The debate about HTML5 vs. hybrid vs. native applications has been a polarizing issue among developers for the last few years. On one side developers say HTML5 isn’t fully baked and doesn’t stand up to native, while others believe HTML5 apps are as good as native apps. UI component and developer tool provider Telerik believes it has the answer.

“The reality is there is no winner at this stage,” said Gabe Sumner, product marketing manager for Telerik. “It depends on the project, and you should let the project requirements guide your approach and the approach that you use.”

(Survey says HTML5 as good as native)

Instead of limiting Telerik users to developing only for HTML5, now they can work on native and hybrid apps as well. The company has announced the Telerik Platform, a new mobile application platform that enables developers to use Telerik tools for their preferred approach for any project.

“Mobile development isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ challenge,” said Vassil Terziev, CEO of Telerik. “Telerik understands that every application is different, with different goals and requirements. Developing experiences the right way requires a platform capable of adapting to these differences.”

The new platform provides a broad range of UI tools for developing Web, hybrid and native apps, a complete set of powerful cloud services, and an end-to-end and modular platform.

The UI tools support any approach, OS, device or technology to develop, deploy, manage and maintain cross-platform applications, and they can be integrated with third-party products in order to accommodate infrastructure and tools developers already have in place.

With cloud services, developers can design, develop and test mobile apps; simplify data management, data integration, user management and push notifications; easily deploy apps to private and public app stores; and utilize app analytics and user behavior.

For now, Sumner believes that hybrid, HTML5 and native approaches aren’t going anywhere. According to him, hybrid is not yet capable of truly addressing every project, and HTML5 has not yet progressed to a point where it can entirely do what native can do. Some approaches in some cases work better than others, he explained, which is why Telerik believed the answer is letting the project decide.

More information about the Telerik Platform can be found here.