Hacker News Reader

Comment by pcopley | Hacker News Reader

I strongly suggest you learn Objective C. It's not that hard and when compared with the trash you get using Titanium or PhoneGap it'll put you in a different league professionally.

At the very least learn another language, whether it's Python, Ruby or C#. Polyglot >>>>>> Monoglot

View on HN

I strongly disagree. It's completely possible to build useful, beautiful native apps with PhoneGap, et al. In fact, it is beneficial in many cases, allowing developers to get from zero to prototype significantly faster. Not to mention, porting from one OS to another is magnitudes faster than writing multiple native versions.

It's not the right solution for all cases, but it's definitely right for some.

Sure, it's easier for us developers, but every PhoneGap app I've seen looks like trash compared to other iOS apps.

And I completely agree with your last sentence. PhoneGap is the right choice for some cases.

"... every PhoneGap app I've seen looks like trash compared to other iOS apps"

That's because the you don't notice the good ones. ;)

Fair point. I'd be thankful if you could mention a few of them.

Thanks :)

I'm picking up Obj C but it's early stages yet. I'm also building a couple of things in Python but not to the level I'm comfortable risking someone else's project on it at the moment.

I do know a fair bit of C and spent 3 years in a Perl shop but tbh, I'd rather not go down that path right now :)

I paused learning Objective C to focused on .Net for my new job, but will be picking it back up shortly. Python is next on my list.

And I don't blame you for the C/Perl sentiment :)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com