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It's starting to look like I'm going to be forced to do some mobile development (and I already hate the prospect, so please don't attempt to assault me with sugar-coated platitudes).
I need to target Android, iOS, and WinPhone. The app will have a single screen with a "go" button. When the button is pressed, the following will occur:
- a QR code will be scanned
- the phone's current geolocation will be determined
- the app will open a browser with the address indicated by the QR code, with the GPS coordinates being in the querystring.
This app will only work on a website that I'm writing (the URL from the scanned QR code will be verified to make sure the host/domain matches a hard-coded string).
I explored the possibility of installing the app without going through the various app stores, but I determined that the procedures for doing so are too technically imposing for the assumed expertise of your typical idiot user, not to mention apple actually charges a fee to do this.
So, I need to go through the various app stores. The app will be free to the user, so I may have a running ad at the bottom of the screen so that I can recoup any money spent (albeit slowly).
Can someone give me an idea as to what will be involved, in terms of money, tools, and effort?
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Come on John, the Mobile forum is the place for this.
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I didn't even know there WAS a mobile forum.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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it's mobile, that why it is hard to see.
I'd rather be phishing!
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UI thought that was "camo"...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Seriously? You've never looked at the menu to the left, or used the dropdowns at the top?
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Reading menus is like asking for directions, and is generally shunned with alacrity.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Hmm, I found out about Apache Cordova, but this "feature" is a little presumptuous:
"Use the JavaScript framework you love"
I love absolutely nothing about javascript. How can anyone like anything that shows up as being spelled wrong? It's like saving you "love a Camaro". Just makes no sense to me...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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"love a Camaro"...
I noticed you are moose tounge[^] man. I'm mean Mustang. 
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We are doing something similar. We are targeting Windows Forms, ASP.NET, iOS, and Android off of the same source tree (all C#) using the Xamarin tools for the mobile stuff.
Xamarin is not cheap, it is like 900 a year or something like that, but it works great. It is integrated with Visual Studio and also has its own Xamarin Studio if you want to use that. Our source code is structured so that the only differences from platform to platform is the UI source. Of course, there are different project types for each one, but we have been really successful with it.
Another thing to consider with them is that Microsoft is buying them, so it might end up with being a native toolset for Visual Studio.
You do need a Mac for the iOS development, unfortunately you can't get around that.
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It's approximately $1000 an year per developer per platform. So if 3 devs target iOS, Android, Windows Phone, that's 3*3*1000.
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That's overly expensive.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Microsoft acquired the company last month and there are rumors/hopes that the next version of VS will include this in the higher editions.
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We are doing a similar thing currently using a click-once app to register a device by mac/name with a client location and embed the registration code in a querystring in a browser control. Now a potential client has asked if it works on a Kindle Fire. Of course the sales person said 'yes'. I've downloaded the Android Studio for Windows, but I haven't installed it yet. Luckily, I also have a Kindle Fire that I never use...I'm not sure what to expect either... 
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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If you need nice looking/doing App, dont even look into cordova.
We did try few things but I got totally bored with it. I'd prefer three different environment and do native dev. The app you mentioned looks fairly simple , you can do with :
*VS2013+WindowsPhone SDK
*Android Studio
*Xcode/Objective C
Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.
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At this point, it doesn't appear to need to be "nice looking".
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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As today there are two options...
1. Apache Cordova - free, but uses JavaScript
2. Xamarin - cost money, but uses C#
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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At $1000 per supported platform, Xamarin is ridiculously expensive.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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In case you missed the news...Xamarin now comes free with every edition of Visual Studio 2015...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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Or RemObjects for all 3 platforms in C#, Pascal (like Delphi), and Silver (like Swift).
Although you can use some common business library code, it does require that you know all 3 platforms libraries and UIs.
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It seems to be a rather simple app. I suggest you using a hybrid approach (JavaScript...). Take a look at Telerik App Builder. Their products are good. Also they have automatic submission to app stores. As far as I remember it was free and it really saves time.
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Telerik App Builder: Wow - $1800/year? It appears like it's just a paid version Cordova...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Ugh, It seems they've raised the prices. The builders was free some time ago... Sorry my bad.
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