Blockchain Technology in Renewable Energy

The demand for clean and renewable energy is evergreen and growing. With natural resources being used on daily basis, for the ad hoc glim, there is a need for an alternative source of energy.

Electricity undoubtedly has been one of the most vital utilities of any country. Today, our society heavily relies on these energy sources for their needs and vital services. Any shortage in these sources will have a drastic impact on the country’s economy. The contemporary industries are heavily dependent on fossil fuels for energy production and are slowly accelerating towards renewable energy.

In 2015, during a meet-up in Paris, a group of 197 foreign states signed an agreement proposed by United Nations Paris, which states that they plan to increase renewable resources to 36% of the total global energy mix by 2030. The need for renewable energy has caused a disruptive impact on companies and the industry on a global scale. The cost of production for renewable energy has dropped significantly over the past decade.

Despite its essential position, the energy industry worldwide remains puzzled with inefficiencies. From the use of fossil fuels and reliance on outdated generation methods to the de facto monopolies and high costs, the sector is ripe for change. Although the clean industry has been growing, it has been blocked by obstacles that make it infeasible to scale. Barriers from existing industries and other factors still hold it back.

To overcome some of these barriers, entrepreneurs have started looking at blockchain as a tool for the efficient utilization of renewable energy. With the application of blockchain technology, the energy which we use for our needs and services will soon be much cleaner.

How can blockchain technology help renewable energy?

The general idea behind blockchain technology is to allow decentralization and build security. In technical terms, blockchain can be described as a shared and replicated accounting system that is distributed among all members of a network through peer-to-peer technology. The advantages of blockchain are greater confidence and reduction in time for processes. It also eliminates overhead costs and intermediaries.

The adoption of blockchain technology will allow people to share energy among them. Just like how PayPal allows its users to exchange money with the user directly eliminating the third party, similarly, blockchain will lead to an exchange of energies. The idea of creating peer-based energy markets also allows payment with cryptocurrencies, but blockchain technology also allows for uninterrupted exchanges.

5% of the world’s energy transactions already take place via a decentralized network where private households with solar cell capability sell electricity to other households. According to the World Energy Council, this figure is expected to rise to 25% before 2025.

It seems that now a lot of industries are shifting towards producing clean and renewable energy. Companies such as Exxon, BP, and Shell have announced plans to invest in such huge projects. Other than these few major industries, there are 122 startups operating, with nearly half launching since 2017. More impressively, these startups have raised over $320 billion between the second quarter of 2017 and the first of 2018.

Start-ups such as LO3 Energy Inc. is an energy technology company based in New York city that makes use of a P2P energy platform used exclusively for the trading of energy within a community in Brooklyn. This allows prosumers with an excess of solar energy to directly sell to their neighbors and contribute to the local economy.

Micro-grids and Other Projects

Micro-grids allow communities to use and trade energy. These micro-grids are a localized group of synchronous sources of electricity and loads that act as a single controllable entity, similar to a cluster. The advantage of such a system is that it allows minimalistic consumption of energy and sustainable development, without leaving any impact on the environment.

A Switzerland based startup called MyBit has been exploring the idea of using solar energy, artificial intelligence and IoT to develop a decentralized energy grid. Similarly, a UK based start-up Electron has been using blockchain technology to design and develop efficient and scalable systems for energy trading and grid-balancing solutions.

Smart Contracts and Energy Trading

An Australian based start-up Power Ledger brought up the idea of buying and selling renewable energy from one party to another. This allows us to save energy and create a positive impact on the environment. The inclusion of blockchain allows the creation of a transparent, automated and audible record of energy generation and consumption. The company has partnered with Northwestern University to enable the trading of clean energy, with no hardware, software or subscription fees.

Similarly, WePower, a Lithuania based startup, has begun issuing smart energy contracts to connect buyers directly with green energy producers. The vision of WePower is to increase the adoption of renewable energy for a clean future. The contract includes the amount of energy the power plant has and how that energy is being distributed. This can only be achieved by linking the smart contracts with the energy data and power grids on the blockchain.

The Present and Future of Blockchain technology & Renewable energy

We recognize that blockchain technology and most of its applications are still new to us; however, it is great to see some progress. For instance, projects moving into the right direction and companies eagerly working on solving problems in the energy sector with a “non-traditional” approach (compared to the “average” corporate utility thinking) are great examples of this.

Every day there is a new advancement in the blockchain technology and we are looking forward towards the future of clean energy consumption. It is just a matter of time, while some of the start-ups may fail, some might professionalize and grow. For the consumer, this could lead toward consumer centricity, transparency, ease-of-use and freedom of choice.

We are hopeful and excited about the future of blockchain and what future it holds!

