Create your Native Mobile Application with 4D

January 25, 2023 4 min read

4D for Android and 4D for iOS allow you to configure, design, build, and deploy native Android and/or iOS apps based on a 4D database. Once generated and deployed, mobile clients can connect to the 4D Server and interact with new or existing data without additional requirements.

4D for Android and 4D for iOS are included in a single integrated 4D component. You can create a mobile project and decide to build it for Android, iOS, or both.

4D handles the complexity and generates an Xcode project in Swift or an Android project in Kotlin. Then, you can reopen them with Xcode and Android Studio and continue to work on them.

This blog post is a compilation of features available in our mobile solution that enables you to build a complete app that goes all out!

4D features on your mobile device

Here is a non-exhaustive list of available and easy-to-use features:

Offline support – Have up-to-date data at hand… even when you’re offline.
Capture Images – Add or replace pictures by selecting them directly from your library or using your camera.
User Management – Use authentication to determine the identity and legitimacy of the person trying to log into your app.
Interact with other apps – Add value to your application by using formatters to interact with other native apps (e.g., display your itinerary with Apple Map or dial a phone number).
Actions – Declare CRUD (Create, update or delete records) or custom actions for tables, selections, or entities (calling your own methods, such as sending an email or shipping order). They’ll automatically display at the right place, even when offline.
Display Location – Allow your users to touch an address on the screen to automatically display a map showing the location.
Filter Data – Restrict access to data according to the user. Only the data that the user is authorized to access is available.
Bar Code – Scan barcodes to search records in your data while you’re on the go.
Accept Signatures – Extend the capabilities of your app by including templates that use signature areas.
Deliver Notifications – Send notifications and provide users relevant information to engage with an app.
Deep Linking – Send your user straight to the right place with a direct link to your app displaying the correct page.
Share content – With a single click, share the content you’re currently looking at with anyone.

License

Your development license is sufficient to develop your mobile application; there is no need for extensions.

For deployment, a 4D Server license is all you need. Your applications will share the same licenses as your 4D Remote. For example, if you have 10 client licenses. You can have 10 desktop clients connected and 10 mobile devices registered.

We advise you to contact your sales representative if you want more details on the licenses.

Extension

Several basic templates and formatters are integrated into the 4D application. We offer other templates and formatters from the gallery. The extensions proposed by 4D are stored on the 4D Go Mobile GitHub account. They are managed and maintained by 4D.

You can also contribute by adding templates or formatters that you have created. You just have to make a pull request on GitHub following some rules.

Next…

You have the blog, the documentation, and several tutorials to help you discover 4D for Android and 4D for iOS and its possibilities.

If you prefer to watch rather than read, don’t miss out on the upcoming blog post series featuring the various video tutorials: