Building or “redecorating”? Are you putting together your online store from scratch or refurbishing your current one? No matter which one of these 2 scenarios fits your plan, you must be running your own “investigations” right now: which are the very best free Drupal 7 eCommerce themes out there?
Having a “top X” selection at hand would definitely speed up your “research”, right? A top including:
feature-rich themes, “loaded” with all those functionalities crucial for any eCommerce business, such as freedom to style your own product pages, checkout forms, custom cart, “add to cart” button, custom login and logout
Drupal 7 responsive themes
themes empowering you with plenty of customization freedom
Well here's the selection of 5 Drupal themes for e-commerce that you should start your "investigations" with.
1. Omega Kickstart
Jumpstart your Commerce Kickstart theme development using this base theme as a... strong “push”.
A responsive subtheme, a “kickoff” to your whole theme development process on Commerce Kickcstart, Omega Kickstart comes packed with all the crucial features:
it's free
it's built with Drupal Commerce in mind
its layout is fully adjustable to any screen size (desktop, tablet, smartphone)
it's conveniently more user-friendly than the pre-built Omega
Therefore, it makes the perfect impetus for kick-starting your theme development plans!
2. AT Commerce, One of the “Feature-Overloaded” Free Drupal 7 eCommerce Themes
A “full-option” Drupal commerce theme we could say!
AT Commerce “spoils” you with out-of-the-box support for the Drupal Commerce module and Ubercart and .... “overwhelms” you with a heavy load of great features.
Now to name just a few:
it's equipped with support for a lightweight and nonetheless responsive slideshow
pre-built support for a Color module (Garland or Bartik); this enables you to go beyond the 3 default color combinations and, using the color picker at hand, to “color up” your theme to your liking
heading styles that you're free to customize
built-in Superfish module support
custom login block
support for 26 regions
a custom and configurable responsive grid layout for the front page and the taxonomy pages (that you're free to disable if you want to)
Google fonts
mobile support
multiple image field alignment options
And the list is a never-ending one.
As you can see, AT Commerce is a theme that not only that provides you with a wide range of e-commerce-specific functionalities, but with almost unlimited customization freedom, too. You'll get to put together your site's “signature” web design in no time, with no need to “get your hands dirty” in code.
From creating your “trademark” color scheme, to “playing” with all the settings that would impact the overall design and layout, your styling power is significant.
A word of caution: do keep in mind that this is a sub-theme; before you get to leverage all the above-mentioned AT Commerce features (plus a few more) on your own website, you'll need to install the latest version of the AdaptiveTheme.
It's this theme that will provide the needed core functionality
3. Commerce Theme
Here's another one of those free Drupal 7 eCommerce themes geared at helping you get a fully functional and attractive online store up and running in no time!
Moreover, the theme behind this theme “tempts” you with a Commerce Installation Profile bringing you, right out-of-the-box, all the needed functionalities to start selling your products.
A profile coming with built-in Drupal Commerce support and perfectly organized files enabling you to easily customize any eCommerce component you need to.
4. Storefront
As its name suggests:
if it's a clean and “inviting” storefront that you need to implement on your eCommerce site, this is the theme to consider!
One that “plays well” with Drupal Commerce and that you can easily style up, further, adjusting it to your customer's future preferences.
In short: Storefront is that Drupal commerce theme that will implement a clean and appealing interface to your Commerce Kickstart installation.
And now if I am to highlight some of its key features:
responsive techniques via media queries
various settings to “play with” for customizing your site framing, home grids, your color schemes, layout...
an entire collection of template files essential for eCommerce sites: review pane, cart block, product-node
options for cleaning up checkout panes, various form elements (specific to add-to-cart links, product attributes) and check-out layouts
Note: since this theme's compatible, out of the box, with the first version of Commerce Kickstart, the team behind it commits itself to making Storefront “play well” with the second version, as well.
5. Metropolis
A versatile (“fitting” all site types) and feature-rich theme “praising” simplicity.
This is a concise, yet comprehensive definition of Metropolis, one of the most popular free Drupal 7 eCommerce themes.
A more detailed definition would need to include “details” such as:
the fact that it's a tableless theme, with a 1-2 column layouts
it provides you with a superfish drop down menu
comes “equipped” with 10 collapsible block regions
an image slideshow, that you get to customize to your liking via the Views Slideshow
heading H1 optimization for boosting your SEO efforts
primary and secondary links
custom login and logout options
The END! These are the top 5 free Drupal 7 eCommerce themes that you should consider evaluating first. To check whether their built-in collections of eCommerce-specific features suit your own needs and goals or maybe just partially.
Silviu Serdaru / Mar 09'2018
A great developer experience or a great user experience? A familiar web technology for you to code in or native-like performance for your users? And these are just some of the questions “taunting” you right now, while dealing with a PhoneGap vs React Native dilemma, right?
Each platform comes with its own “temptations” to... lure you in:
PhoneGap promises you an “easy life” as a mobile app developer, enabling you to use any JavaScript library and framework that you're comfortable working with
React Native promises you to inject native-like performance into your app and thus... to perfect the user experience
So, which one to go with?
PhoneGap: A Brief Overview
A compromise! This is, in my opinion, the perfect word/metaphor to describe PhoneGap.
A compromise in terms of user experience and performance, since it's hybrid mobile apps that you get to build using this technology:
a JS/CSS/HTML app having a browser-based UI (giving you the freedom to work in any of your preferred web technologies)
that exposes native mobile device APIs and data; accessing phone components through the API navigator
While a more “formal” definition would go something like this:
PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova — coming with a few tweaks and custom packages — that you can use for embedding websites in mobile apps via WebView.
In short: more than a website, yet not a fully native mobile app. A hybrid app compromise!
A Few Words About React Native
In a PhoneGap vs React Native debate, the latter would always have its native components rendering “trump card” up its sleeve:
For a React Native-powered app is written in JS, like a PhoneGap one, yet it doesn't just render a webview, but REAL native components instead!
