Mixing HTML5 And Native Code

Much has been written recently in the ongoing debate between native and HTML5 applications. There are three principal ways to develop a mobile solution: native code, hybrid mobile app, mobile Web app. Developing an application in HTML5 is a way to leverage code across multiple platforms, rather than having to write the entire application from scratch for each platform. As such, much of the user interface, perhaps the entire interface, would be done in HTML.

“Hybrid application” is a term often given to applications that are developed largely in HTML5 for the user interface and that rely on native code to access device-specific features that are not readily available to Web applications. Much of this native code is non-visual in nature, simply passing data back to the HTML5 layer of the app, where it is rendered to the user. Libraries such as PhoneGap provide this capability.