Mobile Application Development Platforms

IT6306 - Mobile Application

Development
Level III - Semester 5

© 2022 e-Learning Centre, UCSC

 Overview

– The focus is on two main mobile application development

platforms, Android and iOS.

– The architectures of the two platforms will be discussed and

more emphasis is given on Android platform.

– Finally, points out facts to consider when choosing the right

platform for the development of a mobile application.

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 Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to;

– Describe different mobile application platforms

– Android
– iOS

– Explain Android platform’s architecture

– Explain iOS architecture

– Compare Android and iOS mobile application platforms

– Describe the factors affecting the decision of choosing the

right platform.

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 List of sub topics

2.1. Operating systems for mobile applications

2.2. Android development platform
2.3. iOS development platform
2.4. Selecting a development platform

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 2.1 Operating Systems for Mobile Applications

There are different mobile OS platforms. For

example,

– Android (Google)
– iOS (Apple)
– Bada (Samsung)
– Blackberry OS (Research in Motion)
– Windows OS (Microsoft)
– Symbian OS (Nokia)
– Tizen (Samsung)

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 Operating Systems Contd..
OS Description Latest Version

Android The Android operating system is the most popular

operating system today. It is based on the Linux
Kernel and open-source software. The android
operating system was developed by Google.

Bada Bada is a Samsung mobile operating system that was

launched in 2010.

BlackBerry The BlackBerry operating system is developed by

Research In Motion (RIM). It was designed
specifically for BlackBerry handheld devices.

iPhone OS The iOS was developed by the Apple inc. It is a very

secure operating system.
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 Operating Systems Contd..
OS Description Icon

Symbian OS The Symbian operating system is based on the java

language. Nokia was the first company to release
Symbian OS on its mobile phones

Window The window mobile OS is developed by Microsoft. It

mobile OS was designed for the pocket PCs and smart mobiles.

Web OS The WebOS is a mobile operating system that was

developed by Palm. It based on the Linux Kernel.

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 Mobile OS Platforms Market Share (2009 – 2022)

– Android, iOS and Windows became leaders

over the time.

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 2.2 Android Development Platform

– The Android Open System Platform (AOSP) is publicly available

and modifiable Android source code.

– Anyone can download and modify AOSP for their device.

– AOSP provides a complete and fully functional implementation

of the Android mobile platform.

– There are two levels of compatibility for devices implementing

AOSP:

– AOSP compatibility
– Android compatibility
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AOSP Architecture

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 Android Open System Platform Architecture

The software stack for AOSP contains several layers:

Android app layer

– Android API is used to create apps.
– Apps can be uploaded to and downloaded from the Google
Play Store.

Privileged app
– An app created using a combination of the Android and system
APIs.
– These apps must be preinstalled as privileged apps on a device.

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 Android Platform

Device manufacturer app layer

– An app created using a combination of the Android API, system
API, and direct access to the Android framework
implementation.
– Device manufacturer might directly access unstable APIs
– Such apps must be preinstalled on the device
– These apps are updated with the system software update

System API
– The System API represents Android APIs available only to
partners and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
– These APIs are marked with @SystemApi annotation in the
source code.

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 Android Platform

Android API
– The Android API is the publicly available API for third-party
Android app developers.

Android Framework
– A group of Java classes, interfaces, and other precompiled code
used to build apps.
– Portions of the framework are publicly available
– Other portions of the framework are available only to OEMs

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 Android Platform

System Services
– System services are modular, focused components
e.g. system_server, SurfaceFlinger, and MediaService
– Functionality exposed by Android framework API
communicates with system services to access the underlying
hardware.

Android Runtime (ART)

– A Java runtime environment provided by AOSP.
– ART performs the translation of the app's bytecode into
processor-specific instructions
– And the instructions are executed by the device's runtime
environment.