And that, my friend, would also win over users: it's better user experience and zero compromises on performance that you get “rewarded” with for using React Native.
You could also take this mobile app development platform as the answer to users' becoming more and more demanding:
If hybrid, HTML 5 and/or mobile web apps used to be enough to “satisfy” their needs, while being a “blessing” for developers' budgets, as well, mobile users started to crave native-like performance. And so, React Native emerged!
It's a convenient “bridge” between JS and native platforms:
React Native apps get written in JavaScript
they “play by the rules” and meet the standards of the operating system
... while accessing a big part of the native platforms via this metaphoric “bridge” that React Native creates
PhoneGap: Tempting Benefits vs Discouraging Disadvantages
Now in order to get an accurate score to our “PhoneGap vs React Native” debate here, we'd better go “pros and cons harvesting”, right?
So, without any further ado, I'll list some of PhoneGap's “irresistible” advantages first:
it “spoils” the developer with a wide range of frameworks/libraries to choose from; if you're a big fan of web technologies, if you enjoy building UIs in HTML and CSS, you'll love the rich collection of choices that PhoneGaps puts at your disposal
therefore, PhoneGap is easy to work with and developer-friendly
it's not bound to any specific framework
PhoneGap-based apps perform within wrappers targeted to each platform and use API bindings that comply with the all the given standards for accessing each mobile device's data, network status, sensors
it's based on the “write once run on every platform” philosophy: you get to “reap” the benefits of cross-platform development; just “work your magic” in any of the web technologies that you're comfortable with and have your app running on all available platforms
… with no need to get yourself tangled up in each platform's native development language
your app will have a similar UI on all native platforms
And now, the limitations that you need to consider when building mobile apps using PhoneGap:
by far the biggest inconvenience is the sluggish performance (leading to poor user experience, needless to add); and it's a more than predictable drawback considering that the web was created for web pages, not for heavy, animations-loaded, complex apps
you risk to get all the issues of the web, as well, right out-of-the-box, along with your PhoneGap hybrid app. Bugs specific to certain browsers or styles that work differently depending on the browser here included!
In short: on one hand, you get to enjoy a great developer experience, on the other hand, you risk to compromise the user's experience!
React Native: Top Pros and Cons
In a PhoneGap vs React Native “competition” the former would always fall behind when it comes to performance: React Native is undoubtedly faster.
And here are some other benefits to "reap" for using React Native to build your mobile app:
it renders real native components instead of a webview
also, since it renders NATIVE views without using webview as an intermediary, expect to face no browser compatibility challenges
there's strong social proof, highly relevant evidence for its reliability: Instagram, Airbnb, Uber
it's committed to the “learn once, write everywhere” philosophy; once you're familiar with React, you'll be writing native apps in no time, with no need to delve into Java or Objective-C coding, unless you want to extend your app's functionality
moreover, React's backed by a huge community, so during your learning time and then during your app development process, you can rely on plenty of “expert” support
the user experience is significantly improved: a React Native app will always have a native look and feel to it compared to a mobile web app
also, since it renders native views, expect smoother, high performant animations, as well
Yet, React Native does come with some drawbacks, as well, that might discourage some (even you!):
you need to be familiar with React, there's way around it
you'll need to write an app for every native platform (due to that above-mentioned JS-native platform based structure) since some of the components might be platform-specific
don't expect to be able to use HTML: it's native components that you'll need to "juggle with"
And The Answer to “Your PhoneGap vs React Native” Dilemma” Is...
“It depends!”
If you've already used React for the web, so you're definitely not stepping on alien ground, go with React Native!
It would be a pity not to leverage your React knowledge and not to benefit from all the top performance that you get to inject into your mobile app!
Not familiar with React? And, moreover, you love having an entire “palette” of familiar web technologies at hand, to just “grab and use”?
Then you'll love PhoneGap's “developer friendly” approach!
The END! Hope I've included all the most relevant pros and cons and managed to pull off some good explanations on why some developers get seduced by Facebook' baby, React Native, while others prefer to tap into familiar PhoneGap's own advantages.
How about you? Where do you stand now?
Silviu Serdaru / Mar 01'2018
Automate all site-building tasks and streamline your theme development process! In short: reduce development time and boost your productivity as a Drupal 8 themer with Gulp! But how to use Gulp to automate your workflow?
How do you set it up and run its toolchain in conjunction with Drupal? How do you move away from the old practices of the “good old days”, when you had to write your themes in pure CSS?
Since you had no alternative...
How do you “harness Gulp's power” to automate tasks that are crucial for your Drupal 8 theming process such as:
compiling SASS and LESS
watching/generating CSS files from SASS
testing
generating static design pattern pages
reloading the browser
optimizing assets: images, JavaScript, CSS
Well, keep reading and “thou shalt find out”!
But What Is Gulp, After All?
I confess I couldn't come up with a better definition for Gulp, than the one on the official site:
"… a toolkit for automating painful or time-consuming tasks in your development workflow, so you can stop messing around and build something."
More often than not referred to as “build tools”, Gulp is a front-end automation tool aimed at streamlining your theme development process.
Basically, it enables you to have all those tasks that are critical (and time-consuming) for your workflow run... automatically!
And thus to give your productivity as a Drupal themer a significant boost!
Why Use Gulp over Other Theme Development Streamlining Tools?
Here are 3 of the strongest reasons why:
because Gulp configurations are conventionality simpler, shorter
because using Gulp you get to capitalize on a wider community support
because it runs faster, as well
How to Install Gulp
A word of caution: since Gulp is a node module, make sure you install Node.js (this, of course, if you haven't installed it already) first things first.
Needless to add that:
you should go for the latest version of Node.js
the installation process depends (and may differ) greatly on the Operation System that you're using
Install Homebrew, then run the following command:
$ brew install node
Now, for installing Gulp, type the following command:
npm install gulp-cli -g
Where “npm” stands for the “Node Package Manager” used for installing Gulp on your PC. And where the “-g” flag signals that Gulp should be installed globally on your PC.
