Why I decided to go native

So recently I have been hearing all about JavaScript and how it is the future of the web and everything to ever exist in existence and everything else is crap.

Well, I’ve decided that’s crap. JavaScript is great in its place. But honestly its place is not in mobile development. Maybe one day with things like React Native coming, but for now native to me is the only way to go. I’ve spent some time learning JavaScript and have found it is great and does a lot of great things, but truth is, it’s very overwhelming. Everything you read, learn this framework, that one sucks and this one is the future. Then you hear that this new framework will end …. [enter technology here]. But I’ve noticed a trend with all of these fads in tech. They are all short lived. Everything in the Android world always falls back to Java. No matter what happens. Google is supporting that and when it’s the native language for that entire platform it’s going to be really hard to beat it out. Even if you come up with some JavaScript framework that will compile down to the mobile platform’s native language, the device still runs on the same language. So the best performance you will ever get is through the device’s native language.

There is a constant battle with using frameworks to replace the native language, always another plug in to fix this problem or create a work around for another problem. But with native, you write for how the platform was designed to run. You get the full effect of the platform. So I am starting my journey with Android development and when I build up enough money to purchase a Mac, I will begin my journey on to iOS.

You see I have this plan of building a platform called Trading Tap. An all in one resource for traders to access to research and educate themselves about the stock market. And with using some framework to build some half-ass app I would tarnish the reputation of the platform before I even get it off the ground. Mobile is the future no doubt in my mind, but digging for a substitute is not. Frameworks will come and go, but native is here for the long haul. I wish two years ago I wouldn’t have fallen into the trap of JavaScript everything and started with native, my platform would already be up and running and out there for the world to see and use.

My point is, don’t waste time with work arounds. You will find yourself going back and learning everything the way it was intended. It might feel like the longer path, but learning from the ground up has a much more satisfying view from the top.