A. Introduction to Mobile Applications Development

• Mobile Operating System


  An operating system (OS) built exclusively for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, PDAs, etc.
• Mobile Operating System


  • Similar to a standard OS (like Windows, Linux, and Mac) but is relatively simple and light
  • Primarily responsible for defining mobile device features and functions including keypads, application synchronization, and text messaging
• Android


  A mobile OS created by Google
• Windows Phone


  A mobile OS developed by Microsoft Corporation
• Blackberry OS


  A mobile OS exclusive to Blackberry phones
• Symbian OS


  A discontinued mobile OS last used by Nokia for their smartphones
• Benefits of Mobile Applications

  • Convenience - Access and share information anytime, anywhere, without internet connection
  • Interactivity - Touch-based user input beyond clicking and typing
  • Personalization - User can change app settings based on preferences
  • Speed - No waiting for slow internet connection, information stored within app
  • Productivity - Write, read, present reports, manage multimedia, share on social sites
• Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)


  A programming environment packaged as an application program
• Android Studio


  The official IDE for Android app development
• Xcode


  The IDE for creating apps for iPhone and iPad, uses the Swift programming language
• Visual Studio


  A fully-featured extensible IDE for creating modern applications for Windows, Android, and iOS
• Official IDEs for Mobile OSes

  • Android Studio
  • Xcode
  • Visual Studio
• Factors to Consider in Mobile App Development

  • Platforms and Device Compatibility
  • Screen Size
  • User Interaction
  • Screen Density
  • Phone Function Integration
  • Resource Management