Creating Your Gulp Project: Set Up Your Package.json File
As you well know, Node.js uses “npm”, a package manager “in charge” with downloading and installing all the modules required for a given project.
And all these modules get defined in a “package.json” file.
So, this is the step you, too, should take now: setting up your package.json file in the very root of your Drupal 8 installation.
For this, just run the following command inside that directory:
npm init
It's inside this newly created package that all the key information about the node packages required for your specific project gets stored!
Therefore, make sure to fill up all the needed information as you put together your package.json.
Note: still, you should also know that all the prompts are ideally intuitive and that even if you leave those fields blank, you can always come back later and change the default values.
Remember to set the entry point to “gulpfile.js” and, once you add the required information for your project, keep in mind to specify your git repository.
An Important Word of Caution!
Your “How to use Gulp to automate my theming tasks in Drupal 8?” question should be accompanied by: “How to prevent triggering a segmentation fault?”
One that you might involuntarily trigger once you run Drush. Since Drush will consider the node package's own .info file files as part of Drupal and since it doesn't recognize their format... trouble happens.
Here's how you avoid segmentation fault:
add a script to the package.json file, whose main role will be to remove all the .info files from the node_modules folder
And now, let's go back to our package.json setting up process!
One last piece of advice that I'd like to add: if you've run the “npm init” command for creating your package.json file, remember to identify the “scripts” section and to replace the following line:
"test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
… with this one:
"postinstall": "find node_modules/ -name '*.info' -type f -delete"
And one more thing: set up the following .npmrc file in your theme folder's root:
unsafe-perm = true
Here's how the “intro” of your package.jso file' structure will look like:
"name": "...",
"version": "...",
"description": "...",
"main": "...",
"author": "...",
"private": true,
"devDependencies": {
"browser-sync": "...",
"gulp": "...",
Once you have your package nicely set up, go ahead and install Gulp into your project by running this command:
npm install gulp --save-dev
Note: you might be wondering why you need to install Gulp... again. The answer is simple: first, you installed Gulp globally and now you're installing it into your Drupal project!
In this respect, it's “--save-dev” which will let your PC know that Gulp needs to be added as a dev dependency in your packgage.json. All Gulp files and dependencies associated with it will get downloaded and a “node_modules” folder will get created.
Set Up Your Gulpfile.js
You're not yet done with setting everything up! There's still one important step to take before you discover how to use Gulp to create and to automate your site building tasks: setting up the gulpfile.js!
For this, just:
go to your custom theme directory
manually create a gulpfile.js file by either using the cmd/terminal or just by right-clicking to create a new file
Note: keep in mind to change the config variable so that it should match your paths! Also, make sure that all your CSS gets stored in the same “CSS” directory in your theme (for example: sites/all/themes/my_theme/css/application.sass)
How to Use Gulp to Create and Automate Key Tasks for Your Workflow
And finally, we've reached our “destination”!
The very goal of this blog post after all: determining which site building tasks are crucial for my/your own workflow, creating them and then automating them all with Gulp!
Do you fancy automated:
Sass compiling into CSS?
cache clearing
“detection” of all the changes you will have applied to your .scss files?
page reloading?
And your “wishlist” might go on...
Well, the answer to your “How to use Gulp to automatically run task “x” or “y”?” is simple:
Just run the gulp [task_name] “magic formula” in your terminal!
Here are some examples:
gulp.task('watch', function () which will watch for all the changes applied to your scss files and automatically recompile
gulp.task('reload', ['clearcache'], function () which will clear cache, then automatically reload the page
gulp.task('browser-sync', function() which will automatically run the BrowserSync server
In order to get the whole process started, simply type “gulp” in your terminal.
The END! Your turn now!
Time to use Gulp to its full potential and to automate all those key (and time-consuming) aspects of your theme development process in Drupal 8!
Silviu Serdaru / Feb 28'2018
Simplify! This is the right way to go if you're “obsessing” over your productivity as an app developer. Declutter your toolbox and keep only the truly essential Android app development tools in there!
But which are they?
What are the tools for developing Android applications that shouldn't miss from any developer's personal “arsenal”?
The most effective ones when it comes to helping you:
become (even) more efficient by improving your workflow and thus speeding up your development process
develop higher-quality apps
And this is where this blog post here comes to “the rescue”! It's a selection of THE fundamental Android app development tools that you should keep at hand (take it as your productivity-boosting toolkit).
Ranging from:
IDEs
to emulators
to design tools
to game engines
… and geared at streamlining your debugging, your performance-checking, they make the best Android developer tools to rely on in 2018:
1. LeakCanary
Stay vigilant and alert for detecting any memory leaks in your Android apps right on the spot! But mind this doesn't take too much of your valuable time!
Instead, rely on this powerful tool in your developer's toolbox for identifying them. It will take this time-consuming “burden” off your back and alert you any time it tracks down a memory issue threatening your app.
Moreover, LeakCanary provides you with a full stack trace so you can have those memory leaks fixed right away, too.
2. AIDE
You'll have a crush on this tool if:
you're a beginner, struggling to get started with that innovative Android app idea of yours (and, hopefully, to turn it into the next big thing in terms of Android app development)
you're planning to learn Java and Android SDK: it will practically enable you to follow your favourite tutorials with highlighted code and then to get them tested... in real-time, on the very same device!
In short: the irresistible advantage of AIDE and the very reason why it's got included in this selection of essential Android app development tools is that it runs on Android!
Just imagine it:
You get to develop your Android app on your device, nice and easy, then you get to test it... on that very same device! This is the true “superpower” that this development tool provides you with!
Note: don't expect it to be free, for it isn't, nor to “spoil” you with a full load of features.
3. Vysor
The power that you'll unlock by including this tool in your smartphone application development process? It mirrors your real device on your PC.
And this does turn into a true power if you're one of those developers who hate building their apps on emulators, yet they crave the advantage of using one.
There's more! Vysor will even mirror your live app demos on projectors and big TV screens.
