Hybrid and cross-platform: Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova

Development platforms and technologies for hybrid/Cordova mobile apps (iOS, Android, Windows)

Apache Cordova
 Use your HTML/JavaScript skills.
 Appropriate when building mobile apps, like B2E or B2B apps.
 You can create mobile apps that are fully installed in the device so that you can also have offline scenarios.

Cordova plug-ins
 It is part of the Apache Cordova platform.
 A plug-in is a bit of add-on code that provides a JavaScript interface to native components.
 Using plug-ins, your app can use native device capabilities beyond what is available to pure web apps.


Microsoft development tools for hybrid/Cordova
Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova
 Appropriate when you want to take advantage of a full IDE like Visual Studio.
 You can edit code with IntelliSense and debug JavaScript/TypeScript.in apps running in emulators or real devices, configure Cordova projects and plugins easily in project settings.
 Take advantage of your Visual Studio skills and insights.

Visual Studio Code + Cordova Tools Extension + Cordova CLI (Command Line Interface)
 Appropriate when you want to use a light editor like Visual Studio Code, which is also cross-platform (Visual Studio Code runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux).
 You can debug your code, find commands in the Command Palette, and use IntelliSense.


Languages for hybrid mobile apps (iOS, Android, Windows)
JavaScript
 Appropriate when building typical Cordova apps which are not very complex in the JavaScript layer.
 Take advantage of your web development and JavaScript skills.

TypeScript
 TypeScript is a programming language created by Microsoft that is a superset of JavaScript. You can develop a Cordova app with TypeScript that will compile into simple JavaScript to be deployed as part of your app.
 Appropriate when building complex business applications with a heavy volume of client code.
 With TypeScript, you can have a better structured code, thanks to certain object orientation, based on classes, modules, and interfaces.


Main web frameworks for Apache Cordova
AngularJS
 AngularJS is a very popular JavaScript framework created by Google. It is a library written in JavaScript (although Angular 2 is written in TypeScript).
 You can have dynamic views in your app. AngularJS lets you extend HTML vocabulary for your application.
 Appropriate when creating Cordova apps, either with JavaScript or TypeScript.
 Take advantage of a resulting environment that is expressive, readable, and quick to develop.

Ionic
 Ionic is a front-end SDK for developing hybrid mobile apps. It offers a library of mobile-optimized HTML, CSS, and JavaScript CSS components, gestures, and tools for building highly interactive apps.
 Built with Sass and optimized for AngularJS.
 Most popular choice when developing Cordova apps with AngularJS and/or jQuery.
 You can take advantage of your web development skills.

Onsen UI
 Onsen UI framework is designed and implemented to deliver a positive user experience for your hybrid apps.
 Appropriate when developing Cordova apps with AngularJS and/or jQuery.

Backbone
 Backbone.js gives structure to web applications by providing models with key-value binding and custom events, collections with a rich API of enumerable functions, and views with declarative event handling.
 Appropriate when creating rich client-side applications.
 You can create a structured code, decoupling views from models.

Source Of Information : Microsoft Platform and Tools for Mobile App Development