Best Automation Testing Tools

Automation testing means evaluating the software programs and running execution of test cases automatically, thus producing test results without any human intervention. It is one step ahead of man-made testing. It saves physical efforts and helps in saving time up to a great extent and it also leaves no or very less scope for errors in testing.

Once set for running, automated tests can be run any number of times to test the same application, thus minimizing redundant physical work of humans.

In this post, we have outlined 6 automation software testing tools that can greatly increase your productivity.

 The most popular automation testing tools are:

1. Selenium

Selenium is an automation source tool which is used for automating the tests for business carried out on web browsers. Since Selenium is open-source and is free, there is no licensing cost involved, which is a major advantage over other testing tools. 

 Other reasons behind Selenium’s ever-growing popularity are:

1. In any programming language, its script can be written: Java, Python, C#, PHP, Ruby, Perl &.Net.
2. Tests can be solved on any of these OS: Windows, Mac or Linux.
3. Tests can be solved using any browser: Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari or Opera.
4. It can be used to test a web application.
5. There is no reporting facility in selenium but we can overcome this problem by integrating it with frameworks like TestNG or JUnit.

2. Test Complete

Test Complete is a functional automated testing platform developed by Smart Bear. The software completely gives testers the ability to create automated tests. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Web, Android (Operating system), and iOS applications. Tests can be recorded, solved and manually created with keyword-driven operations and used for automated playback and error logging.

Test Complete contains three modules:

1. Desktop
2. Web
3. Mobile

Each of the above modules contains functionality for creating automated tests on that specialized platform. Test Complete is used for testing different applications, different types of computer tools including Web, Windows, Android, iOS, WPF, HTML5, Flash, Flex, Silverlight, .NET, VCL and JAVA. It performs functional testing and back-end testing like database testing.

It helps in creating, executing and making automated text across the desktop, web, and mobile applications easy, speedy, and cost-effective.  Some of the key features of it are:-

1. Industry-leading object recognition.
2. Support of 7 different scripting languages.
3. The ability to record robust-automated tests without scripting knowledge.

3. QMetry Automation Studio

QMetry Automation Studio leverages an open-source test automation framework like Selenium and Opium to bring structure, efficiency, and reliability to your automated testing efforts. This studio enables advanced automation with coded automation and allows manual testers to transition into automated testing easily with script-less automation.

The management supports typical testing scenarios like mobile barcode scanning, touch ID, location spoofing and many more. As a result, QMetry Automation Studio is well-suited for micro-services type application with various complex components for automated testing.

QMetry is tailor-made for agile testing and develops teams to deliver better quality software faster, with confidence. It simplifies the creation, maintenance, and management of test libraries and seamlessly integrates with major platforms.

4. Testim.io

Testim.io leverages machine learning for the authoring, execution, and maintenance of automated test business cases. They use dynamic locators and learn with every execution. The result is very fast authoring and through constant tests, the platform learns and eliminates the need to continually maintain tests with every code change.

Testis, a Heavy bit portfolio company, has dual offices in San Francisco and Israel (R&D) and is backed by Spider Capital (A purify, Pager Duty), Foundation Capital and other U.S. based investors.

Testim.io effectively removes the falseness of the automation suites and is committed to helping engineering teams in making application testing autonomous and integrative to their agile development cycle.

Testis’ self-learning tests adapt to code changes, eliminating a big portion of maintenance overhead. Organizations which are using it spend more of their efforts on developing new functionality as opposed to testing, without compromising quality.

5. Cypress

Cypress tests are used to test anything that runs in a browser. The Cypress test runner is formed to handle modern JavaScript frameworks as well. We have hundreds of projects using the latest frameworks like React, Angular, etc. It also works equally well on server-applied applications. It records test-runs in continuous relation so that you can understand failures and share results with your team.

Cypress has one of the best design principles which include packaging and bundling everything together to make the entire end-to-end testing experience really pleasant and simple for developers. It is open source with paid features. This test runner is everything that we can do on our local computers. It takes a different approach since it’s actually executed in the same run loop as our applications. This will let you natively access every single object without having to deal with object serialization or over-the-wire products.

6. HP Quality Center Enterprise (QC)

Integrated quality management software is one which helps you to standardize testing, engineer for enhancement, and fixes problems to improve quality. It delivers applications fast with confidence and courage. It provides a comprehensive, unified, and extensible software quality platform.

You can implement your entire quality and logistic testing and establish consistent, repeatable processes for managing all aspects of software quality. This extraordinary, unified platform helps you possess a complete IT quality management infrastructure, establish consistent, repeatable processes and applies the best practices for all business applications.