So, if you think that this functionality matches your own work style, that it streamlines your workflow and helps you create a better app with greater ease, go for it!
4. Stetho
Debugging native Android apps will never be the same again!
That if you use this open-source platform wearing Facebook's signature here when you go “bugs hunting”.
And not only that it makes your debugging work so much easier, but it's also geared at landing you a much needed helping hand with your:
inspecting the SQLite database
checking the View hierarchy
monitoring network operations
A debugging tool that shouldn't miss from your toolkit!
5. B4A, One of “Speed-Injecting” Android App Development Tools
For “rapid development” is what you'll achieve by leveraging this tool's features.
And these are:
the ability to develop Android apps using the much simpler BASIC programming language
a visual editor for manipulating your views to your liking
wireless debugging
In short, B4A (Basic for Android) makes such a convenient IDE and interpreter enabling you to create your app in a simpler procedural programming language.
Plus, it comes packed with other advanced features to speed up your development process (as above-mentioned).
6. Android Studio
The “Holy Grail” of all Android app development tools!
Officially it's the IDE for Android.
But in reality, it's your own “Swiss knife” to use as an Android developer! Since it plays multiple roles crucial for your mobile app development workflow:
it's a compiler that you get to leverage to create a file system for arranging your app project, to create multiple APK files
it's an editor for the programming language that you'll decide to use in your app's development process (whether it's Java, Kotlin, C++...)
it's an XML editor (providing you with a “design view”, as well, that will guide you in displaying your app's elements on the screen; crucial for keeping up with Google's Material design guidelines)
it also includes the Android SDK itself (yet, the Java SDK needs to be downloaded separately)
In terms of pros and cons, do expect a steep learning curve for developing with Android SDK and Java. But once you've got through it, do expect to gain access to unlimited support, to a whole bundle of advanced features and to unmatched integration functionality.
From this standpoint, Android Studio is the “can't live without” tool-set for any developer!
7. Codota
Does this scenario sound familiar to you?
You hit a dead end down your app development roadmap and you need to go over to Github or StackOverflow and have a quick look at some code examples!
Well, Codota enables you to do precisely that, but without having to leave your IDE.
Talking about speeding up your development process, right?
8. GenyMotion
Far gone are the days when GenyMotion used to be “just” the developers' top choice whenever they wanted to create their apps using an Android emulator.
It has now grown into a complete platform whose powers you get to harness for:
developing your app
testing it
deploying it
Do consider it as a “candidate” to be included in your own toolbox of Android app development tools essential in your work this year.
9. Visual Studio with Xamarin
These days you get Xamarin right out of the box with Visual Studio, Microsoft's IDE.
One supporting a whole wide set of languages: JavaScript, C#, VB.net, and others, too, via extensions.
And what's the “deal” with Xamarin? What makes it “essential” for your toolbox?
it enables you to develop cross-platform apps using C# (have you been “toying” with the thought of developing an app both for Android and iOS using the very same code?)
… to test them on different devices that are connected to the cloud
A word of caution: accessing and working with Java libraries isn't really “a child's play”, do be prepared for that; also, you need to accept that you'll be losing some of Google's cool integrated features and support.
10. Source Tree
It makes any smartphone app developer's trump card making his work on Git as efficient as it can get!
Basically, this tool's aimed at making Git cleanly organized so you can visualize all your work there — commits, changes, branches — in the form of an easy-to-navigate-through structure. And all this without the need to use the command-line!
One that can only boost your productivity, as it helps you sweep through Git with great ease!
11. Fabric, One Those Powerful Android App Development Tools You Should Be Using
And its power lies in all the capabilities that it's been invested with. It provides you with a whole set of features designed to help you:
develop
deploy
extend
… your Android apps' functionality fast and easily.
12. Eclipse
Once developers' very first choice when they started selecting the Android app development tools to build their toolboxes with.
This until it got “dethroned” by Android Studio!
And yet, Eclipse should still be part of your toolkit. It's an IDE that supports a wide range of programming languages after all (Java with the Android SDK here included).
Note: still, do not expect it to get you “spoiled” with out-of-the-box support, like Android Studio does, so be ready for some setting up work!
13. InstaBug
A tool that takes “bug hunting” to a new level!
Practically it empowers users to share video, audio recordings, screenshots, detailed logs whenever they detect anything suspicious in your app.
And these user-generated “signals” become priceless in your constant attempt to keep your app bugs-free!
14. Unreal Engine
If it's a cross-platform, feature-packed game app that you're planning to build, this game engine might turn out to be your best “ally”!
Here's why:
it provides easy support for Android
it's open source
when it comes to graphics, it does have an advantage over its “rival”, Unity
15. Takt
Team up with Takt in your major lags and bugs detecting “adventure”!
This library will help you check your app's FPS thoroughly and spot down bugs right in its development phase.
For you don't want them to linger on in there once your app's being used in its production phase, now do you?
The END!
I know what you might think right now:
Each developer's toolbox depends solely on his/her preferences, goals and personal work style.
It's perfectly true and I've anticipated this “objection” myself. Therefore, I've grouped here only those truly essential Android app development tools that one should “carry” in his/her toolbox.
... irrespective of his work style and goals set for his/her app.
Silviu Serdaru / Feb 24'2018
Just imagine: all that masterfully coded back-end, all that hard work performed in the “backstage”, all those great features that you've created from scratch... turned into a worthless effort. And this because you haven't invested the same amount of time and effort in selecting your e-commerce site's theme, as well. So the question that arises now is: what are the free Drupal 8 Themes for eCommerce worth checking out?
So you can pick your perfectly suitable one, that would: meet, greet and retain your online visitors and spotlight your products.
Well, we've read your thoughts and done our research for you! We've dug deep into the “pile” of free Drupal 8 Themes designed specifically for online stores and put together a top 4.
