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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gMOYZoMtEs
How do apps work?
Users interact with the apps through a UI that is part of the app’s frontend. The frontend answers the user’s
request and directs it to the backend. An App’s frontend and backend are equally vital as, without a functional
backend, the frontend may be deemed useless and vice versa.
The frontend and backend communicate via APIs. Let’s consider an example to understand this better. Consid-
er the ecommerce app ‘eBay’ which uses the Google cloud platform to render ecommerce services. Let’s say
the user intends to buy a winter jacket. So, the user taps on the ‘buy now’ button and is directed to the checkout
page where the user can choose the payment option. Here, the eBay frontend sends the user request to the
backend servers that connect to the target payment gateway.
In the above case, the API offers two-way communication between front and backend in this case. It also con-
nects to the external payment provider that displays the payment page for the user to make the payment. The
API ensures that the app stays active until the entire transaction is completed. As a result, the end user can
make the purchase.
It is worth noting that the app backend has a crucial role as it acts as the ‘brain’ of any mobile app. It helps in
vital tasks of data processing, storage, and security. In the above example, retrieving the jacket selected by the
user from the database server is the task of the app backend. The backend resides on remote servers and deliv-
ers app features to the end-user via the APIs.
The backend is essential for apps as it overcomes the limited capabilities of smartphones by extending the app
functionality beyond the capacities of a typical smart device. The backend lacks a user interface. It is specifi-
cally designed to enable communication between devices and servers. It gives users a seamless front-end app
experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7UFxV7zHKw
Apps generally fall in to categories.
Native mobile apps
Native applications are developed expressly for a mobile device’s operating system (OS). Therefore, native
Android mobile apps and native iOS mobile apps are available, not to mention apps for every other platform or
device. Because they are designed for a specific platform, you cannot use Blackberry apps on an Android
phone or iOS apps on a Windows phone, for example. Numerous programming languages are used to develop
native applications. Some examples are JavaScript, Kotlin, Python, Swift, Objective-C, C++, and React.
Web apps
Web and mobile web applications may be accessed using a web browser window. The app does not need any
storage capacity or installation to operate. Mobile web applications are readily adaptable to multiple screen
sizes and devices. The quickness and functionality of web applications might easily be mistaken for native
apps since both offer almost identical capabilities and responsiveness.
One of the most significant distinctions between both is that native mobile applications may operate both of-
fline and online, whereas web apps need an active internet connection to function.
Hybrid apps
Hybrid apps bring together the benefits of native and online applications. The hybrid applications are devel-
oped utilizing HTML, JavaScript, or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) web tools and are compatible with devices