Assets sharing and reusability allowed HP quality center enterprise to deliver bug-free and reliable applications. It helps to maintain consistent QA procedures across the application lifecycle by standardizing testing. Thus, the integrated approach of HP quality center helps to monitor performance, fix defects, and reduce making costs.

Thus these are some very powerful and reliable automation testing software tools that you can use for your business applications. Aim for shorter development cycles with automated testing.

React Native Or Xamarin for App Development

The number of smartphone users has remarkably increased over the years which is evident from the pace at which this generation is going tech-savvy. The smartphone industry has seen a growth from around 2.1 billion users in the year 2016 to nearly 2.5 billion users in 2018.

Globally, over 36% of the world’s population owns a smartphone now as compared to just 10% in 2011. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are the most popularly used operating systems in the industry. Android leads the market with approximately 80% smartphone sales and on the contrary, iOS holds a 15% market share.

With this increasing demand for smartphones, the demand for mobile applications has grown to monstrous proportions today with more and more companies investing in them. Every day, thousands of apps are launching on both the platforms – Android and iOS. In 2017, Android users were able to choose from 2.8 million apps while Apple’s App Store had over 2.1 million apps.

The need for developing apps that work well over different platforms has increased. It makes it very important for developers to make their apps stand out in this overly crowded pool of apps. To develop great applications, a developer must be aware of the right set of tools required.

In the past, Android applications were written using Java while iOS applications used Objective-C and Swift. Currently, there has been a shift in this trend with the introduction of cross-platform development tools like React Native and Xamarin. Cross-platform development is basically designing applications that work well for both Android and iOS and other operating systems like Windows.

Earlier, developers had to write similar codes twice that would work for different platforms. With React Native and Xamarin, the development process has become easier. Not only are they cost-efficient but also save time and shorten the development cycle considerably.

The question that remains is which one between React Native and Xamarin serves as a better development tool.

For answering this, let us take a look at the detailed comparison between the two and then choose which one suits your needs the best.

Introduction to React Native and Xamarin

React Native is a cross-platform development tool that allows you to code using JavaScript while Xamarin uses C# for creating user interface codes. Big brands like Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, and Tesla are using React Native and brands like Slack and Pinterest prefer Xamarin.

The key difference from the monetary perspective is React Native is a free tool that can be used to build applications while Xamarin does not offer a lot of features for free especially if you’re designing for a big enterprise.

7 detailed comparison between React Native and Xamarin

Here, we have outlined other differences for your perusal.

1. Development Environment

Both Xamarin and React Native are open source frameworks but the environment required for development is different for both.

For using Xamarin, you will have to download Microsoft’s Visual Studio. Visual Studio includes Android SDK which is a tool required for creating Android applications. For iOS, XCode is required which is only available for Mac.

For React Native, you will need to install Node and any other development environment tool to write JavaScript like Visual Studio and Atom. If you want to use React Native in a native way, you will have to download Android SDK and XCode, similar to Xamarin.

2. Performance

Xamarin allows you to run the fastest code for both platforms. Applications built on 64-bit code are faster as compared to  32-bit code. Xamarin supports 64-bit mode and it also provides the fastest UI by allowing developers to use native tools directly.

On the contrary, React Native does not support 64-bit mode on Android. It does not give very good results on iOS as well when it runs the fastest code but it does give you an option to custom UI designing frameworks which can use fast native widgets.

3. Code Compilation

React Native uses Just-in-time (JIT) compilation which converts program source code into native machine code just before the program is run. This cannot be done in iOS apps, so the developer needs to go back to the Android code and it does not happen the other way around.

Xamarin uses Ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation since JIT is not valid for iOS. AOT means that the code is compiled before starting an application. The reason behind this is security features don’t allow writable executable segments. This makes Xamarin a better choice.

4. Compilation Time and Development Speed

As your Xamarin app grows in size, it will require longer to compile. A bigger project means more compilation time, increasing the development time required as well as the cost.

On the contrary, React Native serves as a better tool since it does not require compilation as it uses JavaScript and it is scripted. It gives you the feature of hot reloading, which means you can simply reload the JavaScript by refreshing the app. It serves as an advantage since it allows you to test and modify React Native apps rapidly.

5. Debugging

Debugging an application code in Xamarin can be easily done since the debugging can be done in the same way as that of a .NET application using Visual Studio. This makes it a positive aspect of Xamarin.

Debugging with React Native is similar to debugging web applications. You can use the Chrome developer tool and also use third-party tools to debug such as Reactotron or Redux development tools.

6. Design

Xamarin allows you to design the UI in either a platform-specific way (by using XML for Android and storyboards on iOS) or you can use Xamarin. Forms which allows you to share the code for both Android and iOS.

React Native, on the other hand, allows you to customize visual components easier as compared to Xamarin, thus making React Native a better choice for developers because in any project a great extent of focus is stressed on the UI.

