Hi, I'm running out of gas here and there are only few places I trust for worthy advice, WebmasterWorld is one of those few. The rest of the web is mostly full of suggestions not even the authors have tried, and often filled with "I think that would work" disguised by "sure, it must work".
I want to create a mobile APP (Android / iOS) due to a project I have in mind, learning a new language does not scares me, it wouldn't be the first time I have to learn something from scratch in order to create a piece of software because of limited circumstances, sure, I would love to use what I already know but life is life, so I can accept challenges.
The app will involve:
- Menus (obviously)
- Displaying information & pictures
- A map with places nearby the current location
- Downloading information from my server to feed what I just described
- That's pretty much it
I can easily do this with Apache Cordova or any similar flavor tool, but I don't want to, as these things are just html wrappers and you can easily unpack the app and see all the source code. Protection by obscurity is not protection, so no: I don't want people seeing the source code, specially because the app would require server information access.
Yes I used Mosync in the past, but it died many years ago.
Yes I could do this Apache Cordova, but there are lots of bugs (yes, perhaps you didn't know).
Yes I was already building something on Telerik, but Telerik died.
Yes, I could do this with Intel CrossWalk but it died. I thought being Intel these "dying" thing wouldn't happen: surprise!, dead too.
Yes, Monaca sort of took over Telerik (long story), but I'm not sure how long this would remain alive.
Yes, the same happened with other similar tools.
Yes, I could do it with similar tools still alive, but as said: anyone would see the source code easily.
Yes, Adobe Air WAS an option, but it's dying (dead).
Yes, Rhomobile... yeah dead too.
and yes, Titanium appcelerator...
And yes to "whatever.io", had an account with them and started to like it but also died.
CoronaLabs was my choice but they also died and turned into open source Solar2D and I'm not sure how long this would remain alive.
I spent time with those tools mentioned above, only to find that I wasted it, all of that was wasted time.
Xamarin (using Visual Studio) doesn't really sound stable after reading so many complains, issues posted on forums, etc, I do understand these repeats similar issues of MonoDevelop, both tools had Icaza involved, and it's not exactly how it's sold online. Yet, it's still one of my considered options.
Been reading and researching about React Native and Angular, these are probably the strongest options, but I do hate to find tons of testimonials on how simple things that should work: don't. I hate having to download tons of gigabytes and while still following the tutorials or procedures step by step... many things can or will fail. I'm not a big fan of such lack of stability (it's a thing unless you haven't seen it), and also, I don't like how simple upgrades can break your system. I created complex apps in the past both for desktop, web and server with known languages (even having to learn a new one) and I didn't face such things like an update and a new version breaking compatibility, or having commands being deprecated in short periods of time, I don't want to keep reinventing the wheel over and over, I just want it to work.
Yes, I know Android Studio and Xcode, each one on their side sound like another option, but I do hate Android Studio (ok, I could tolerate it), but already had bad experiences with Xcode where suddenly a fully working project stops working after a simple Xcode update breaking all your stuff, in case you are not aware of this check the web and you will find tons of complains.
Yes I know Pascal, so, Lazarus (Free Pascal) was also considered, yes you can build mobile apps with that, but when you dive on the topic you find stuff like "you must use 1.1.1.2 instead of 1.1.1.0" or else nothing will work", "x stuff only works with specific versions, don't update", etc. Yes, also checked Python, but you eventually face the same issues and also needing Xcode.
Creating mobile apps involves a VERY FRAGILE environment. My intention and goal is to create an app, not to debug an entire ecosystem. What I mean is I can download and install Visual Studio (just an example) and start working, compile and then distribute, but on the mobile world very often you download, install, and then face a lot of issues because suddenly some things won't work, and you find yourself solving a lot of issues that have nothing to do with your app.
When you develop an app, your work should involve 100% of challenges around the app coding, not around solving the tool inconsistencies. I don't want to waste so much time on something that would require less sacrifices. Yes I also have a Macbook, but this doesn't exactly solves the issues.
I hate to say this, but during discussions, most conversations end when people tell me advice and I ask them if they already developed an app and what the used, most... want to have a say but have zero experience about it.
I'm starting to really consider Flutter (after lots of research), but the stories of "everything was fine until..." and then "nothing worked" are to be considered, same for the stories of people sharing how following the documented procedures went nowhere. I know I'm probably alone on this boat, but it's worth asking.
