Front-End Developers Develop For…

A front-end developer crafts HTML, CSS, and JS that typically runs on the web platform
(e.g. a web browser) delivered from one of the following operating systems (aka OSs):

  • Android
  • Chromium
  • iOS
  • OS X
  • Ubuntu (or some flavor of Linux)
  • Windows Phone
  • Windows

These operating systems typically run on one or more of the following devices:

  • Desktop computer
  • Laptop / netbook computer
  • Mobile phone
  • Tablet
  • TV
  • Watch
  • Things (i.e., anything you can imagine, car, refrigerator, lights, thermostat, etc.)

Front-End Devs Develop For… - 图1

Image source: https://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/104084/roundup-internet-things-forecasts-market-estimates-2015/

Generally speaking, front-end technologies can run on the aforementioned operating systems and devices using the following run time web platform scenarios:

  • A web browser (examples: Chrome, IE, Safari, Firefox).
  • A headless browser (examples: phantomJS).
  • A WebView/browser tab (think iframe) embedded within a native application as a runtime with bridge to native APIs. WebView applications typically contain a UI constructed from web technologies. (i.e., HTML, CSS, and JS). (examples: Apache Cordova, NW.js, Electron)
  • A native application built from web tech that is interpreted at runtime with a bridge to native APIs. The UI will make use of native UI parts (e.g., iOS native controls) not web technologies. (examples: NativeScript, React Native)