7. Framework

React Native uses a more modern one-way data flow for its development while Xamarin works with the MVVM framework style. Both frameworks are equally useful, depending upon the requirement of a project’s code.

Concluding the comparison between the two, it mostly depends on either a project’s needs or an individual’s requirements. However, if compared on the basis of their features, Xamarin can be a more preferred choice by developers as it provides a faster framework along with a classical approach. The biggest drawback of React Native is low performance and that it does not offer the native look and feel that Xamarin offers.

We made our points, now the choice is yours! 

How to use Deep Learning for Global Warming

Over the past years, our planet has experienced drastic climatic changes. Global warming is now inevitable as observed by scientists with the help of Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances. Since the late 19th century, the planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius), a change that has been driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming has occurred in the past 35-40 years, and it is all a consequence of human activity.

Climate change has not only affected the global temperature, but it is also the reason behind warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreats, decreased snow covers, rise in the sea level, declination of the Arctic sea ice and also the acidification of oceans. These issues together cause a global challenge.

The world’s current population of 7 billion will grow to around 9.8 billion by 2050 and this augmentation will lead to an increase in the demand for food, materials, transport and energy and further increasing the risk of environmental degradation.

The important question to be asked now is can humanity preserve our planet for our future generations?

The answer is YES. A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can enhance our ability to control climate change.

Artificial Intelligence is defined as the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include the learning process (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), the reasoning of information (using rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions) and self-correction. AI, in particular, has immense potential to help unlock solutions for a lot of problems.

Artificial Intelligence is a broad term under which come two applications – Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

Machine Learning provides systems the ability to automatically learn by developing computer programs that can access data and use it to learn from them and then apply what they’ve learned to make informed decisions. 

On the other hand, Deep learning creates an “artificial neural network” by structuring algorithms in layers. This network can learn and make intelligent decisions on its own. Deep learning is a subfield of Machine Learning. The “deep” in “deep learning” refers to multiple layers of connections or neurons, similar to the human brain.

How can deep learning help the challenge?

Artificial Intelligence can prove to be a game changer if used effectively. The advancement of technology achieved by AI has the potential to deliver transformative solutions. Some possible ways in which deep learning can be useful for the Earth are:-

1. Weather forecasting and climate modeling

To improve the understanding of the effects of climate change and also to transform weather forecasting, a new field of “Climate Forecasting” is already emerging with the help of Artificial Intelligence. This way of saving the planet sounds very promising since the weather and climate-science community have years of data, in turn, providing a fine testbed for machine learning and deep learning applications.

These datasets demand substantial high-performance computing power, hence limiting the accessibility and usability for scientific communities. Artificial Intelligence can prove useful in solving these challenges and make data more accessible and usable for decision-making.

Public agencies like NASA are using this to enhance the performance and efficiency of weather and climate models. These models process complicated data (physical equations that include fluid dynamics for the atmosphere and oceans, and heuristics as well). The complexity of the equations requires expensive and energy-intensive computing.

Deep learning networks can approximately match some aspects of these climate simulations, allowing computers to run much faster and incorporate more complexity of the ‘real-world’ system into the calculations. AI techniques can also help correct biases in these weather and climate models.

2. Smart Agriculture

Precision agriculture is a technique used for farm management that uses information technology to ensure that the crops and soil receive exactly what is needed for optimum health and productivity. The goal of Precision Agriculture is to preserve the environment, improve sustainability, and to ensure profitability.

This approach uses real-time data about the condition of the crops, soil, and air along with other relevant information like equipment availability, weather predictions etc.

Precision Agriculture is expected to involve automated data collection as well as decision making at the farm level. It will allow farmers to detect crop diseases and issues early, to provide proper and timely nutrition to the livestock. In turn, this technique promises the increase of resource efficiency, lowering the use of water, fertilizers, and pesticides which currently flow down towards rivers and pollute them.

Machine and deep learning help in creating sensors that are able to measure conditions such as crop moisture, temperature and also soil composition that will automatically give out data that helps in optimizing production and triggering important actions.

Smart Agriculture has the capability to change agriculture by changing farming methods and proving beneficial for the environment.

3. Distributed Energy Grids

The use of the application of deep learning in the energy grid is spreading increasingly. Artificial Intelligence can help in enhancing the predictability of the demand and supply for renewable resources, in improving energy storage as well as load management, in assisting the integration and reliability of renewable energy and in enabling dynamic pricing and trading.

