When it comes to swift app development and leveraging WebAudio in Cordova, one of the most significant challenges is finding reliable audio support. Unfortunately, many existing plugins fall short, leading to memory leaks, crashes, and broken features.

For instance, the Cordova Media plugin excels at recording audio but struggles when playing multiple files, often resulting in memory leaks and OS halts. Similarly, the Native Audio plugin offers improvements but still has its own set of issues with non-functional features. The createjs team's CordovaAudioPlugin initially showed promise but ultimately succumbed to the same limitations as Cordova Media due to its reliance on the latter.

However, what if we told you that there's a better way? With WebAudio browser support, playing audio doesn't require plugins – it just works! For mobile and desktop applications alike, WebAudio provides seamless audio playback without the need for additional plugins or workarounds.

But why not use the Soundjs-provided WebAudioPlugin, you ask? Unfortunately, this plugin won't work out of the box on iOS devices. To get around this limitation, we need to tweak createjs's behavior when running in Cordova mode. By modifying the code to treat status 0 as equal to status 200, we can ensure seamless audio playback.

Tips for Using WebAudio with Cordova

When developing swift app development projects that rely on WebAudio in Cordova, it's essential to keep a few best practices in mind:

  • Avoid preloading all audio files at once. Mobile apps have limited resources, and file access is fast – so only load what you need.
  • Don't keep a large cache of unloaded audio files. Unload them when they're no longer needed to prevent memory issues.
  • When exporting from Adobe Animate (formerly Flash CC), be mindful of the HTML 5 canvas export's tendency to preload all audio files at startup. This can lead to crashes in mobile apps – so use too many audio files on your timeline or implement a custom solution that defers audio file loading.

By following these tips and leveraging WebAudio's capabilities, you'll be well on your way to creating swift app development projects that deliver exceptional audio experiences for users across various platforms.