Editing Cross-platform software (section)

==Challenges<span class="anchor" id="Challenges to cross-platform development"></span>==
{{Original research|section|date=March 2025}}
There are many challenges when developing cross-platform software:

* Testing cross-platform applications may be considerably more complicated, since different platforms can exhibit slightly different behaviors or subtle bugs. This problem has led some developers to deride cross-platform development as "write once, debug everywhere", a take on [[Sun Microsystems]]' "[[write once, run anywhere]]" marketing slogan.
* Developers are often restricted to using the [[lowest common denominator (computers)|lowest common denominator]] subset of features which are available on all platforms. This may hinder the application's performance or prohibit developers from using the most advanced features of each platform.
* Different platforms often have different user interface conventions, which cross-platform applications do not always accommodate. For example, applications developed for macOS and [[GNOME]] are supposed to place the most important button on the right-hand side of a window or dialog, whereas Microsoft Windows and [[KDE]] have the opposite convention. Though many of these differences are subtle, a cross-platform application which does not conform to these conventions may feel clunky or alien to the user. When working quickly, such opposing conventions may even result in [[data loss]], such as in a [[dialog box]] confirming whether to save or discard changes.
* Scripting languages and VM bytecode must be translated into native executable code each time they are used, imposing a performance penalty. This penalty can be alleviated using techniques like [[just-in-time compilation]]; but some computational overhead may be unavoidable.
* Different platforms require the use of native package formats such as [[RPM Package Manager|RPM]] and [[Windows Installer|MSI]]. Multi-platform installers such as [[InstallAnywhere]] address this need.
* Cross-platform execution environments may suffer cross-platform security flaws, creating a fertile environment for cross-platform malware.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065122/microsoft-windows-7-end-of-support-lifecycle-millions-pcs|title=Microsoft bids farewell to Windows 7 and the millions of PCs that still run it|last=Warren|first=Tom|date=2020-01-14|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref>