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Uno Platform VS Apache Cordova

Compare Uno Platform VS Apache Cordova and see what are their differences

Uno Platform logo Uno Platform

Build Mobile, Desktop and WebAssembly apps with C# and XAML.

Apache Cordova logo Apache Cordova

Platform for building native mobile applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript
  • Uno Platform Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01
  • Apache Cordova Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17

Uno Platform features and specs

  • .NET IDEs
    Seamlessly integrate Uno Platform with Visual Studio, VS Code, and JetBrains Rider for a unified, cross-platform .NET development experience
  • Cross-Platform Development
    Uno Platform allows developers to build applications for multiple platforms (Windows, iOS, Android, WebAssembly, and macOS) using a single codebase, which can significantly reduce development time and effort.
  • Hot Reload
    Instantly see code changes across web, desktop, and mobile apps with Uno Platform's powerful Hot Reload feature
  • Native Performance
    Uno Platform applications leverage native controls and performances of each targeted platform, ensuring that apps run efficiently and provide a smooth user experience.
  • Integration with Visual Studio
    Uno Platform seamlessly integrates with Visual Studio, offering a familiar and powerful development environment for .NET developers with extensive debugging and design tools.
  • Support for XAML
    Uno Platform supports XAML for designing UI, making it easier for developers familiar with Microsoft's WPF, UWP, and Xamarin.Forms to transition their skills and projects to different platforms.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source framework, Uno Platform benefits from community contributions and transparency, allowing developers to examine the code, contribute, or customize the framework to suit their needs.
  • Frequent Updates
    The platform has a robust and active development team, which ensures regular updates, improvements, and new feature additions.

Possible disadvantages of Uno Platform

  • Learning Curve
    Developers who are not familiar with XAML or .NET may find it challenging to get up to speed with the Uno Platform, requiring an investment in learning the technologies involved.
  • Limited Third-Party Library Support
    While Uno Platform is growing, it currently has less extensive third-party library support compared to more established frameworks like React Native or Flutter, which may limit functionality.
  • Performance Overhead in WebAssembly
    While WebAssembly support is a powerful feature, it could introduce performance overhead compared to natively-built web applications, potentially affecting load times and responsiveness.
  • Complexity in Device-Specific Customizations
    Though Uno Platform aims for a unified codebase, implementing platform-specific features or customizations can add complexity and may require conditional compilation or additional code per platform.
  • Dependency on Microsoft Ecosystem
    Uno Platform heavily relies on the Microsoft ecosystem, including tools like Visual Studio, which may not be ideal for developers or teams preferring different development environments or toolchains.

Apache Cordova features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    Apache Cordova enables developers to build applications for multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.) using a single codebase, which saves time and resources.
  • Use of Web Technologies
    Cordova allows the use of standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it accessible for web developers to create mobile applications without needing to learn platform-specific languages.
  • Extensive Plugin Ecosystem
    Cordova provides a wide range of plugins that enable access to native device functionalities (such as the camera, accelerometer, GPS, etc.), allowing for more versatile app development.
  • Cost Effective
    By reducing the need for multiple native developers and leveraging a single web development team, Cordova can significantly cut down the costs of application development.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Apache Cordova benefits from community support and contributions, leading to continuous improvements and a wealth of shared knowledge and code.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Cordova

  • Performance Issues
    Applications built with Cordova may experience performance issues, especially with complex graphical or computational tasks, as they are essentially web applications wrapped in a native container.
  • Limited Native Functionality
    Although Cordova provides many plugins, accessing the latest native features often requires custom development, which can be complicated and time-consuming.
  • Dependency on Plugins
    Developers often rely heavily on third-party plugins to access native features. If these plugins are not well-maintained, they can introduce compatibility issues and bugs.
  • User Experience
    The user experience of Cordova-based apps may not be as smooth or responsive as fully native applications, potentially leading to lower user satisfaction.
  • Security Concerns
    Using multiple plugins and technologies can increase the surface area for security vulnerabilities. Also, web-based applications can be more susceptible to common web security issues.

Analysis of Uno Platform

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Uno Platform is a solid choice for developers who are familiar with .NET technologies and are looking to create cross-platform applications efficiently. It provides the flexibility to leverage existing UWP assets on a broader range of devices while maintaining high performance and native user experiences.

Why this product is good

  • Uno Platform is considered good because it allows developers to create cross-platform applications using a single codebase with C# and XAML. It extends the capabilities of UWP (Universal Windows Platform) to other platforms such as iOS, Android, macOS, and WebAssembly. This ability to reuse code across different platforms leads to faster development cycles and cost savings. The platform also supports modern technologies and development practices, such as hot reloads and native controls, which enhance the developer experience and application performance.

