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Learning Obj-C is looking more and more like a poor investment of time. If my repurposed web skills are good enough to build 80% of the apps people want why wou

Learning Obj-C is looking more and more like a poor investment of time. If my repurposed web skills are good enough to build 80% of the apps people want why would I start from scratch with a completely new and native stack?

dinedal 16y ago
And if there's something you need you can extend PhoneGap with a plugin (Examples and existing functional plugins: https://github.com/phonegap/phonegap-plugins https://github.com/phonegap/phonegap-plugins )
jasonlotito 16y ago
I've been saying it for some time (I'm not the only one), but JavaScript is the language every developer should be learning. Not the only language, but it's a language you want under your belt. And it's only getting better. How times change. =)
- cageface 16y ago
  It's ironic, isn't it? Worse is better, confirmed yet again.
  - jasonlotito 16y ago
    I wouldn't say better. I'd say those that thing something else is better are missing out on key elements that made "worse" superior. Basically, the "worse" option is worse in areas that don't matter, and the "better" options are better in areas that don't matter. I'd be more inclined to question those baffled how something is "worse is better." Did they really understand the technological needs?
Xuzz 16y ago
I would never use this app. Even just from the screenshots I see that it cannot manage to follow even the most basic of iOS UI principles. Most users might not notice so specifically, but they will notice how unnative it is -- and more than likely dislike that.
njharman 16y ago
> If my repurposed web skills are good enough to build 80% of the apps people want why would I start from scratch with a completely new and native stack? Supply and demand. Doing the easy and/or thing everyone else is doing means there is ton of supply, will the demand support it? Will the demand still be there when it's commoditized and outsourced / offshored. Doing the hard and/or thing few other people doing means there is limited supply, will the demand be enough to support decent ROI? That is why learning ObjC / proper mobile development might be worth it. Not saying it is, you'd have to evaluate supply and demand to figure out.
- cageface 16y ago
  This cuts both ways though. Even today there are a lot more openings for JS people than Obj-C or Android. Either or both of the latter might be confined to a niche in five years but "HTML5" is clearly here to stay.

dinedal 16y ago

And if there's something you need you can extend PhoneGap with a plugin (Examples and existing functional plugins: https://github.com/phonegap/phonegap-plugins https://github.com/phonegap/phonegap-plugins )

jasonlotito 16y ago

I've been saying it for some time (I'm not the only one), but JavaScript is the language every developer should be learning. Not the only language, but it's a language you want under your belt. And it's only getting better. How times change. =)

cageface 16y ago
It's ironic, isn't it? Worse is better, confirmed yet again.
- jasonlotito 16y ago
  I wouldn't say better. I'd say those that thing something else is better are missing out on key elements that made "worse" superior. Basically, the "worse" option is worse in areas that don't matter, and the "better" options are better in areas that don't matter. I'd be more inclined to question those baffled how something is "worse is better." Did they really understand the technological needs?

Xuzz 16y ago

I would never use this app. Even just from the screenshots I see that it cannot manage to follow even the most basic of iOS UI principles. Most users might not notice so specifically, but they will notice how unnative it is -- and more than likely dislike that.

njharman 16y ago

> If my repurposed web skills are good enough to build 80% of the apps people want why would I start from scratch with a completely new and native stack? Supply and demand. Doing the easy and/or thing everyone else is doing means there is ton of supply, will the demand support it? Will the demand still be there when it's commoditized and outsourced / offshored. Doing the hard and/or thing few other people doing means there is limited supply, will the demand be enough to support decent ROI? That is why learning ObjC / proper mobile development might be worth it. Not saying it is, you'd have to evaluate supply and demand to figure out.

cageface 16y ago
This cuts both ways though. Even today there are a lot more openings for JS people than Obj-C or Android. Either or both of the latter might be confined to a niche in five years but "HTML5" is clearly here to stay.