And now, without further ado:
1. SShop, A Bootstrap-Based, Responsive Theme
Let's get straight to the features that convinced us that yes, this is a theme that deserves its place in the top 4 Drupal 8 responsive themes for e-commerce sites:
it “spoils” you with out-of-the-box Drupal Commerce
it's ideally quick & easy to install
it provides you with a homepage slideshow (delivered by the Views Slideshow module, one of the many modules that the SShop theme supports)
you get a multi-level responsive header menu out-of-the-box, as well
it enables you to add as many fields as needed to your Default Product type
and should I also add that you get Slider content types and a Blog out-of-the-box, too?
A whole “plethora” of built-in features offered to you “on a silver plate” for this theme not to get levelled up from just “another one of those free Drupal 8 eCommerce themes available on the web” to... one of those “definitely worth checking out”!
2. eStore, One of the Feature-Packed Free Drupal 8 Themes for eCommerce
If it's a fully responsive, Bootstrap Drupal theme, conveniently “overloaded” with e-commerce site features, that you need, than eStore is the one!
Now allow me to dig deep into this out-of-the-box “load” and take out some of the key features and cool functionalities that you'll get:
a product layouts collection for you to scan through and select from
the option to add your own fields to the Default Product type
content types included in the configurations
an out-of-the-box Blog to integrate with your e-commerce website
Slider content types
And the list of features could go on. Do check it out before investing valuable time in looking through a whole load of Drupal 8 Themes based on Bootstrap available on the web!
3. Commerce Bootstrap-Based Theme: Designed to Speed Up Your Theming Process
That's right, this is one of those free Drupal 8 ecommerce themes — a sub-theme of the Bootstrap theme — geared towards speeding up the whole theming process of your e-commerce store.
And how does it do that? It just overrides the Drupal Commerce templates so that they match both Bootstrap and all the other helpers.
So, it's practically your “trump card” theme boosting the theming process by automatically handling all the matching — Drupal Commerce vs Bootstrap — for you.
Pretty convenient and definitely worth taking it out for a “drive test”, don't you think?
4. Belgrade: Fitted With Drupal Commerce in Mind
Another Drupal theme suitable for your (future) Drupal 8 e-commerce site.
An out-of-the-box one, designed specifically for Drupal commerce and developed via the previously mentioned Drupal theme here: the Commerce Bootstrap base theme.
Built, from the ground-up, to meet any online store's specific functionality needs. Therefore, worth taking it for a spin, don't you agree?
END of the list! Can't hide that I'm more than curious how your own top free Drupal 8 ecommerce themes looks like. What other visually-appealing, feature-packed themes does it include?
Silviu Serdaru / Feb 08'2018
Welcome to... Dockerland, a place of never-ending confusions! The most frustrating one of them all — for every novice planning to explore Docker — being the “Docker Image vs Container” dilemma.
“What, aren't they one and the same concept?”
But you know that this is a rhetorical question: you just sense that they're 2 distinct concepts...
Yet, you can't really identify the differences:
How are Docker containers and images different after all?
Now let's clear up the Docker Image vs Container confusion once and for all:
First Things First: What's a Docker Image?
A file (or file-like... thing) that gets built from a Dockerfile, by running a "build" command.
Moreover — and this is particularly important in defining a Docker image and setting it apart from containers — it's an inert, immutable type of file. A template-like file (you could also imagine it as a snapshot of a container).
It's only when started, with the docker command, that a docker image starts producing a container.
And since images in Docker tend to grow quite large, they're built on a layered structure (multiple players of other images). This way, only a small “load” of data gets sent when loading images over the network.
Wrapping Up:
you can take the docker image as an application that you'd like to run
a docker image can't be “running” or be “started”; once the “docker run” command is... run (obviously!), the image grows into a docker container, so... mind the inevitable confusion
Which Leads Us to The Question: “What's a Docker Container Then?”
The not 100% accurate, yet generally accepted (even if halfheartedly) definition is:
“A container is a running instance of an image”
Now, let me detail...
Practically, the very act of running a Docker image produces a Docker container. You won't find a more straightforward explanation than this one!
And containers are (or they should be) the very reason why “learning Docker” turned into one of your top resolutions for 2018 in the first place. For they're:
lightweight
using fewer resources
portable
easy-to-be-deployed
… ways of running and managing your applications.
If you're fond of analogies, here's one that will undoubtedly help you come up with a clear answer to your “Docker container vs image” dilemma:
If a Docker image was a class, then a Docker container would be an instance of a class (a runtime object).
Wrapping up now:
once you start an image in Docker (so once you use the “docker run” command) you basically have a running container of this image in question
a container is created by adding a top writable layer to a Docker image and thus by initializing multiple settings (container name, ID, network ports etc.)
and it's due to that very writable layer, storing all the changes applied, that you can have multiple containers running off the same image; each and every one of them preserving its own distinct data state
Docker Image vs Container: Key Difference Revealed
The most significant difference clearing up the confusion is the following:
There is a top writable layer setting Docker images and Docker containers apart
It's that very layer, storing all write operation corresponding to the containers in question, which:
gets deleted along once/if the container, itself, gets deleted, while the underlying image remains intact
enables multiple containers to share the very same underlying image
Now to better explain the key differences founding this dichotomy, let's reduce everything to a simple, clear-enough (hopefully) formula:
a docker image + a docker run command = a docker container (meaning a running instance of the docker image)
… a container equipped with its own writable layer and which can get listed via a "docker ps" command
Is everything any clearer and simpler to you now?
Or Maybe a Metaphor Example Suits You Best?
In addition to my “class vs instance of a class” analogy, let me try now explaining this tricky Docker dichotomy by using a metaphor... or two:
Let's say you have a film and a VHS of (which stands for our “image” in Docker). Then, imagine you'd place that VHS into your “virtual” VCR. In this case, the VCR stands for your Docker container. Better?
Or you could see the Docker image as an executable file on a disk (an app's file); once you run your application, it promptly creates an instance running in its memory. Now that very instance is our metaphorical Docker container.
Have I managed to clear up your confusion or just... deepen it instead?
Docker Image vs Dockerfile: How Do You Set Them Apart in “Dockerland”?
