Progressive web apps for the unified development of mobile applications

Abstract

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) allow for web applications to be developed in an offline-first approach. While Web apps traditionally did not properly function without an Internet connection, PWAs enable them to be downloaded, installed and used offline on various systems, including mobile devices and personal computers. We present an introduction to the state-of-art in research and practice. Based on this, we discuss various underlying concepts and technologies. Then, we scrutinize and compare PWAs against cross-platform app development approaches on both technical and overarching aspects. A list of suggestions for future research is also presented. We urge academia to keep up with the latest trends within the field of mobile and web development, as new concepts and approaches such as Progressive Web Apps now make for interesting research topics with tangible real-world effects.