AI-capable “virtual power plants” can easily aggregate, integrate and also optimize the use of solar panels, energy storage installations and other facilities. Artificial intelligence will enable us to decarbonize the power grid, expand the use and the market of renewables, thus increasing energy efficiency. The decentralized nature of distributed energy grids makes it more possible for them to be used globally.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, Artificial Intelligence techniques like deep learning can prove to be very useful for the environment in the future if used effectively. After years of damaging our planet, it is our time now to save it for the coming generations.

Hybrid Mobile App Development

In 2019, the number of mobile phone users is estimated to reach 4.68 billion.  Hence, this is enough reason to stress the importance of having an online presence in the form of mobile apps. Now the next and major question is which approach to choose for app development, native or hybrid?

We understand that picking the perfect mobile development approach is a tough task. That’s why in this post, we have tried to clear the confusion by laying down circumstances in which Hybrid app development makes sense.

Why is Hybrid mobile app development more preferred?

As stated by the Ionic Developer Survey 2017, in which 13000 developers participated, 32.7% of developers are expected to completely abandon native app development for Hybrid app development. Also, there was a 700 percent decrease in developers developing exclusively with native tools.

Why Hybrid mobile app development outscores Native mobile app development?

Hybrid app development utilizes web technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS while providing access to native platform features. The best examples of successful Hybrid mobile applications are Instagram, Basecamp, Yelp, and Uber.

These apps can access the native features like camera, contacts and at the same time, it runs on both Android and iOS.
With the advent of Hybrid mobile app frameworks such as PhoneGap, Ionic, and React Native, the options in mobile app development have diversified.

There are sizeable advantages for opting hybrid mobile app development.

To start with, the talent pool of Hybrid App developers is bigger than the native app developers, thus making Hybrid app development a cheaper venture than native apps. And you already know that every penny saved is a penny earned.

With Hybrid app development, multiple app platforms can be targeted without the requirement of maintaining multiple code bases. This, in turn, reduces the time to market and enhances the outreach to the users.

The following are key benefits of using Hybrid application development:

• Fast track development: single code base for all the platforms
• Easy to test and implement changes and scale to other platforms
• Inexpensive in all the aspects
  

Just like how every coin has two sides, there are some cons of opting for hybrid mobile app development as well. Consider this as well before opting for hybrid application development.

Disadvantages of hybrid mobile app development

Since a single code is used for all the major app platforms, it is difficult to match up with the performance of native apps. There are also some performance issues because of some device constraints in Android and iPhone. 

With the tech world evolving at a drastic rate, it will be difficult for organizations to stay updated with the latest features and hardware capabilities when they choose the hybrid framework. It is both a time consuming and cumbersome process altogether.

Why choose Hybrid App development?

Hybrid app development solves the chief purpose of fast-track development and a quick launch in the market. The added advantage is that it is inexpensive and there is no functional or visual difference to users.

Furthermore, hybrid apps are perfect for startups who desire a quick lane to market. Quick prototyping helps in getting an early feedback, so that unnecessary expenses on development can be avoided later. All you need is to build a Hybrid MVP and test your concepts, if it satisfies all the standards, move ahead with developing the Hybrid app or migrate back to the native app.

It is a general perception that hybrid app development has several constraints with custom features and that developers can only use the features that can be wrapped in a native container. But, the real fact is Hybrid app can cover up to 90% of standard features.

Also, the possibility to create something new with the modules already written in native for specific platforms is very high.

Another great usage of hybrid development is when you need an inner ‘corporate’ purpose app like conference apps, events and such. These applications are distributed via links and not uploaded on the Google Play or App Store.

How to decide whether Hybrid is the right choice for your business?

There is no clear choice when it comes to native or hybrid. No matter which option you pick you will have to make certain compromises. Your decision should obviously be based on your requirements, skills of developers, and budget.  Also, there are few mandatory questions that you must ask yourself before arriving at any decision.

Do you have strict budget constraints? If yes, then the hybrid app development will solve your purpose. On the contrary, if your app requires a lot of unique features in your app then native app development should be your first choice.

Summing-up

The decision of choosing the right approach for app development is not an easy one. It is like choosing between an iPhone or Android phone. The best approach to choose is to make a list of priorities and then test both app development approaches for appropriateness.

Also, the choice of app development approach varies with the project complexity. With all the pros and cons of hybrid and native app development in mind, you can make an educated decision.

If you would like a FREE consultation on the best approach for your App development needs, then drop us a quick message here

What are Progressive Web Apps

Progressive web applications (PWAs) can offer user functionalities such as push notifications, working offline, and device hardware access and still load like regular web pages or websites. 

PWA apps are reliable, fast and engaging. The app should load regardless of the network condition even if the device is offline or has a slow connection. The app must be fast and give prompt responses to the users. Progressive web applications should provide user experience equivalent to the native apps. For example, PWA can use device capabilities and show custom icons to ensure quick load time.