Now, let me rewind to the stage where we can't even be talking about containers (not just yet). Where not even Docker images are yet built: the Dockerfile stage.
You can take a Dockerfile as a... recipe for creating Docker images.
And here's how the “cooking of an image” takes place:
a Docker command is run in that Dockerfile
and so an image gets built
Clear as daylight: a Dockerfile is a... file that you create which, in return, creates a Docker image when you run a separate build command.
The END! Do be honest now: have I managed to clear up your “Docker Image vs Container” confusion?
If so, then “solving the puzzle” around this dichotomy will make a huge jump start on your Docker learning plan for 2018. Happy learning!
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 23'2018
Native Apps: They're Not Going Anywhere... Not Anytime Soon
In other words, in the "progressive web apps vs native apps" competition PWAs make an alternative, not a replacement for native apps.
For native apps are here to stay and still offer plenty of advantages themselves, too, (while progressive web apps do have their own limitations to consider, as well) for companies and developers not to give them up anytime soon.
And here are just some of the key reasons why they continue to steal the spotlight. Reasons that might help you find your own answer to the “PWA or native app?” question:
big brands, already having their own native apps running on their preferred platforms, don't feel the same pressure as low-budgeted companies to switch to PWAs; it's some sort of “inertia-driven stubbornness”
app developers with a wide experience with IOS or Android don't feel like replacing their familiar work routines with a PWA-specific one, even if the latter is less complex
let's admit it: the web-based app development does come with its own limitations that still need to be addressed
Progressive Web Apps vs Native Apps: 6 Reasons to Go With a Native App
As PWAs exploit some of the native apps' drawbacks, so do the latter turn some of their “rivals'” limitations into their own strong points.
For instance:
PWAS might be widely adopted thanks to their universal compatibility, hassle-free user experience and short development time, yet they're not capable to interact with the devices that they run on
native apps can do that; moreover, they're perfectly adapted to leverage a mobile device's smart functionalities
also, PWAs run in web browsers, which, might turn into a disadvantage: it could slow them down
… whereas native apps, being installed on the given devices, first things first, will inevitably load a lot faster; there's no longer a browser intermediating the process
Now, let's dig out other strong reasons for... going native:
1. No Ifs and Buts: They're Faster
As previously mentioned: with the web browser acting as an intermediary, progressive web apps can't compete with their native “rivals” in terms of performance.
As opposed to PWAs, native apps are installed on the devices that they run on.
Therefore, not only that their code practically “lives” there, but it's platform-bound. Written with the requirements of that specific mobile operating system in mind.
2. They Come With Built-In NFC Support
The “Near Field Communication” support is vital for certain businesses. So, do consider this native apps' advantage (or this PWAS' shortcoming, depending on how you want to put it) before you give a final answer to your “progressive web apps vs native apps” dilemma.
If it's of critical importance for you that your customers should be able to pay for your services with their phones, then you need to go native. There's no way around this!
PWAS can't yet interact with the NFC chip enabling this type of payment.
3. They Provide a Quality Control Guarantee
All the app stores' “bureaucracy” might be discouraging enough, yet there are good intentions — resulting in a quality guarantee — behind all those steps to take:
filling out forms, reading specific forums, following strict app development guidelines, waiting for your app's review process to be carried out etc., etc.
Instead of seeing them strictly as... highly restrictive, take them as multiple filters that clear your app of any malicious code.
As for PWAS, just think about it:
The easier it is for anyone to access your app by just visiting the web page hosting it, the easier it is for a hacker, as well, to exploit the vulnerabilities of that connection.
4. GEO-fencing: A Superpower Placed in Your Hands
And this is no exaggeration, especially if it's a retail app that you're planning to develop.
Just give it a moment of thought:
GEO-fencing will enable you (your marketing team) to define virtual “boundaries” in the real world; once a customer's mobile device enters or exits that defined area, a push notification gets triggered.
A powerful functionality to ponder on when you're facing a “progressive web apps vs native apps” decision-making challenge. A smart functionality that native apps can easily exploit, while PWAs can't.
5. They Can Leverage a Device's “Smart” Capabilities
And this is one of the major advantages of native apps over progressive web apps!
They interact with the mobile devices that they're installed on, meaning that they use their smart features to their full potential. Features such as:
proximity sensor
wave lock: you don't want your users' phone screens to go black right in the middle of a video you've inserted in your app, now do you?
ambient light
6. They Easily Interact With Other Apps
Take for instance this highly frequent scenario:
A user tries to set up his/her account within your app and he's given the option to enter his Facebook login details
It's the perfect example of native apps interacting with one another. And this is but just one example of inter-app communication that helps users save valuable time.
So, What Kind of App Should You Develop After All?
“ The one that best serves your needs.”
So, get them clearly defined first things first:
Do you need to develop a basic customer service/retail app? And, moreover, you're both budget and time-limited, as well? Then a progressive web app might just be the perfect fit for your project's needs.
Is it a mobile app exploiting smartphones' advanced functionalities to the fullest that you need to build? Then you should consider opting for a native app: it's fast — which will definitely impact the overall user experience — it integrates with multiple payment gateways and it harnesses the power of “smart” features (Geo-fencing, NFS, wave lock etc.)
Also, when trying to pick your winner in the “progressive web apps vs native apps” contest, consider the expected future advancements, as well:
mobile devices will get injected with more and more advanced technologies, tilting the balance in native apps' favor
progressive web apps will continue to be constantly supercharged with new and new functionalities, that go beyond a web browser's standard ones (integration with Bluetooth, with NFC, with smart devices' hardware features)
That being said: the choice is yours to make! I've only pointed out the main criteria and the key benefits/limitations for you to weigh and to compare, so you can make a fully informed decision.
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 12'2018
The paradox of choice, right? Didn't it use to be so much easier back in the old days, when you had just one option at hand? "You wanted to go mobile, you just knew this meant “pumping” money into a native app." Clear as a day! But what do you now, when you're facing a "progressive web apps vs native apps" situation?
Which app development approach is the perfect fit for you? For the nature of your business and for your app project's specific needs?
