Question

I am working on a charts application for Android. I’ve found some APIs that I can import in my project to draw charts. Another good option is to use Google Charts API which seems to be easiest to use and more reliable than other APIs.

My question here is that if I use Google APIs, most processing is done on Google server but there may be some delay in response and hence in displaying the charts. On the other hand if I import an API into my project, it’ll execute faster but it may consume more memory. So which one should be my choice and which things should be considered in choosing between internet based Google API or a local API which can be imported into my project

Answer 1

Ultimately it is up to you, but I will provide a small pro/con list (not comprehensive) for each below.

Local Api:
    Pro:
      -No network latency
    Con:
      -Additional memory consumption (to hold the library).

Remote Api:
    Pro:
      -No additional dependencies to external libraries.
      -Less memory consumption.
    Con:
      -Potential server downtime (Planned and unplanned).
      -Additional latency for creating charts.

Obviously, since you are targeting a mobile platform, there are some additional things to consider. A Remote Api may be unavailable at some times, either due to server downtime, or just a lack of a wireless network connection. Because of this, you may be pushed toward the Local Api. On the other hand, you probably want to have as small of a memory footprint as possible, since you are working with limited memory devices, which might suggest going with the Remote Api.

Again, it all depends on what you (or your business unit) find is most important for your (or your buisness unit’s) app.