Cordova apps versus MobileFirst hybrid apps
Discover the similarities and differences between Cordova apps and MobileFirst hybrid apps.
Feature | MobileFirst hybrid app | Cordova app |
---|---|---|
IDE Eclipse Studio | ||
Eclipse plug-in and integration | Yes | Unsupported |
Rich Page Editor | Yes | Unsupported |
Application Components | Yes | Yes Note: Create your own Cordova plug-ins to manage application
components in your organization. For more information, see Apache Cordova Plugin Development Guide.
|
Project Templates | Yes | Yes Note: Create Cordova applications by using the MobileFirst
Platform Command Line Interface when
you create a new app: use the --template argument
or provide the path during interactive mode by using mfp
cordova create.
|
Dojo and jQuery IDE instrumentation | Yes | Yes Note: Dojo and jQuery Mobile are JavaScript frameworks that you can use
in Cordova apps. For more information, see Dojo
Documentation and jQuery
Mobile documentation.
|
Mobile UI Patterns | Deprecated | Unsupported |
Application sub types | ||
Shell Component | Yes | Unsupported |
Inner Hybrid Application | Yes | Unsupported |
Application Features | ||
Mobile OS | iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 BlackBerry 10 | iOS 7 or higher, Android 4 or higher. See System requirements for supported operating system details. |
Direct Update | Yes | Yes |
MobileFirst Security Framework | Yes | Yes |
Certificate pinning | Yes | No |
JSONStore | Yes | Yes |
FIPS 140-2 | Yes | No |
IBM® Tealeaf® SDK | Yes | Unsupported |
Encryption of web resources that are associated with the application within the application binary file. (<EncryptWebResources>) in the application descriptor ) | Yes | No |
Verification of the integrity of web resources by using a checksum each time the app starts running. (<testWebResourcesChecksum> in the application descriptor) | Yes | Unsupported |
Specification of app target category (B2E or B2C) for addressable device license tracking. (<targetCategory> in application descriptor) | Yes | No |
MobileFirst application skins | Yes | No Note: To detect and handle different device screen sizes,
use standard web development practices such as responsive web design.
|
Environment optimizations | Yes | Yes via Cordova hooks and merges |
Push Notifications | Yes | Yes |
Cordova plug-ins management | No | Yes |
Mobile Browser Simulator | Yes | Yes |
Simple browser preview | Yes | Yes |
Cordova platform management | Yes | Yes |
MESSAGES (i18n) | Yes | Yes |
Application optimizations | ||
Minification | Yes | Yes Note: Use common open source tools.
|
Concatenation of JS and CSS | Yes | Yes Note: Use common open source tools.
|
Obfuscation | Yes | Yes Note: Use common open source tools.
|
Android Pro Guard | Yes | Yes Note: See Android documentation to enable Pro Guard.
|
Client-side JavaScript API | ||
WL.App.openURL | Yes | No Note: Instead, use standard Cordova APIs for this functionality
in the In App Browser plugin.
|
WL.App.close | Deprecated | Unsupported |
WL.App.copyToClipboard | Yes | Unsupported |
WL.App.getDeviceLocal | Yes | No Note: Instead, use standard Cordova APIs for this functionality
in the Globalization Plugin.
|
WL.App.getDeviceLanguage | Yes | No Note: Instead, use standard Cordova APIs for this functionality
in the Globalization Plugin.
|
WL.App.overrideBackButton | Yes | No Note: Instead, use the standard Cordova APIs for backbutton event listener.
|
WL.App.resetBackButton | Yes | No Note: Instead, use the standard Cordova APIs for backbutton event listener.
|
WL.App.BackgroundHandler | Yes | No Note: To run a custom handler function, use the standard
Cordova pause event listener. Use a Cordova plug-in
that provides privacy and prevents iOS and Android systems and users
from taking snapshots or screen captures: https://github.com/devgeeks/PrivacyScreenPlugin.
|
WL.Client.getAppProperty | Yes | No Note: Only the APP_VERSION property is supported.
|
WL.Client.getEnvironment | Yes | No Note: Use the standard Cordova API cordova.platformId.
|
WL.Client.reloadApp | Yes | Unsupported |
WL.Badge.setNumber | Yes | Unsupported |
WL.EncryptedCache | Deprecated | Unsupported |
WL.OptionsMenu | Yes | No Note: Use a web UI framework or standard HTML 5 to create
the UI.
|
WL.Item | Yes | No Note: Use a web UI framework or standard HTML 5 to create
the UI.
|
WL.NativePage | Yes | No Note: Use a web UI framework or standard HTML 5 to create
the UI.
|
WL.TabBar | Yes | No Note: Use a web UI framework or standard HTML 5 to create
the UI.
|
WL.TabBarItem | Yes | No Note: Use a web UI framework or standard HTML 5 to create
the UI.
|
WL.Toast | Yes | No Note: Use a web UI framework or standard HTML 5 to create
the UI.
|