Mobile - architectural considerations

Server
- Practically all mobile apps are backed by a server
- Do you own it or does it belong to a third party?
- Can you change the API? Can the API change from under you?
- What kind of information needs to be sent between mobile app and server?
How to think about this information
- How much data are we talking about?
- What are user expectations of perforamnce and latency?
- What should the app do when there’s no network?
Firewalls
- Are there likely to be firewalls in the way?
- Does the client have to reach the server, or vice versa or both?
Protocols
- Commonplace today is “REST” over “HTTP”.
- But all is changing all the time!
Security
- Authentication
- Authorization