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 Android Platform
Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
– HAL is an abstraction layer with a standard interface
– Using a HAL lets you implement functionality without affecting
or modifying the higher level system
Native Daemons and Libraries
– Native daemons in this layer include init, healthd, logd, and
storaged
– These daemons interact directly with the kernel or other
interfaces
Kernel
– The kernel is the central part of any operating system
– It is used to communicate to the underlying hardware on a
device

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Android Software Stack
Components

– Android is an open source,

Linux-based software stack

– It supports a wide array of

devices and form factors

– This shows the major software

components of the Android
platform

Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform
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 The Linux Kernel

– The foundation of the Android platform is the Linux kernel

For example, the Android Runtime (ART) relies on the Linux

kernel for underlying functionalities (Threading and memory
management)

– Using a Linux kernel allows Android to take advantage of key

security features

– This allows device manufacturers

– to develop hardware drivers for a
– well-known kernel

Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform
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 Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)

– The hardware abstraction layer (HAL) provides standard

interfaces that expose device hardware capabilities to the
higher-level Java API framework.
– It has multiple library modules, each of which implements an
interface for a specific type of hardware component (e.g.
camera or Bluetooth module)
– When a framework API makes a call to access device hardware,
the Android system loads the library module for that hardware
component.

Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform

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 Android Runtime

– Android Runtime (ART) is an application runtime environment

used by the Android operating system
– ART performs the translation of the application's bytecode into
native instructions
– Devices running Android version 5.0 (API level 21) or higher,
each app runs in its own process and with its own instance of
the Android Runtime (ART)
– ART is written to run multiple virtual machines on low-memory
devices by executing DEX files

DEX file:
“a bytecode format designed
specially for Android and is optimized
for minimal memory footprint”
Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform 19
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 Native C/C++ Libraries
– ART and HAL, are built from native code that require native
libraries written in C and C++
– The Android platform provides Java framework APIs to expose
the functionality of some of these native libraries to apps
– For example, you can access OpenGL ES through the Android
framework’s Java OpenGL API to add support for drawing and
manipulating 2D and 3D graphics in your app

Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform
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 Java API Framework

– Android OS is available through APIs written in the Java

language.
– These APIs form the building blocks you need to create Android
apps by simplifying the reuse of core, modular system
components and services.

Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform

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 Java API Framework contd..

System components and services include,

– A rich and extensible View System to build an app’s UI

– A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources
such as localized strings, graphics, and layout files
– A Notification Manager that enables all apps to display custom
alerts in the status bar
– An Activity Manager that manages the lifecycle of apps and
provides a common navigation back stack
– Content Providers that enable apps to access data from other
apps

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 System Apps

– Android comes with a set of core apps for email, SMS

messaging, calendars, internet browsing, contacts, etc..
– The system apps function both as apps for users and to provide
key capabilities that developers can access from their own app
For example,
– if your app would like to deliver an SMS message, you don't
need to build that functionality yourself
– So invoke whichever SMS app is already installed to deliver
a message to the recipient

Source: https://developer.android.com/guide/platform

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 Android Devices

– Beyond phones and tablets, the Android OS serves as a

platform for a diverse array of hardware and technology

For example,
– automotive (motor vehicle) interfaces
– unified corporate networks
– entertainment devices, etc..

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2.3 iPhone Operating System (iOS) Development Platform

– iOS id the proprietary mobile operating system of Apple Inc.

– It supports following programming languages
– Objective-C
– C
– C++
– Swift

– It is based on the Macintosh OS X

– World’s second most popular mobile operating system
– iOS offers user-centric designs

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 iOS Version History

– The iPhone was first released in June 2007

– In June 2010 Apple rebranded iPhone OS as iOS

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iOS Layered Architecture

Cocoa Touch

Media Layer

Core Services

Core OS

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 Core OS Layer

– Core Bluetooth Framework

– Accelerate Framework

– External Accessory Framework

– Security Services framework

– Local Authentication framework

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 Core Services Layer

– Address book framework

– Provides programmatic access to a contacts database of
user.

