Salesforce1 Mobile App Developer Guide

Introduction
About This Book
Setting Up Your Work Environment
Salesforce1 Administration
Developing for Salesforce1
Welcome to Salesforce1 Platform Development
Our Scenario
Who This Part is For
When to Use Declarative vs. Programmatic Tools to Create Salesforce1 Apps
When to Use the Salesforce1 Platform vs. Creating Custom Apps
Salesforce1 Platform Development Process
Development Prerequisites
Designing Mobile-First User Interfaces
Extending Salesforce1 with Visualforce Pages
Adding Functionality with Visualforce Custom Actions
Integrating Your Web Applications in Salesforce1 with Force.com Canvas
Calling Quick Actions from the API
Extending the User Interface with Lightning Pages
Development Guidelines and Best Practices
Learning More
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When to Use Declarative vs. Programmatic Tools to Create Salesforce1 Apps

When developing functionality for your Salesforce mobile users, you can use declarative features (clicks) or programmatic tools (code). Here are some points to consider before you start coding.
Salesforce1 features built with declarative tools:
  • Are usually faster and cheaper to build.
  • Generally require less maintenance.
  • Receive automatic upgrades when the tools are improved.
  • Aren’t subject to governor limits.
Common declarative tools you can use in your Salesforce1 apps include:
  • Quick Actions
  • Page layout customization
  • Formula fields and roll-up summary fields
  • Validation rules
  • Workflows and approval processes
  • Custom fields and objects
Before you commit to developing a new feature using programmatic tools such as Visualforce, consider whether you can implement your feature with declarative tools instead.
Of course, some apps can’t be built with declarative tools. Programmatic tools are often required for features that:
  • Support specialized or complex business processes.
  • Provide highly customized user interfaces or customized click-through paths.
  • Connect to or integrate with third-party systems.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for when to choose clicks over code. When choosing, consider the problems you’re trying to solve and resources available to solve them.