My company wants to start mobile web application development, as an addition to our own ERP software. We do not have any expert knowledge about this, that is why I have to research which tools/frameworks/languages we are going to use.
We already have an existing database, and want to be able to quickly build an extra simple web app, to deploy some handy mobile functionality for our customers. For example, we want to start with making the agenda in our software available for mobile/tablet.
We want to set it up like the following:
- we host the web application internally
- the web application remotely accesses to the customer’s database (Advantage Database Server, can be query’d remotely through JSON), which can also be multiple customer’s databases
We develop our desktop software in Delphi, and therefore are not experienced web developers. A framework should meet the following needs:
- IDE available, maybe some other handy tools
- Preferably small learning curve
- Good documentation/support
- suited for mobile web development
- suited for simple and small web apps, there won’t be any need for developing web apps with lots of functionality (most likely aimed at being able to perform two or three tasks)
We will be making a choice for a direction for the coming years, so any possible guarantee about the framework being continued for a period of time is also nice.
So far I’ve learned that we most likely won’t need an ORM, since we definitely won’t change our database structure to suit the web app.
So my question is:
which frameworks should I take a closer look at, and which can already be ruled out?
BTW: I’m not looking for an answer for a designer’s framework such as Sencha Touch, JQueryMobile etc.
Thanks in advance!
In that case, I think you are solving the wrong problem:
Hire a team lead who is (even if it is just as a contract role for the first project or two). You need to have someone on board who is aware of all the technologies involved (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, HTTP, SSL) and how to use them appropriately and securely.
Let them determine what tools the team uses — they will have to support the team as it learns to use them.
(If I was going to name a framework, it would be Dancer as that meets most of your requirements)