The Hybrid approach of development has for a long time been the dominating way to develop cross-platform applications targeting both the web and mobile. In recent years, a new combination of technology has appeared called Progressive Web Application (PWA) which aims to combine Native capabilities with best practices of the web to deliver a new Native-like experience to users without the need of Native wrappers. So far PWAs have proven to be the inferior choice when it came to performance and platform support. The purpose of this study is to compare the two technologies based on a literature review and evaluate the current performance across three parameters in an experiment - battery consumption, CPU utilization and time to first activity. Two applications were developed using each respective technique, with the Apache Cordova framework being used for the Hybrid approach and the React framework being used to implement PWA features. The results showed that the Hybrid approach is better in the majority of tests, offering more in terms of platform API access and providing better performance while only being slower when it came to time it took to first activity; but something to consider is that the PWA approach was not far behind. The conclusion this study arrived at was that PWAs have developed significantly since previous studies and is almost able to match Hybrid apps in terms of APIs and performance, but that Hybrid apps are still the preferred choice when it comes to performance. Further development and a wider adaptation of the PWA specification could very well change the way developers choose to approach mobile app development in the future as well as a potential for bringing the web closer to the mobile platform.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine in which technology we have to develop an application depending on the features that we would like to include, in order to deliver the best value for a good price to the customers. Consequently, in this research we have described the capabilities, performance and limitations that we have found while using the different technologies. The empirical part of this study was conducted in the first semester of 2014/2015 at the Linnaeus University in Växjö (Sweden), supported by Softwerk Company. In conclusion, the thesis shows that the user experience with native apps is always better than using the web-based technologies, especially using maps, although the time and effort spent to develop them is higher. Cross-platform solutions can be very useful for simple apps, and also if the developer does not have a lot of time to develop them. The problem with this last kind of applications is that the performance is less than the native ones.

The present research, developed in the Professional Master’s Program in Network Educational Technologies (PPGTER) of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), deals with the development of an application, APPrendendo, which aims to instigate the greater use of the Educational Tablet resource, received by teachers of public high schools through the governmental action called Digital Education – a policy for interactive computers and tablets in their pedagogical practice in classroom. Based on the concept of questions and answers, the application allows teachers to propose challenges to their students in the form of multiple choice questions. In the elaboration of the questions, its functionalities stimulate teachers to use all the resources available in the tablet, such as camera, microphone and Internet access, contributing to their sensitization to the device. The research method used was hypothetico-deductive from the hypothesis of the low use of tablets due to the need of specific applications for the demands of the teachers. By using procedures from action research, the data were obtained through three data collections. Two of them as mixed questionnaires, applied at the beginning and at the end of the research, in which teachers of high schools of Alegrete RS were able to assess their relationship with the Educational Tablet resource before and after the research. Regarding the development of the application, the Web Engineering methodology and the Hybrid Development approach were used. Furthermore, through workshops attended by teachers, the third instrument of data collection, we observed, collected and recorded the requirements for the construction of the research product, APPrendendo application. Through the analysis and comparison of the data collected during the research, we found that the teachers considered the application as a methodological resource capable of being used as a potential tool to promote the use of Educational Tablets. Thus, we concluded that the creation of a specific application for Educational Tablets can contribute to its greater use in classroom by teachers, provided that the application developed is useful and consonant with the reality of teaching, that which during its entire development process the participation of future users is encouraged, and also that the tool exploits all the available resources offering new possibilities for teaching practice. / A presente pesquisa, desenvolvida no Programa de Mestrado Profissional em Tecnologias Educacionais em Rede (PPGTER) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), trata sobre o desenvolvimento de um aplicativo, o APPrendendo, que objetiva instigar a maior utilização do recurso Tablet Educacional, recebido pelos professores da rede pública estadual de ensino médio, a partir da ação governamental denominada, Educação Digital – Política para computadores interativos e tablets, em suas práticas pedagógicas em sala de aula. Baseado no conceito de perguntas e respostas, o aplicativo permite, ao professor, propor desafios aos seus alunos em forma de questões de múltipla escolha. Na elaboração das questões, as suas funcionalidades estimulam o professor a utilizar todos os recursos disponíveis no Tablet, como câmera, microfone e o acesso à Internet, contribuindo para a sua sensibilização ao dispositivo. Quanto ao método de pesquisa, foi escolhido o hipotético-dedutivo, partindo da hipótese da pouca utilização dos Tablets em função da necessidade de aplicativos específicos para as demandas dos professores. Utilizando-se de procedimentos provenientes da pesquisa-ação, os dados necessários à pesquisa foram obtidos por meio de três coletas de dados, duas no formato de questionários mistos, aplicados no início e no fim da pesquisa, em que os professores das escolas de ensino médio da cidade de Alegrete RS puderam avaliar sua relação com o recurso Tablet Educacional antes e após a pesquisa. No tocante ao desenvolvimento do aplicativo, foi utilizada a metodologia Engenharia Web e a abordagem de Desenvolvimento Híbrida, sendo que com a realização de oficinas, o terceiro instrumento de coleta de dados, que contaram com a presença dos professores, foram observados, levantados e registrados os requisitos para a construção do produto da pesquisa, o aplicativo APPrendendo. Através da análise e comparação dos dados levantados ao longo da pesquisa, constatou-se que os professores consideraram o aplicativo como um recurso metodológico apto a ser utilizado e que apresenta potencial como ferramenta fomentadora da utilização dos Tablets Educacionais. Dessa forma, conclui-se que a criação de um aplicativo específico para os Tablets Educacionais pode sim contribuir para a sua maior utilização em sala de aula pelos professores, desde que, a aplicação desenvolvida seja útil e consonante com a realidade docente, que durante todo o seu processo de desenvolvimento conte com a participação dos futuros usuários e que a ferramenta criada explore em suas funcionalidades todos os recursos disponíveis do dispositivo oferecendo novas possibilidades à prática docente.

Today, there are a handful of different platforms for mobile phones. Writing an application natively for each mobile operating system is time consuming and expensive. This situation has created a need for using cross-platform frameworks, that allow programmers to create an application once and run it on all platforms. The problem is that it is not certain whether cross-platform apps can fully replace native ones, or if by using cross-platform tools some desired qualities are lost. Investigating this issue would allow to find out which one of these two application development methods is better, or in which situation it is better to choose one over the other. Such knowledge would allow to decrease development time and costs. Companies that create mobile applications on a daily basis have expertise in this area. Thus, thirteen interviews were done with thirteen distinct businesses in order to research this problem. The results showed that native development produces higher quality applications, but there are some situations where it might be better to use cross-platform frameworks.