To build an app for a particular platform, you need to use toolkits provided by that platform’s creator (Apple or Google, for example). Apps built this way — — can take full advantage of the platform’s features, and they can be distributed using the app store. native apps However, to launch on another platform you need to start over, using that platform’s toolkit. An alternative is a — a web site that offers rich user interaction, just like an app. Built using web technologies like HTML, web apps are accessed using a web browser. You can reach every platform by building just one app! web app The downside: web apps can’t access all of a platform’s functionality, like using Bluetooth or running in the background. Meet their love child: the . hybrid app This is a web app hiding inside of a native — basically a tiny browser that only ever shows one web app. wrapper Hybrid frameworks like even offer toolkits that let hybrid apps access many native platform functions. Cordova You write the code just once, but the resulting app can be distributed using the app store on multiple platforms.
