API Development

How the Appcelerator Platform’s LiveView Saves Developers Hours Each Day

Developing mobile apps is an iterative process. On the client side, a mobile developer typically goes through the following steps:
DeveloperFlow

Once a series of code changes are made, the app is recompiled and deployed to the local emulator (or device), where it is launched and tested. Although this is a relatively simple process, the amount of time involved adds up. Often the cycle is repeated dozens of times a day, resulting in idle wait times that can exceed a couple of hours per day.

The LiveView capability included with the Appcelerator Platform eliminates this wasted time. LiveView lets enterprise developers see changes to the app client in near real-time, as they are made and without having to re-build, deploy and launch the app each time.

Using LiveView is easy. Each time new code is added and the project saved, the changes are automatically pushed to the emulator or device and displayed within the active app. The app can also be viewed across multiple OS’s, different versions of the OS’s, and different device types at the same time, thereby speeding up the development process and giving you back those valuable hours.

LiveView shows more than UI changes. Because it runs the actual app, LiveView also gives developers the ability to check the business logic. In this way, LiveView enables validation of both the end-user experience as well as the business logic and workflow of the app – all without the tedious and time-consuming work of recompiles, redeploys, etc.

So whether you are changing themes, adding UI controls, or modifying the logic behind the UI, you can now see those changes in near real-time, and verify them without having to re-build and push the entire app to a device or emulator.

Below is a short video demo of LiveView in action:

To learn more about building and testing apps with the Appcelerator Platform, click here.