The Importance Of Cross Platform Compatibility

I’ve gone on and on about how important cross-platform software really is in the past, and my mission to spread the word about its importance will continue. It can be frustrating to hear about a great application, become intrigued by its features and functionality, and then find out that it’s only available for one operating system. Oh, the humanity!

We obviously talk a lot about operating systems specifically at OSWeekly.com, but the truth is that no matter how good a particular OS may be in certain areas, there are times when users will refuse to use the operating system of their choice because of a reliance on an application supported on another OS. Yes, it’s not always all about the operating systems, people.

During my evangelization of cross-platform software the other day, I realized there was a flaw in my reasoning that I needed to correct. For a long time, I’ve been saying that the development of cross-platform solutions should be a goal for every software developer (it’s my goal, too), but if you’re going to just write them in only one way and push the same exact code out to every platform, then maybe you’re not truly ready to go cross-platform.

Granted, these solutions can work well, but in order to truly benefit from what cross-platform software has to offer, you need to step beyond the usual standards and take advantage of what each operating system has to offer instead of only providing a blanket solution.

Just think, each OS has its own unique set of benefits and drawbacks, and if you’re not playing off of these in the right way, then you’re missing out on the potential that your applications have. I’ve seen cross-platform programs before that worked very well on one platform, but if you tried to use them on any other operating system, you’d see an obvious difference. They feel rushed and clunky, and you can tell that no time was devoted to these versions. My theory is, if you’re going to do it, then do it right.

No matter what operating system they’re using it on, your users should all have a great experience with your software, and while these experiences should be similar, they don’t always have to be exactly the same. If you can add something new and exciting to the Windows version, then you should do it, and the same thing applies for OS X and Linux. The tools are there for a reason, and you shouldn’t be hesitant to use them.

In summary, I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m better off for it. It can be easy to get into the habit of trying to get things done quickly in this fast-paced world, but you don’t want to place such an emphasis on quick results that you forget about the quality of your work. As a software developer, if you’re about to issue a new cross-platform release, check to make sure that you’re using the strengths of each OS to the full. Your users will thank you for this.

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