Jepson Brian Stark Jonathan - Building Android Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript: Making Native Apps with Standards-Based Web Tools

Copyright 2012 Jonathan Stark

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Thanks to mobile phones, we have moved from virtually no one having access to information to virtually everyone having access to the vast resources of the Web. This is arguably the most important achievement of our generation. Despite its overarching importance, mobile computing is in its infancy. Technical, financial, and political forces have created platform fragmentation like never before, and its going to get worse before it gets better.

Developers who need to engage large and diverse groups of people are faced with a seemingly impossible challenge: How do we implement our mobile vision in a way that is feasible, affordable, and reaches the greatest number of participants? In many cases, the answer is web technologies. The combination of advances in HTML5 and mobile devices has created an environment in which even novice developers can build mobile apps that improve peoples lives on a global scale.

Googles Android operating system is a compelling addition to the mobile computing space. In true Google fashion, the platform is open, free, and highly interoperable. The development tools are full-featured and powerful, if a bit geeky, and run on a variety of platforms.

Carriers and handset manufacturers have jumped on the Android bandwagon. The market is beginning to flood with Android devices of all shapes and sizes. This is a double-edged sword for developers. On one hand, more devices mean a bigger market. On the other hand, more devices mean more fragmentation. As with the fragmentation in the general mobile market, fragmentation on Android can often be addressed by building apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Im the first to admit that not all apps are a good fit for development with web technologies. That said, I see a lot of apps written with native code that could have just as easily been done with HTML. When speaking to developers who arent sure which approach to take, I say this:

If you can build your app with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you probably should.

Using open source, standards-based web technologies gives you the greatest flexibility, the broadest reach, and the lowest cost. You can easily release it as a web app, then debug and test it under load with thousands of real users. Once you are ready to rock, you can use PhoneGap to convert your web app to a native Android app, add a few device-specific features if you like, and submit to the Android Marketor offer it for download from your website. Sounds good, right?