PWAS seem to be “stealing the show” these days: first they intrigue, next they “seduce” with the hard-to-resist-to promise that they deliver:
Empowering small businesses to compete against the "giants" in the mobile app development arena!
And still: native apps won't be going anywhere anytime soon!
Moreover, they'll get even more robust and faster, as the devices that they run on get more and more advanced. And as they'll continue to leverage their great advantage over progressive web apps:
Leveraging mobile devices' smart features and capabilities and thus delivering an enriched user experience.
Now, to put an end to your “turmoil”, I've come up with a sort of “inventory” listing the set of benefits that you can reap from choosing one type of app over the other.
Here it goes:
But First: What's a PWA? And How Is It Different from a Native App?
“An app running inside the user's web browser, that he/she doesn't need to download and install beforehand. And which, moreover, is injected with native app-like functionalities and wrapped in a seamless user interface.”
This should be a clarifying enough answer to your “What's a PWA?” question.
Bottom line, the key difference between PWAs and native apps is:
The first ones run inside web browsers, while the latter run on the mobile devices that they're installed on.
The concept behind this revolutionary approach to app development is both daring and ambitious:
Cutting down the overhead and the discouraging complexities usually associated with a native app's development process.
And thus:
reducing time and costs
eliminating the step where your users download it from an app store
Progressive Web Apps vs Native Apps: Top 7 Benefits From Choosing a PWA
For it all comes down to benefits, right? What's in it for you if you choose one app development approach over the other?
The level popularity that one type of app has gained falls shortly behind the very set of benefits that you get.
Now here are the most valuable ones to consider when you're having a “PWA vs native app” dilemma:
1. You'll Reach Out to A Significantly Wider Audience, With Fewer Resources
As compared to developing an Android-focused or an IOS-focused native app, a PWA will practically grant you access to all platforms. It's a “develop once, run everywhere”, type of situation:
A PWA is a “platform-agnostic” type of app.
Needless to add that your progressive web app's extreme versatility will help you reach the widest audience way quicker and with minimal costs.
2. You'll Reduce The App Development Cycle Times
And this is, undoubtedly, that heavy-weighting advantage tilting the “progressive web apps vs native apps” balance in PWAs' favor. The very reason why progressive web apps gained so much attention in the first place.
With native apps' development process “famous” for:
all the headaches it causes
all the complexities specific to any platform-bound solution
all the time-consuming steps to take: crafting some eye-catching screenshots, writing down the description, identifying the right keywords and strategically sprinkle them across the description...
... PWAs emerged in a highly favorable context and they “exploited” precisely the overhead associated with a native app development cycle.
So, they managed to “lure” developers unsurprisingly easily by:
eliminating most of those complexities from the app development process
eliminating the need to build multiple platform-bound versions of the same app
Also, it goes without saying that reduced development times translate into reduced costs.
3. It's a Unified User Experience That Your App Will Deliver
The advantage of being platform-agnostic bubbles up to the user experience itself.
Having a unique version of your PWA running on all platforms, accessible to all customers, it'll be easier for you to deliver the same user experience to your entire user-base.
4. A Hassle-Free User Experience Requiring the Minimum of Effort
Compare the 2 following scenarios:
a. a hypothetical user visits a certain app store, chooses an app, waits for it to download and then goes through all the steps required for installing it on his/her mobile device
b. a hypothetical user lands on a website and gets to use the app right there, almost instantly, with no prior installation; moreover, if he/she wishes, he can save the link as an icon on his device's home screen
Isn't it obvious why, in a "progressive web apps vs native apps" competition, the advantage of easy access will always outweigh most of the native apps' benefits?
In a few words:
you, as the app owner, get to deliver the content you wish to deliver with utmost ease
while your users access it using the fewest numbers of steps
… and high accessibility translates into a higher level of user engagement
A win-win situation!
5. Users No Longer Need to Install The Latest Updates Themselves
A major convenience both for you and for your apps' users:
you'll get to easily keep them up to date with all the changes that you might apply to your services
with no updates to run and no need to re-download the app, users always get the latest version of your app, upgraded with the most recent functionality features that you will have added to
6. Extended Compatibility: All It Takes Is a Modern Web Browser
That's right since PWAs run on HTML 5 — the standard for web content — a modern web browser on his/her mobile device is all that a hypothetical user needs for accessing your app.
Talking about maximizing your app's reach, right?
7. You'll Cut Down Costs For Building and Marketing Your App
You can get a progressive web app up and running (and marketed) in no time! With considerably fewer resources of time and money to invest.
So, if:
you're facing a limited budget
you're in the retail or hospitality business
… the benefit of bringing your customer service app to your customers quickly and in a cost-effective way is just... priceless.
The END! Well, not the end on my post on the progressive web apps vs native apps “competition”, but the end of the list of reasons why you should consider going with a PWA instead of a native app.
Stay tuned, for in the second part of this post I'll be:
putting the spotlight on mobile native apps
revealing to you all the benefits that you can enjoy from choosing this type of app development approach
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 12'2018
Ready to set up your web app? One which, needless to add, should deliver your users a feature-rich front-end experience? Great! Now comes the truly challenging part: deciding which JavaScript UI component library — Vue vs React — is right for your web project!
For its specific needs and requirements:
is it a small or a large scale one?
is it one overloaded with dynamic elements?
do you plan to go mobile, too?
do you want it built fast or do you want it capable to scale up in order to accommodate all future functionalities and features?
And the debate is nothing but:
convenient simplicity and lightness vs superpower backed up by a thriving community
But let's not move away from your initial “dilemma”:
“In a Vue vs React competition, where I get to choose the most appropriate front-end framework that should power my future app, which one's the winner?”
Let's bring in the 2 contestants on the “stage” now, shall we?
But First: 2 Crucial Questions That You Should Be Asking Yourself Beforehand
1. Will it be a web or a native app?
And this is a critical question to be asking yourself way before you start your “investigations” on the 2 competing JavaScript UI component libraries.
