What is a Hybrid Application?
A hybrid application allows you to develop mobile apps based on web technologies: HTML + CSS + Javascript. They are like any other application that you can install through the Apps stores for each system, so in principle end users will not perceive the difference with respect to other types of different approaches, such as native applications.
When running with web technologies, developers who already have experience in development in this medium can take advantage of their knowledge to launch themselves in a faster way in the development of Apps for mobiles. To make this possible, hybrid applications run in what is called a "web view", which is nothing more than a kind of browser integrated into the mobile and in which only the hybrid App runs.
Hybrid applications are interesting for several reasons:
• With the same code base, they will be able to compile apps to work correctly on a large number of mobile or tablet operating systems. Generally it will be enough that the app works on iOS and Android, but Ionic is able to compile other systems such as Windows Phone.
• The development cost is significantly lower, since it is not necessary to have several development teams for each specific language of each platform.
• The development time is also less, since it is only necessary to build the application once and immediately we will have it in all the platforms to which we are going.
• It is easier to adapt for developers who come from the web.
But all are not advantages, we can also list some disadvantages in relation to native applications (those built with the languages of each system, Java for Android and Swift / Objective-C for iOS): • The performance of a native application is usually better than that of a hybrid, although hybrids have improved a lot in this regard.
• When running on a web view, we depend on the technologies available for web development, which may be less rich and powerful than those available in the native language.
• In native applications we work directly with the phone's hardware, while in hybrid applications we rely on plugins for access. This can lead to problems, but fortunately they are fewer and fewer.
