What it is
Apache Cordova is an open-source framework for building mobile apps with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The app runs inside a native web view, and plugins expose device features such as the camera, storage and location to that JavaScript. It grew out of PhoneGap, created by Nitobi, and is maintained by the Apache Software Foundation.
Cordova let web developers ship to iOS and Android from one codebase years before cross-platform native frameworks matured. Newer projects often choose React Native or a progressive web app instead, but many Cordova apps are still in use, and maintaining one needs both web skills and an understanding of each store's build and signing process.
How I use it
- Built Cordova apps for Brikers and published them to Google Play and the App Store.
- Alongside them, built a customer-facing system for tracking customer assets.
- Built on the same LAMP, SuiteCRM and Twilio stack as the Brikers ERP.
Cordova made sense when a business had web skills and needed an app in both stores without two native teams. It is how I first shipped phone apps for a business. For new field work I now choose React Native, or a progressive web app when a store listing would only add friction.
Questions
Can you maintain an existing Cordova app?
Yes. I built and published Cordova apps at Brikers, so I know how they are put together and what it takes to keep them in the stores.
Should a new app use Cordova?
Usually not. For a field app I would use React Native, and for something simple a progressive web app that installs with no store at all.