Perhaps you were interested in how programs are created that can run on various computer operating systems and their various versions. But what makes such work possible? What mechanism underlies such universality? And what is cross-platform in the light of such issues?
What is cross-platform software?
Gone are the days when Windows was the only platform used. More and more people are using other operating systems, from which different versions of Linux stand out. What is cross-platform and why is it valued? A feature of cross-platform software is that it can run on various operating systems without the need for additional preparation or processing of the program.
Which programming language is better to choose?
There is a division into simply cross-platform programming languages and having cross-platform runtimes. So, the first include C, C ++, Pascal. They can be programmed for various platforms using their compilers. In the presence of high-quality code, it is enough not to rewrite the program from scratch, but only to correct the small details on which the interaction with the system part depends. Therefore, the created cross-platform software allows you to save time and money, although it puts forward high demands on the qualifications of programmers.
But there are also cross-platform interpreted languages, the converters of which execute the required commands without rewriting the code, and everything depends entirely on the version of the interpreter itself. These include ActionScript, Perl, Ruby, Python, PHP. In addition, I would like to note that both JVN and .NET have similar properties, therefore programs written in Java or C # can also be run on various operating systems without preliminary recompilation. The difference between the last two is that it uses not the source text, but a special intermediate code. On cross-platform programming, we can additionally say that when choosing a language for a program, one should take into account its prevalence and breadth of use among potential customers.
Cross Platform User Interface
Regardless of how the result is achieved, the standard design elements of the program can have the same appearance on all versions, or directly depend on system settings - it all depends on the choice of the developer. The cross-platform software under development does not have mandatory quality standards, except for the requirements of the system, so the question arises of what style to make for the program. There are several possible answers to this question:
- A uniform style that is used in all operating systems. In this case, you can arrange what you want and how you want, but there may be problems with screen fonts or program window sizes.
- A self-adaptive interface that adapts to different requirements. Allows you to create a program that automatically tunes to the optimal settings and facilitates its use. But to create such software, you need a qualified programmer who can qualitatively complete the task.
- Hybrid interface. It allows you to get fonts from systems and performs some automation. But the styles are different, and it’s pretty hard to have a tight fit.
But how to check not only the interface, but also the functionality? You can buy equipment with the necessary settings, but there is a cheaper way. Especially for this, there are emulators that will evaluate the program. Cross-platform software without them would be less common.
Emulation
If you want to use a program that is not intended for the current platform, you can use the emulator. In addition, emulation allows you to see how something will work, without having the necessary equipment. It should be borne in mind that the use of an emulator can lead to a certain decrease in performance. Even if there is no simulator for the platform that you are using, you can install a supported one, and it already has the required simulator. As you can see, the scheme is quite complex, but with it cross-platform software can be developed for all operating systems.
Cross-platform programming competitions
Creating software that can run on many platforms is a complex matter. And here the quality of personnel plays an important role. Various competitions allow us to select and search for the best of the best, both in our country and abroad. Here, as an example, we can cite TUSUR. The development of cross-platform software in it is combined with the competitions of future specialists in order to find the best and offer them a profitable job.