Developer toolbox for native mobile app development

To do a good job, you need to have the right set of tools. The same is true for developing quality functional apps. It doesn't matter whether you're an experienced developer or just starting out. In this article, we've selected the tools that we have found helpful in developing native mobile apps here at Dactyl Group. We look at universal tools that are practical for both major platforms, as well as specific tricks when creating Android and iOS apps. Join us as we dive into the sensational world of native mobile applications!

Important tools for both platforms

• SourceTree

SourceTree is a graphical Git version control client that supports the management of repositories hosted on various platforms such as GitHub, GitLab or BitBucket.

The company behind this provider of a user-friendly environment for visualizing, tracking, or managing code changes is Atlassian. SourceTree enables branch management, branch creation, change history tracking and merging.

Users can utilize all functions directly from the user interface! You can see uncommitted changes in SourceTree, and the ability to stash them right away is also perfect.

Stashing? What's that?

It is a process that temporarily puts aside currently uncommitted changes to achieve a clean state for new work or a move to another branch. This is useful, for example, when you have a functionality under development but suddenly need to move on to developing something else.

Instead of creating a commit with incomplete changes, you simply stash the changes. When everything is ready, you can easily retrieve the saved adjustments and finish the job by versioning with all the necessary changes.

• Figma

Who doesn't know Figma? The famous cloud-based design and collaboration tool is popular among designers and teams that are working on creating user interfaces for web and mobile applications. 

Naturally, when we mention the cloud, it means that users don't have to install anything, and all their projects are available online. This approach allows designers to work on projects from any device, thus offering seamless and efficient real-time collaboration.

Figma allows you to create interactive prototypes that are useful, for example, when demonstrating navigation within an application. You can run such prototype directly on your phone and simply switch between screens. 

• Apiary

Today, almost every application needs REST API integration. Apiary is therefore a great tool for mobile app developers who need to understand API design perfectly. 

This handy tool provides a clear and understandable interface for each API endpoint. Users can find supported methods, required parameters or expected response formats there. App developers can quickly understand how to work with the API, even without in-depth knowledge of its design. 

The interface also includes clear text documentation. With Apiary, you can promptly identify and remove potential bugs before implementation, minimizing the risk of incorrect integration and increasing the quality of the mobile apps you create.

• Postman

We'll stay with APIs for a while. Postman is another great tool that makes it easy to connect mobile apps to an API. 

Postman allows users to test individual API endpoints simply and intuitively. With its help, you can verify that the API responds correctly to different requests.

The graphically user-friendly interface is a joy to work in. Just:

• enter the URL of the endpoint,
• choose the method,
• you can set individual parameters,
• send your request.

...and you can immediately test to see if the endpoint responds as expected.

• Firebase

Google's Firebase is a popular mobile and web app development platform. It offers many useful features and tools for developers to make their work faster and easier. 

The most used Firebase tools include:

• Crashlytics: An useful tool for remote detection of application crashes.
• Realtime Database: NoSQL database (hosted in the cloud) that allows you to store and synchronize data in real time across different clients.
• Authentication: Secure and easy-to-use authentication services for users to log in with email, password or via Google and Facebook.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM): Simple implementation of push notifications and in-app messaging offers reliable cross-platform notification delivery.
• Analytics: Provides detailed information about user behavior, engagement and retention.
• Performance Monitoring: Monitors application performance, but also identifies and fixes issues affecting UX.
• App Distribution: Distribution of test versions of an app before its official release. You can provide Android apps to testers even if you don't have a developer account in the Google Play Console.

• Localise

If you're developing a native app for Android and iOS at the same time and want to support multiple languages, you'll appreciate Localise. 

Localise is a cloud-based translation and localization management platform that helps developers and teams simplify the collaboration and localization process for applications and websites.

The advantage of the service is the ability to work with different file formats such as JSON, XML or YAML. It effortlessly gives you tremendous flexibility in various types of projects.

Android Tools

• Android Studio

Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android application development, which offers developers several advantages. The Studio is designed to simplify and optimize the entire development process.