Here's why:
React has got you covered whether it's a web application (ReactJS), a native mobile app (React Native) or... even a virtual reality front-end app that you're planning to develop. And this is, no doubt, one of the most heavy-weighing answers to the question: “Why React over Vue?”
Vue2.0 has made a big step forward, towards a native approach (and here I'm referring to Weex, of course); and even if it still can't get anywhere close to React Native's built-in support for building native mobile apps, it's still a “promise” for the future to come.
2. How Much Time Do You Have Till You Need to Actually Start Building It?
In other words: is it an “ASAP” type of app developing situation or you do have the “luxury” to invest as much time as needed in learning a new JS framework?
And this question is more than relevant (and helpful for narrowing your 2 choices down to 1 from the start) since:
ReactJS can be discouraging for some, due to its quite steep learning curve; from its terminology to its heavy documentation, everything looks less familiar, less intuitive, more frustratingly complex
Vue.js, on the other hand, has “seduced” lots of its current advocates precisely with its low learning curve: it “spoils" them with familiar CSS, HTML, ES6 and where do you add that it doesn't call for a Webpack either.
Basically, you get to explore and capitalize upon Vue.js's potential right away, in pretty much any code sharing environment.
Go With Vue.JS If...
1. It's simplicity in syntax that you value most in a web framework
In a “Why moving from React to Vue?” debate, the argument of “extreme simplicity” would have to be the strongest one.
That's right, this JavaScript UI framework's simplicity is built deep into its design.
Moreover, the familiarity of the concepts that it uses (or better said “copies” from its main 2 “rivals: React's virtual DOM and Angular's two-way data binding) could be enough to help you find the answer to your “Vue js vs React” personal debate.
You just run your Vue.js project right from your web browser!
And its simple syntax bubbles up to the easiness of altering the state data (not to mention that this also makes it significantly easier to pick it up).
2. It's a small scale, ideally fast web app that you're planning to build
Since page size is a game-changer (isn't it?) when it comes to building an app, Vue.js comes to tempt you with its surprisingly low weight (approx. 25.6KB once minified).
Now you do the math how this will impact the rendering system and, overall, how it will tilt the balance in any “Vue js vs React speed” comparison.
3. You're more into a “templatey” way of building apps
And how could you “resist” a default template structure after all (and even so more if you're not new to AngularJS)? One that uses old-style HTML templates.
Basically, you get to drop your markup into an HTML file and thus:
use already familiar (aren't they) HTML attributes for injecting the needed functionality into your default template
use pre-processors
clearly separate layout from functionality
… as compared to building your app using ReactJS, which uses a whole different approach: it requires you to put together your own DOM using a JSX syntax.
Note:
yet, some might argue though that templating comes at a cost, that of learning the extended HTML syntax, as compared to the rendering functions. And, moreover, that React's JSX syntax puts superpowers in the hands of the developer, once he/she gets familiar with it. Since it enables him/her to use JavaScript in his template.
And yet: stay assured, Vue.js 2 now provides you with both render functions and a templating option for setting up your web app!
Go With ReactJS If...
1. You Want to Easily Build an App That Should Work on Both Web and Mobile
Convenience at its best! This is how we might call Facebook's “protegee's” two-faceted nature:
ReactJS for building your high-power, interactive web app's interface with
React Native for building your next best thing in terms of native apps
No need for you to knee deep in learning the nitty-gritty of a whole new JavaScript UI component-based library.
Instead, you'll be using the already familiar React for carrying out both your plans (to build a web and a native app), “juggling” with web components and respectively with native components.
2. It's a Complex, Large Scale App Project That You Have in Mind
If that's the case, then the following argument might just be a decisive one in your Vue vs React “dilemma”.
For React is built with the specific needs of large-scale apps in mind! Which means that it's perfectly equipped for injecting them with high performance!
And it's precisely when you're dealing with an overly complex app project that you realize that:
transparency and testability are crucial for you
a template system is way too restrictive, far less configurable (although it would help you to create a React app and get it up and running in no time)
In this respect, React's JavaScript-made templates grant you the freedom you need for:
reusing
easily testing
restructuring
… your conveniently decomposed code.
And this is the “superpower” that React lays in your hands: it allows you to “split” its JavaScript structure into multiple components, that you can easily test and reuse!
It “spoils” you with an ideally configurable rendering system.
3. It's a Huge Ecosystem and a Thriving Comunity that you value most
React's indisputable “fame” — not to mention Facebook's backing — does come with its benefits. Advantages that you can capitalize upon:
more resources out there for you to delve yourself in and to leverage in your app (tutorials, articles, Stack Overflow answers, etc.)
a wide range of add-ons and tools for you to select from and boost your project with
the guarantee that you'll benefit from continued maintenance (given by Facebook's patronage and, therefore, by the whole “army” of React developers that commit themselves to keep it closely
monitored)
And The Winner of This "Vue vs React" Dabate Is...
Have I made you even more confused? Is it even harder to state which front-end JavaScript framework would win the Vue vs React debate?
One's “seducing” you with a simple syntax and set up, the other one with its scaling capabilities.
One “boasts” with faster rendering if it's a small app that it's powering, while the other one empowers you to build both web and native mobile apps.
And where do you add that the two UI frameworks share a considerably large set of features, as well:
they're both conveniently lightweight
they're both open source
they both use virtual DOM and reactive components
they both rely on server-side rendering
… and are both component-based libraries providing you with a “backbone” in terms of functionality.
So you'll need to rely on third-party frameworks for handling any extra functionality (state management, routing, etc.) that you're planning to equip your future app with.
Decisions, decisions...
Now here are a few conclusions deriving from my little presentation here that might help you decide a bit easier:
opt for Vue.js if it's a new JavaScript framework that you'd like to drop into an already existing codebase
choose the React library if you're planning to leverage web technologies to develop a native mobile app
go with React if it's a SPA or a really complex, large-sized app that you're planning to build
So, is it any easier for you now to solve your Vue vs React dilemma?
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 08'2018