Services
Four kinds of work
Each is described below in terms of what it actually involves, so that you can judge before writing to us whether it is what you need.
iOS application development
Applications for iPhone and iPad, written in Swift against Apple's own frameworks and built with Xcode. The work covers the application itself, the interface, the code that talks to a server, and local storage on the device. It also covers the parts that are easy to forget when planning: an Apple Developer Program account has to exist, builds have to be signed, test versions are distributed through TestFlight, and the finished application has to pass App Store review, which takes an amount of time we do not control. We handle the submission and the review correspondence, and we will tell you at the estimate stage which of Apple's rules are likely to affect what you have asked for.
Android application development
Applications for Android phones and tablets, written in Kotlin and built with Android Studio. The structure of the work is the same as for iOS, but the practical constraints are different. Android runs on a wide range of screen sizes, manufacturers and operating system versions, so the first decision is which versions and which devices the application must support, because that decision drives both the effort and what is technically possible. Publishing goes through Google Play, which requires a developer account and its own review, and we handle that submission as well.
Web development
Websites and applications that run in a browser. On the front end this is HTML, CSS and JavaScript, built to work on phones as well as desktop machines. Behind it, where a project needs one, we write the server-side part: the API the application talks to, the database that holds the data, authentication, and the deployment setup that puts the whole thing on a server with a certificate and a domain name. Smaller work also fits here — a straightforward informational site of a few pages, without a content management system where one is not needed.
Technical consulting
Advice that does not necessarily lead to us writing the software. This includes reading an existing codebase and reporting on its condition, estimating what a proposed piece of work would cost and how long it would take, turning a rough idea into a written specification that several developers could quote against, giving a second opinion on a technical decision or on a quotation from someone else, and advising on hosting and deployment. It is charged by time. This is often the right thing to buy first, because a specification that has been thought about is cheaper than a project that has to be redone.
What happens next
Send a description of what the software has to do to contact@formula.cx, or write directly to the developer at albert.m@formula.cx. You will get back an estimate of scope, cost and time, together with a statement of what we would need from you and which parts of the estimate are uncertain. If we think the work is not a good fit for us, we will say that instead.