The main advantage of Android Studio is its robust support for the Android platform and integration with official tools and APIs. Developers can appreciate a wide range of tools for building, debugging, and testing apps.

The studio itself offers comprehensive features like:

• tools for visual user interface design,
• powerful code editor with code completion and refactoring,
• dependency management options.

Developers can create apps for a variety of devices - including smartphones, tablets, TVs and other Android devices.

The environment also provides integration with Android Emulator, which allows you to test apps on different versions of Android and various devices without the need for a physical device. This makes it easier to detect and resolve issues related to app display and performance.

• LeakCanary

LeakCanary is an open-source library designed to detect and monitor memory leaks in Android applications. The library is packed with system-wide knowledge and makes it easy for developers to find the causes of specific leaks. 

Its main advantage is easy integration into the project by adding dependencies in the configuration file (build.gradle). Once integrated, the library can automatically detect memory leaks throughout the application.

The library quickly generates notifications that, when clicked, show more detailed information about the problem. This allows developers to quickly intervene and resolve memory issues. Memory leaks are common in Android app development, and LeakCanary is the perfect tool to fix them.

• JUnit

JUnit is an excellent tool for unit-testing Android apps and has several benefits.

A simple and consistent test writing style allows you to create test cases efficiently and legibly. With integration into developer tools (such as Android Studio), JUnit is easily accessible, and offers fast test execution and intuitive navigation between code and tests. 

Parameterizable tests allow you to test different scenarios and ensure the robustness of the application to different input values. JUnit is an invaluable tool for all developers seeking to ensure the quality of their code and applications.

• Espresso

We'll discuss testing a little longer. Espresso is a popular UI testing tool for Android apps.

Its emphasis on testing interactions with the application makes Espresso an ideal tool for verifying that the UI is working properly. With a simple and intuitive API, it provides a robust environment for automated UI tests, as well as writing them quickly.

Espresso also supports parallel and distributed test execution, making the entire process faster and more efficient. In short, it's a versatile and powerful UI testing tool that shouldn't be missing from your Android arsenal.

iOS Tools

• Xcode

Xcode is a complex integrated development environment (IDE) by Apple for developing applications for macOS, iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Important components of Xcode include the Interface Builder editor with features such as drag-and-drop to quickly create user interfaces.

In addition, Xcode includes a powerful debugger that helps fix bugs in the code. The debugger supports breakpoints, stepping, and profiling tools for better optimization. Another key feature is integration with versioning systems like Git.

The integration of the XCTest testing framework, which lets you write unit and performance or UI tests for your applications, is practical too. It also includes various classes and methods for building and executing tests.

Xcode brings the Instruments suite of tools for performance analysis. Last but not least, an iOS simulator is available for testing apps on different devices and operating systems without the need for physical hardware.

• TestFlight

TestFlight by Apple is a platform with tools for testing and distributing beta versions of iOS apps.

A huge plus is the ability to distribute beta versions of apps to real devices without having to publish them to the App Store. You can collect feedback from real users before the app is officially launched.

Another advantage is easy integration with Xcode and other Apple tools. This means you can upload your beta versions to TestFlight directly from Xcode and then track or manage the distribution.

TestFlight opens the door to rapid feedback and iterative development - developers can react to issues and add new features in short intervals. The platform also offers detailed statistics, information, and other informative metrics. Most importantly... this tool is completely free!

• CocoaPods

CocoaPods is a dependency manager for iOS, with a focus on Swift or Objective-C projects, which simplifies the process of managing external libraries and dependencies in iOS projects.

CocoaPods offers a centralized way to add, manage and update external libraries when working on projects. Developers no longer need to manually download and integrate library source code but can simply define the required dependencies in a configuration file (Podfile).

Another advantage is the active community and the huge number of publicly accessible libraries. You can effortlessly add functionality or solutions to your projects while benefiting from access to proven and standardized solutions from other developers.

We hope that our developer toolbox for native apps has broadened your horizons. Do you have more questions? Need help with developing a mobile or web native app?

Well, you've come to the right place. Let us know for sure!