Cider - The Rise of Cross-Platform Mobile App Platform Development
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Cider is a mobile application platform that allows anyone to develop cross-platform mobile apps using a combination of C++ and JavaScript code. Students from Columbia University s Department of Computer Science and School of Engineering have developed Cider, an open-source compatibility layer that allows them to run any iOS application on an Android device. The six students responsible for the project demoed Cider on an iPhone, which is capable of running all kinds of iOS apps right alongside popular Android apps. One of the challenges they face was developing a cross-platform mobile app that runs both efficiently and consistently on Android devices. The team overcame this issue by integrating Cider with an Android app called Android Central, which allows users of both devices to install a Cider plugin and browse through its visual display editor.
While it's still early days for the BlackBerry and Android ecosystems, there are already a number of cross-platform mobile apps available in both Google Play and Apple's app stores. However, Cider isn't quite ready to run on these yet. A group of Columbia University students has already developed a prototype Android app using the Cider open source software stack, and the students plan on releasing an early version of their app this summer. By leveraging the Cider software stack, which provides a model-based engine to create cross-platform applications, they hope to provide a platform for Android developers as well as independent mobile application developers to build a variety of applications with native code and use the Cider engine to compile it for optimal performance.
Google's Android operating system compatibility architecture makes it easier for organizations like Columbia University to ship their iOS apps as smoothly as possible. However, Apple's own ios apps have hit a snag recently, largely due to problems with its Safari browser. Although there's no clear indication yet that the company will ditch Safari, Cider developers speculate that the company may decide to kill off its iOS software. With the recent acquisition of Neograft, a major cosmetic surgeon firm, by Apple it seems more likely that the company is gearing up for a full wipeout of its competitor. If Cider is able to continue to develop state of the art cross-platform mobile apps that stay updated with Apple's updates, it may be able to survive the rivalry between two powerful companies.