– Cloud Kit framework

– Medium for moving data between your app and iCloud.

– Core data Framework

– Technology for managing the data model of a Model View
Controller app.

– Core Foundation framework

– Interfaces that gives fundamental data management and
service features for iOS apps
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 Core Services Layer Contd..

– Core Location framework

– Gives location and heading information to apps

– Core Motion Framework

– Using this core motion framework Accelerometer based
information can be accessed

– Foundation Framework
– Objective C covering too many of the features found in the
Core Foundation framework

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 Core Services Layer Contd..

– Healthkit framework
– Handles health-related information of users

– Homekit framework
– Communicating with and controlling connected devices in a
user’s home

– Social framework
– Simple interface for accessing the user’s social media
accounts

– StoreKit framework
– Gives support for the buying of content and services from
inside your iOS apps, a feature known as In-App Purchase
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 Media Layer

– UIKit Graphics
– support for designing images and used for animating
the content of your views

– Core Graphics framework

– the native drawing engine for iOS apps. It supports for
custom 2D vector and image-based rendering.

– Core Animation
– optimizes the animation experience of your apps.

– Core Images
– support for controlling video and motionless images in a
nondestructive way
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 Media Layer Contd..

– OpenGL ES and GLKit

– manages advanced 2D and 3D rendering by hardware
accelerated interfaces

– Metal
– It permits very high performance for your sophisticated
graphics rendering and computation works

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 Media Layer Contd..

Audio Framework:

– Media Player Framework

– gives simple use to a user’s iTunes library and support for
playing playlists

– AV Foundation
– it is an Objective C interface. It handles recording and
playback of audio and video

– OpenAL
– an industry standard technology for providing audio

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 Media Layer Contd..

Video Framework:

– AV Kit
– provides interfaces for presenting video

– AV Foundation
– gives advanced video playback and recording capability

– Core Media
– describes the low level interfaces and data types for
operating media

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 Cocoa Touch Layer

– EventKit framework
– provides view controllers for showing the standard system
interfaces and enables seeing and altering calendar related
events

– GameKit Framework
– allows users share their game related information online

– iAd Framework
– deliver banner-based advertisements

– MapKit Framework
– provides a scrollable map

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 Cocoa Touch Layer Contd..

– PushKitFramework
– provides registration support for VoIP apps

– Twitter Framework
– generating tweets and support for creating URLs to access
the Twitter service

– UIKit Framework
– provides infrastructure for graphical, event-driven apps

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 2.4 Selecting the Proper Development Platform

– Selecting the right platform among the available is important

– If you do not choose the correct platform, it affects the overall
success of the applications developed

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 Factors to Pay Attention

– Target Audience of the Mobile Application

– Research about the possible audience, their device
preferences and key interests

– Cost involved with the development

– Need to do a proper cost estimation. There may be a
significant difference in costs associated with different
platforms

– Devices support you expect

– How many devices should be supported by your
application?
– Eg: iOS will only support a limited number of devices

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 Factors to Pay Attention Contd..

– Application business model

– Determine the application’s clear intent; monetization
options, and the relationship between the application and
users.
– For example, is it for business, entertainment, charity, etc..

– Technical features
– It is important to asses how easy to implement the technical
features required.
– The platform chosen should support the required features
easily

– Third-party integrations
– Platforms should make it easier to integrate confidentially
with third-party software
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 Summary

Different mobile OSs and market

Mobile OSs capitalization.

Android Explains the Android Operating system

Platform architecture and version history.

Explains the iOS Operating system and

iOS Platform
its components.

Factors to consider when selecting a

Which Platform
Mobile Application Development
to Choose
platform (OS)

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 Additional References

Android platform architecture - Software Stack

[https://developer.android.com/guide/platform]

Android Core [https://source.android.com/docs/core]

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