Progressive Web App

Are you fond of developing hybrid applications?

Are you tired of developing web applications and then building its associated mobile apps over and over and over again?

Great! Because I’m about to share a new technique with you to save your valuable time and energy.

Welcome to the World of “Progressive Web App”
Progressive web app is a new technique to design website and app-like interfaces for smart devices with minimum development time. It allows the developer to code once building a web based application that can also be used as mobile applications and let you feel like you’re using a native app, without the hassle of downloading it from Play Store. PWA is the term proposed for this technology by Google employee Alex Russell and Frances Berriman in 2015.

Features and Characteristics

  • • Progressive: Works anywhere , any device.
  • • Responsive: Scalable UI for different size of screens (Desktop, Mobile, Tablet etc)
  • • Offline Mode: Application can work without network.
  • • App-like: Provides mobile apps.
  • • Splash screen: The App will start with a splash screen and feels you native app.
  • • Faster: Performance increased due to cache mechanism.
  • • Up-to-date: Updated contents of App.
  • • Push notifications: Allows native push notification
  • • Security: Safe (TLS) via HTTPS to prevent snooping.
  • • Discoverable: PWAs are available on search engines easily.
  • • Installable: Add to Home screen will install the mobile app without play store permission.

Browsers

Technical Work Approach
For sure, you are thinking how technically these advanced features are implemented. In technical terms, the architecture is comprised of three major approaches.

• Manifest
W3C specifies the JSON based file which defines the appearance of the app including icon, images, layout and URL of the web app. This meta-data information is useful when you launch mobile app through “Add to Home” option.
• Service Workers
A powerful technique to make an app available offline. Responsible for push notifications, up-to-date fresh content, caching mechanism etc. In Addition, It is a network proxy script which manages the network request like HTTP and trigger response of events.
• Application Shell Model
The application shell model consists of bundles of code for initial static view or basic user interface that is stored locally for user interaction (without network) and makes it faster loading with good response time.

Example
For more clarity, have a look at real world examples of professional, fast and reliable progressive web apps.
Check it out: https://pwa.rocks/

Most Popular Examples are:

  • • AliExpress
  • • Alibaba
  • • Flipkart
  • • 5miles

See which features are currently available:
https://whatwebcando.today/

Want to start development? Go to https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/getting-started/codelabs/your-first-pwapp/

Aazib Safi Patoli is a Senior Developer at Genetech Solutions with a love for technology writing. Having a BS degree in Computer Science, He has decent exposure to, as well as makes ample effort to keep up with, latest technology trends.

Aazib Patoli