution to mobile testing across all operating systems and devices.
• MobiOne

MobiOne Developer is a mobile Web IDE for Windows that helps developers to code, test, debug, package and deploy mobile Web applications to devices such as iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and the Palm Pre.

• TestiPhone

It is a web browser-based simulator for quickly testing iPhone web applications. This tool has been tested and works using Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2 and Safari 3.

• iPhoney

It gives a pixel-accurate web browsing environment and it is powered by Safari. It can be used while developing web sites for the iPhone. It is not an iPhone simulator but instead is designed for web developers who want to create 320 by 480 (or 480 by 320) websites for use with iPhone.iPhoney will only run on Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later.

• BlackBerry Simulator

There are a variety of official BlackBerry simulators available to emulate the functionality of actual BlackBerry products and test how the BlackBerry device software, screen, keyboard and trackwheel will work with application.

• ZAP-fiX for Mobile Application Testing:ZAP-fiX delivers a universal solution to mobile application testing across all operating systems and devices.
• SeeTest from Experitest supports all the major mobile platforms (iOS, Android and Blackberry). It enable element identification using Native / Image and Text recognition. And it comes with integration into platforms like QTP, MSTest, Java/JUnit, Python and Perl.
• Ranorex for Mobile App Test Automation supports object-based test automation of Android, iOS and Windows 8 Apps.

Tools

• eggPlant: A GUI-based automated test tool for mobile application across all operating systems and devices.
• Sikuli: This is a visual technology to automate and test graphical user interfaces (GUI) using images.
• Ranorex: Test automation tools for mobile, web and desktop apps.

Application stores

Several initiatives exist both from mobile vendor and mobile operators around the world. Application developers can propose and publish their applications on the stores, being rewarded by a revenue sharing of the selling price. Most famous is Apple's App Store, where only approved applications may be distributed and run on iOS devices (otherwise known as a walled garden). There are around 7,00,000 iOS Applications available till June 2012. With extraordinary speed Google's Android Market (now known as the "Play Store") counting (at the moment) the 2nd largest number of apps and which are running on devices with Android OS. HP / Palm, Inc have also created the Palm App Catalog where HP / Palm, Inc webOS device users can download applications directly from the device or send a link to the application via a unique web distribution method. Recently, mobile operators such as Telefonica Group and Telecom Italia have launched cross-platform application stores for their subscribers. Additionally, mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia has launched Ovi app store for Nokia smartphones. What is more, some independent companies, namely Amazon Appstore, Aptoide and GetJar, have created their own third-party platforms to reach more users in different locations. The Windows Phone Marketplace is the fastest growing application store in history, with more than 100,000+ apps (including Xbox games) available as of 7-11-2012.

Patents

There are many patents applications pending for new mobile phone apps. Most of these are in the technological fields of Business methods, Database management, Data transfer and Operator interface.

On May 31, 2011, Lodsys asserted two of its four patents: U.S. Patent No. 7,620,565 ("the '565 patent") on a "customer-based design module" and U.S. Patent No. 7,222,078 ("the '078 patent") on "Methods and Systems for Gathering Information from Units of a Commodity Across a Network." against the following application developers:

• Combay
• Iconfactory
• Illusion Labs
• Shovelmate
• Quickoffice
• Richard Shinderman of Brooklyn, New York
• Wulven Game Studios of Hanoi, Vietnam

See also

• List of digital distribution platforms for mobile devices
• Lazy User Model
• Mobile application management
• Mobile business intelligence
• Mobile computing
• Mobile Device Testing
• Mobile enterprise application platform
• Mobile games
• Mobile Marketing
• Multi-channel app development
• V&D Labs, Mobile App Development
• MoSoSo, Mobile Social Software
• On-Device Portal
• WURFL and WALL
• JQuery Mobile
• HTML5