In simpler terms,  PWA is a website with mobile experiences that is more pleasant than the normal mobile-optimized website. It functions almost like a native app with following jotted features

1. Offline support
2. Faster Loading
3. Security

Also, PWAs are not platform-specific and can be built with any framework. They don’t revolve around specific technologies or frameworks.

Let’s go over the core principles of Progressive Web Applications to gather a deeper and better understanding:

1. Reliability or Offline support

Regardless of the network status, PWAs are expected to launch. This can be achieved by using client-side proxies written in JavaScript i.e. Service Workers. PWAs should perform at an optimum level even in slow network conditions. Regardless of bandwidth and latency, the navigation inside the app should be smooth. In such scenarios, service workers help by caching lazy-loaded routes.

2. Performance

This is the most crucial metric for any web application. As reported by Google, if a site takes more than 3 seconds to load, 53% of users abandon it. The probability of users bouncing back increases by 32% if the page load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds. Similarly, if the page load time prolongs from 1-5 seconds, the probability of the bounce increases by 90%.

3. Rail model

For measuring the performance, the performance engineers at Google have developed a universal model called RAIL. By researching human interactions with computer programs a user-centric model RAIL was created. The RAIL model can be applied to all user-oriented software program like websites, desktop applications, mobile applications, and video games.

RAIL is basically an acronym for describing key performance metrics:
Respond, Animate, Idle, and Load.

This means that the response to user input should be in 100 ms, all the animations should run in 60fps, idle time should be maximized, and load time for displaying some content should be under 1 sec and become interactive under 5 secs.

4. Engagement

The essence of PWAs is that it should have the feel and the capabilities of native apps. PWAs can be opened without any browser controls on all major mobile platforms and can be installed on the user’s home screen. On desktop platform, PWAs can be added to docks and taskbar. Also, shortcuts can be added to the desktop.

Benefits of Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive web apps come with a package deal of some lucrative features.
1) Native apps fall in the size range of 200MB or more, while PWAs are way too light and can range in KBs.
2)  Native platform codes are not required
3)  The cost of acquisition is very low as it is easy to convince a user to visit a website than to install an app to get a first time experience.
4) Fewer efforts are required to build and release updates
5) Better support for deep links than the app store applications

The PWA battle: Apple vs Google

Did you know? Apple App Store generates 10 times more revenue per device in comparison to the Google Play Store.

Reason: Apple App Store has a strict manual review process and charges $100 per license to upload to the store. Whereas Google has a very relaxed review process which is automated and charges $25 per upload to the store.

Google aggressively promotes PWAs while Apple lags behind in the PWA support. The introduction of ServiceWorkers was very late and even today they don’t support or prompt users to add the app to the home screen.  While Apple focuses on their ecosystem, Google focuses on providing services to all devices.

Emerging markets

PWAs have a great emerging market and can make a major impact on the next billion users. Most internet users are traced via smartphones from regions like China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria. These regions hold a vital future for PWAs as they require 10x less data transfer.

The comparison of platform feature

There is no doubt that the web platform has advanced quite a lot in recent times but it still doesn’t provide support for basic capabilities of mobile apps. 

On iOS device, push notifications are not supported while on Android push notifications are fully supported. On desktop devices, notifications are only received when they are open.

There is an additional limitation such as USB, NFC, and Bluetooth are only supported on the Chrome browsers. Also, the device authentication is difficult as there is no way to authentic users on the basis of FaceID, TouchID, or Fingerprint on the web.

Final Words

In the light of above facts, obviously, some of the key features are missing in Progressive web apps. Still, the goals set by the progressive web apps can be followed and applied in native apps, especially those apps which are built using web technologies like React Native.

Go here if you would like to build your own progressive web application.

What is React Native?

React Native is an open source framework that is used for writing real and natively rendering mobile applications that are compatible with both Android and iOS. React Native is based on React, which is Facebook’s Javascript library used for building user interfaces.

Here, “native” means that web developers can now write mobile applications that look and feel like native apps all from the comfort of a Javascript library that we’re already aware of. React Native makes it easier for developers to develop for both Android and iOS at the same time.

React Native applications are written using JSX which is a mixture of Javascript and XML-esque markup, similar to React for the web. It is a reliable choice for the developers who are familiar with Javascript as there will be no need to learn Android specific Java or iOS’s Swift.

How React Native can increase developer productivity

React Native helps in making apps that are smoother since its main focus stays on UI. Due to its compatibility with different platforms, giant companies like Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Airbnb, Walmart, Tesla, Uber Eats and many more are now using React Native.

The increasing popularity of React Native is motivating more and more developers to use it. There are various ways in which it has helped in increasing the productivity of developers.

