Super fun project and very stressful! I’m usually the developer on all my projects but a new client had a supper quick timeline, “rocket speed” he said. I had a 4 weeks to locate some developers to help, design several views, and implement them in IOS.
My first task was to decide on a technology to use. Luckily, there are several JavaScript frameworks that allow us to build IOS apps. I researched my options, from NativeScript to React Native and several others. I wanted to choose a framework that has a nice user base and will be well supported in the future. For that, both NativeScript and React Native qualified. I ended up going with React Native because it seems like it will last the test of time better than NativeScript. Looking back, I don’t see React Native as a clear winner. There are still some improvements needed, but I do like how native the app feels after it is done. That said, I’d still like to try some other frameworks like NativeScript + Angular or Ionic.
One project highlight is using a noSQL database to work with time-series data. The app is very data heavy, so charts are a big deal. At first glance, noSql doesn’t seem like the best technology for the job, but I found a couple good articles on time series data in MongoDB and it actually worked out quite nicely.
Another project highlight is the amount of time it took to complete the app. Finding help turned out to be a little more complicated than I thought, I also spent some time waiting on stuff from the client. In the end, we got going on the project about a week late and finished the project about a week late. I was supper bummed, this was the first deadline I’ve missed since starting my business. That said, I still think it is a super accomplishment go to from nothing to a fully functioning app in 4 weeks.
I learned a lot in this project and look forward to more apps in the future.
