What is a Hybrid Application?
Applications vs Apps
Application is a program or a group of programs that are designed for the end-user. It is a software that is designed to perform various functions.
App is a software that is designed to perform a single function. It contains less functions when compared to the applications. Apps are mostly referred to applications for mobile devices or any other portable devices. It is easy to provide rapid updates for the apps when compared to application as it takes few cycles. Apps are fast and simple to access the data.
Sometimes, applications and apps are used interchangeably.
Web Applications
Web Application is a software that runs on the browsers. It is created using the languages that are understood by the browser such as Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, etc. Thus these applications are to be accessed using the web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, etc. It is easy to develop and takes less time when compared to native APIs. Since web technologies are standardized, they have a consistent behavior across different mobile platforms now-a-days. Web Applications are limited to accessing the features that are supported by the browser only.
Native Applications
Native Application is a program developed for a specific device / platform. These are created using the programming languages that are supported by that device’s operating system (Android -> Java, iOS -> Objective C). Thus these native applications have access to device specific hardware and software features such as Camera, Microphone, GPS etc. To develop a native app, one must know the programming language supported by that specific device.
To bridge this gap between the native and web application, HYBRID APPLICATION was created.
Hybrid Applications
Hybrid application has cross-platform compatibility along with the access to the device features. This approach involves creating native apps with the help of code written in HTML, CSS, JavaScript standards (Web Technologies). Hybrid Applications are hosted inside a native application that utilizes a mobile platform’s Web View. Thus, Hybrid Applications can access the device capabilities such as contacts, camera, etc.; which are often restricted to use from the mobile browsers. It is also easy to develop the applications for any platforms as it uses the basic web technologies instead of device specific programming languages.
References
Wikipedia
Essentials of PhoneGap
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