Some benefits of coding in React Native are mentioned below:

1. Code Sharing

This is one of the most important reasons why developers are choosing React Native. It is a cross-platform mobile app development tool which lets you share most of your code for producing other apps for different platforms. This means that you can produce multiple apps with the same codebase.

Code sharing helps in saving developers’ time as now they don’t have to code separately for different operating systems. Therefore, you can develop two apps in half of the time estimated.

2. Frameworks

A framework is basically a real or conceptual structure that helps you in simplifying complex problems by serving as a support or guide for building something that expands the structure into something useful. As compared to a protocol, a framework is easier to comprehend and also frameworks are more prescriptive as compared to a structure. Some computer system frameworks can also include actual programs.

React Native is a framework that helps in speeding up your development work by saving time and making it easier for developers. It gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of choosing any code writer that suits your demands.

3. Components

React Native provides you with a number of built-in components. So, instead of writing codes from scratch again, you can reuse codes by using components. When you use components, you’re basically reusing codes written by other programmers.

For example, there is a component in React Native called ‘View’. The view is an area where you display all your content. View lets you arrange your content in a very good manner. It helps you when you need a nested element. Also, when you need to wrap your content inside a container and use different styles for different elements, this component is of great help.

Other than View, there are plenty of other components that can be used like Navigation, Text, Image, Text Input, ScrollView, StyleSheet etc.

4. Hot Reloading

We all know that recompilation takes up a lot of time. React Native gives you the choice of instantly reloading your app without having to recompile.

Compiling an entire code requires a considerable amount of time; whenever a developer makes a change in the code, he has to recompile the code to see how the modification looks in the app (how it has changed or improved). In a nutshell, a developer has to compile a code more than a thousand times depending upon the size of the project.

Now with React Native, the hot reloading feature lets you instantly view how your app looks after a code modification without wasting your time in recompilation. Since this is a time-saving feature, it helps greatly in boosting the productivity of developers.

5. Flexible and easily understandable codes 

With React Native, codes can be reused. A single update will work for both the platforms. It makes it easier for developers to detect bugs between codebases. Also, since its interface is modular and intuitive, developers who weren’t previously involved in a project can easily understand the code and use it as a basis for future developments. 

In turn, it increases the flexibility of a team and it is easier to make updates and upgrades to web applications. A team can get work done by developers that are suited best for specific developments. This saves time and also decreases the risk factor of data loss. React Native allows you to transform a web project into a mobile decision within no time.

6. Graphics Processing Unit

The React Native architecture uses the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) instead of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which is used by most native platforms. This makes React Native well tuned to mobile environments. Also, it helps in giving extremely fast performance compared to other hybrid technologies.

Final Words

In conclusion, React Native provides a better learning cycle to the developers and develop mobile apps in a shorter time duration with better efficiency. A developer who has the experience in web development can expand the same skills to create mobile apps as well. The possibilities are infinite if you choose to think that way.

With the immense opportunities for expanding a business, it also helps the clients gain more customers or browsers. With React Native, mobile app development has become cost-efficient because of the reusability, and code sharing features.

Clients with a limited budget quotient can get the apps developed for both the platforms (iOS and Android) as front-end developers with a working knowledge of Javascript can easily create react mobile apps at affordable prices.

React Native is widely preferred for mobile app development and developers don’t have to compromise with the quality of apps for multiple platforms as well. Furthermore, React Native offers safety, portability, and longevity which enhances developers’ efficiency and decreases workload and wastage of time.

For more resources on React, read the top five reasons to choose React JS for development.

How to code for the Internet of Things (IoT)

The internet of things, or IoT, is the network of devices, vehicles and home appliances that are embedded, enabling them to send and receive data.

Ten years ago, did anyone know that a simple mobile phone would turn into a smartphone and it would help in navigating us in the direction that we want to go to?

Or will it control all our electronic devices – from television sets to air conditioners based on our preference?

Did we know that we’d be testing robots so that they are able to control traffic?

All these things have become a reality today because we made it possible through the internet of things (IoT). Every day, there are a number of devices waiting for our command and are connected to the internet everywhere. Handling devices through the internet is made possible through various languages that are being used.

IoT technology is used as a means to measure, collect, and analyze data to provide better customer experience and improve product quality. It helps us in making our business, work, cities, and homes easier and better.

Increasingly, organizations are using IoT to operate more efficiently, to better understand customers, to deliver enhanced customer service, to improve decision-making processes and to increase the value of the business.

These three stages—measurement, collection, and analysis—have different working environments with different sets of constraints.

For example, the data is measured via a sensor in the device which has limited capabilities. This data, later on, is aggregated and transmitted to the smartphone or a console using a gateway such as an app which has completely different computing power than the device. This data is then stored and analyzed using the cloud.

