DevOps (short for development and operations) is all about taking a holistic, cooperative approach to software development, a goal that software innovators at San Francisco-based Avenue Code are completely on board with. It is fitting, therefore, that the company should have some insight into how HTML5 is being impacted by the shift toward mobile applications in a perpetually connected, smartphone-toting world.  

Throw into the mix the fact that “hybrid,” whether we’re discussing cars, enterprise networks, or in this case HTML5, is one of the biggest buzzwords of our time, and what we have in the mobile app development world is the collision, and integration, of browser-based and app-store purchased applications. These and other issues will be discussed in detail at DevCon5 at the Kimmel Center, NYU, July 20-22. The HTML5 and mobile app developer conference will hone in on various top-of-mind issues faced by software developers in an increasingly mobile-first world.

In the mean time, let’s take a closer look at the insight provided by Tiago Garcia, Technical Manger at Avenue Code, to gain a better understanding of the role HTML5 is playing as the way mobile software is developed and experienced continues to evolve.

For you, what has changed in your mobile software development in the last year?

Hybrid mobile apps based on HTML5 are now a proven reality, given the investment and support from big players towards frameworks such as Apache Cordova, PhoneGap, Ionic and React Native.

Which is changing faster, the power of the phones or the framework of the phone's software?

The framework. Pretty much every classic desktop front-end tool/framework/library can be leveraged to mobile now. There are endless possibilities.

We have lots of HTML5 games being made, but the app store still dominates. Will this always be the way?

The app store is actively used by thousands of users every day, it is very reliable and provides convenience, discoverability and tailored marketing opportunities. This is a very successful combination right now, so it shall continue this way as long as it remains working out so well. Looking on the bright side, a steadily increasing number of apps are using HTML5 behind the scenes, thus the app store is just another way for delivering HTML5 apps.

For Enterprise developers taking advantage of mobility; what are downsides of app vs. browser distribution?

App distribution is not ideal for simple projects which have limited budget, because there will be more work to be done and more testing required. Browser distribution is not as discoverable, socialized and marketed as App distribution.

What are you looking forward to/hoping to learn at the upcoming DevCon5 conference in New York?

I am particularly interested on learning more about Responsive Webdesign/Mobile First, Accelerated/Progressive Rendering, checking out the showcases and many other great talks lined up.