Recommended for

  • .NET developers looking to expand their reach across multiple platforms
  • Teams aiming to reduce development time and costs by using a single codebase
  • Projects that can benefit from Code Reuse of UWP assets on non-Windows platforms
  • Enterprises and individuals seeking to leverage existing UWP skills for cross-platform app development

Uno Platform videos

Uno Platform Part 1

More videos:

Apache Cordova videos

Apache Cordova - Hello World from Android and iOS

More videos:

  • Review - What’s Your View on Apache Cordova?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Uno Platform and Apache Cordova)
Development Tools
41 41%
59% 59
Rapid Application Development
JavaScript Framework
0 0%
100% 100
Cross-Platform Development

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Uno Platform and Apache Cordova

Uno Platform Reviews

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Apache Cordova Reviews

Top 10 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform App Development
Developed by Apache Cordova, PhoneGap is used extensively for developing cross-platform mobile with the use of several web technologies. It lets developers write code by using HTML, CSS & JavaScript and package it as a native app. Being a simple framework, it includes the largest collection of plugins that extend its wide functionality.
Top 5 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform Development
Apache Cordova is an open-source mobile development framework that lets you create cross-platform apps using standard web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Like NativeScript, Apache Cordova is more accessible to developers comfortable with web development, especially Angular or VueJS.
Source: www.miquido.com
Exploring 15 Powerful Flutter Alternatives
Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) offers cross-platform development using standards like HTML5 and JavaScript containerized via Apache Cordova. Oracle MAF delivers excellent offline support capabilities matching the needs of field service teams and remote inspectors. With tools like Oracle Database and middleware, MAF apps cache relevant data subsets locally while...
Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
Apache Cordova is used for building mobile applications with the help of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. It is an open-source mobile application development framework that was created by Nitobi.
10 Best Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
Apache Cordova is a tool to develop Android App Development. It enables software engineers to build apps for Android mobile phones. Using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript instead of relying on platform-specific APIs. Like those in Android, iOS or Windows phones. When you are using Apache Cordova APIs, an app can be developed without any native code (like Java, objective-C, etc.) from...
Source: techdator.net

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Uno Platform should be more popular than Apache Cordova. It has been mentiond 72 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Uno Platform mentions (72)

  • Any devs actually getting a leg up using AI tools?
    As-is today, AI tools provide some productivity gains. However, they are not replacements for experienced developers. At Uno Platform we are investing in tools which make developers productive within their current environments, such as Hot Design. Also, we are keeping a close eye and thinking of these useful scenarios to apply AI to, as we don’t believe just adding a simple LLM to it will actually add value. So,... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Servo in 2024: stats, features and donations
    Https://platform.uno/ is an option for building web apps with xaml. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Should JavaScript be split into two languages? Google proposal divides opinion
    > And even if it were accomplished in a central open source library like Flutter, that adds a considerable amount to the package size of any application. The download really isn't much different to a typical website. That Flutter demo in wasm is 2 megabytes. Avalonia UI's WebAssembly uses canvas in C#: https://avaloniaui.net/ Uno Platform's WebAssembly implementation uses the DOM rather than drawing to... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Should JavaScript be split into two languages? Google proposal divides opinion
    > I'd rather we just move to native cross platform applications and stop using a document browser to build interactive applications Here you go. Do both native and wasm: https://avaloniaui.net/ https://platform.uno/ https://flutter.dev/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Why I'm skeptical of rewriting JavaScript tools in "faster" languages
    Ah, so what you want is Uno. It uses WebAssembly and the DOM: https://platform.uno/ > Why did I even bother replying to you, sigh. I think it's because you're overwrought. Don't fear WebAssembly. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
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Apache Cordova mentions (44)

  • Show HN: I Made a Web App to Bring Children's Drawings to Life
    This is truly amazing. Is there a 'How it Works' a 'Potentials' section? I work with things that push to inspire creativity and learning to foster the passion behind creativity and authentic works where otherwise we'd see how 'AI copies our work' and now we can see how AI can bring works to life and make them more fun. Over-all would you like to see schools adopting your project? I didn't see a contact form but... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • PWAs wont replace native iOS apps
    Anyone have experience with/opinions on Apache Cordova? [1] It seems like it would solve most of the PWA issues. Although I vaguely recall reading that Apple is not too fond of apps that are basically just wrapped web views. [1] https://cordova.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What's the latest way of submitting pwas to the app stores?
    Has anyone tried pwa builder?[2] Thank you for any insights! [0]https://cordova.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Why does everyone "suddenly" hate Single Page Apps?
    A little over a decade ago, I worked on the open-source project Apache Cordova/Adobe PhoneGap, first at IBM and later at Adobe. Apache Cordova enables you to build mobile applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript while targeting multiple platforms with one code base. In today’s technology landscape, mobile is dominated by iOS and Android. In the early 2010’s we were awash in mobile platforms from BlackBerry,... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • The right way to build multi platform apps in 2023 using web tech. ?
    There are layers that offer access to native APIs like capacitor, cordova and nativescript. Apparently sometimes multiple of them should be used, but I didn't understand what are the differences even after reading the announcement. These seem to be frontend agnostic technologies and Capacitor is apparently the more modern choice at the moment. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Uno Platform and Apache Cordova, you can also consider the following products

Avalonia - A multi-platform .NET UI framework

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Qt - Powerful, flexible and easy to use, Qt will help you not only meet your tight deadline, but also reduce the maintainable code by an astonishing percentage.

PhoneGap - Easily create apps using the web technologies you know and love: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

GTK - GTK+ is a multi-platform toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces.

Ionic - Ionic is a cross-platform mobile development stack for building performant apps on all platforms with open web technologies.