Therefore, each stage in the gamut of software development can have a different programming language for IoT.

Benefits of IoT

The internet of things offers a lot of benefits to the organizations, thus enabling them to:

• Improve customer experience
• Monitor business procedure
• Save time and money
• Take better decisions for business
• Generate more revenues
• Improvise employee productivity

So the important question is which language is the most suitable to learn for coding for IoT?

According to the latest IoT developer survey (which was conducted between January and March 2018), in which 502 individuals participated, it was concluded that JAVA is the topmost choice for developers preceding C, Javascript, Python, C++, and PHP.

Here is a list of the most preferred languages you should know for program development:

• JAVA:

Java is widely taught and used in the programming world. It has been the topmost choice in many surveys during 2018 by the experts and it is still known for “write once, and run everywhere.”

While using Java, developers can produce and debug code on their desktop and then move it to any chip with a Java Virtual Machine. As a result, it can be run not only in places where JVM’S are common but also in the smallest machines, thus making it ideal for IoT software.

Java has incorporated coding techniques from various languages such as Mesa, Eiffel, C, and C++. JAVA is an object-oriented programming language and has built-in capabilities useful for IoT application. It is highly portable and does not have to face hardware limitations.

JAVA ME or micro edition has been available on handsets and other embedded devices from the year 2000 when its specification was approved. It saved space with a very limited collection of class libraries and other tools. Today, most of the focus is on Java SE Embedded, which is much closer in capability to the Standard Edition. Developers can use the latest features of the Java 8 platform and then move their code to a smaller, embedded device.

2) C

C is one of the most important programming languages in the IoT system. It is considered a low-level programming language that is close to the hardware, but it fits the IoT needs perfectly. It is cluttered with punctuation and there are a lot of little mistakes you can make in it but still, it is the most widely accepted language after JAVA.

The language works with every tiny detail of the program so that you can make necessary changes in the coding to make the best out of an underpowered device. C has been the foundation for other coding languages for many years thus making it a basic necessity for anyone in IoT projects.

C is still preferred by devices which are bigger in size and more advanced with full operating systems. For example, big smartphone companies like Apple still uses C as a programming language. It is a procedural rather than an object-oriented language as it does not have built-in capabilities.

3) PYTHON:

It started as a scripting language but it is increasingly being used as the main language for many developers. Python is mainly used for writing web applications but nowadays it is being used for IoT systems as well. Today, Python is a high-level scripting language.

Python has a large number of useful libraries so it can get work done with a very limited line of codes. Python offers readability with syntax without compromising on size. It is ideal for Data Analysis, a part of the IoT system.

Python’s clean syntax is suitable for data arrangement and the source code is compact and readable. For many years, it has been the most preferred choice for managing and organizing complex data streams without having to maintain equally complex codebases. Python is suitable for an application which needs its data to be arranged in a database format or in tabular form.

4) JAVASCRIPT:

While many of us think of Javascript as a programming language used for popping up alert boxes on the webpage but it is used in all the web browsers and HTML. Its gaining popularity and is the 4th most preferred language for developers in the 2018 IoT Developer Survey.

Much of the work in Javascript is focused on the servers and gateways or hubs that gather the information and then store it. The sensors and smaller smart hubs that run Linux can usually run Node.js. It makes things easier as it makes devices interoperable.

5) SWIFT:

Swift is a programming language widely used for creating the apps for MacOS or Apple’s iOS devices. If you want to work with an iPhone or an iPad, you probably need to learn Swift as a programming language to build the app.

Apple is gently shifting from C to Swift because they want to make the iOS devices center of the home network of sensors. Therefore they are building libraries that can handle most of the work which will make it easier for the developers to focus on work while the home kit platform handles the integration.

Thus, these are the top five programming languages for IoT. If you are building an IoT connected device, make sure you use one of the above mentioned coding languages to have a seamless customer experience.

GoodWorkLabs is super happy to announce our new office space in Kolkatta. We have received approval from the West Bengal government to set operations in SEZ (special Economic Zone) in Kolkatta. The new GoodWorkLabs Kolkatta office is located in Candor SEZ tech park, one of the best office locations in all of Kolkatta.

Here are some pictures of our VP of Sales & Client Success, Subrahmanya Basavanahalli, taking possession of the premises.

With this SEZ set up, GoodWorkLabs is poised for the next level of growth by attracting a slew of overseas projects. Congratulations to GoodWorkLabs team! And a big thank you for all our supporters!

The Vanaroid is a unique character concept designed by GoodWorkLabs for the famous Mythology and Science Fiction novel – The Last Avatar from Age of Kalki Trilogy.