i didn't want to ask a question, but i don't have any solution at all.
i've not seen such a kind of problem. i decided to write applications on mobile platforms (android and iOS), but nothing found.
lots of tutorials and documentations
lots of samples
lots of libraries and frameworks
but nothing found... i'm fed up, still looking for difference between mobile web application and desktop. i wanted to write simple drag and drop calculator, searched and found phonegap + jQM. first, i installed eclipse + ADT + cordova and created project. when i started writing, i decided to use jQuery (cause i needed drag and drop effects), and suddenly found that i needed applaud plugin and so on... as i understand applaud app and native phonegap app are differenet. when i searhed, i found that phonegap + jQM are web apps and needed NET to start application. I don't want to write web app, i only want 3 - 4 line to undestand what' going on... what is difference between web and client app in mobile and how i can write simple drag and drop calculator NOT WEB. i'm really fed up with these tutorials and documentations, i only need correct starting way and then i will do myself. damn, i'm tired...
A web app is an HTML5, JavaScript, CSS app running in a mobile browser typically published on a web server but can be run locally on a device without a network connection in some cases.
A native app is downloaded and installed on the mobile device and must be published to an external app store of some sort. There are also hybrid apps that combine both characteristics.
Native and hybrid apps have more complete access to the device platform and can be more performant than web apps but require more specialized language skill (Objective C, Java, C#).
Web apps can be as simple as a web site displayed on a mobile device and require much more broadly utilized skills such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
The requirements of your drag and drop calculator are not specified but I would suggest that a very simple web app could meet your needs.
This IBM article might be overkill for you but it also happens to discuss the offline web app option. http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/web/library/wa-offlineweb/index.html
Related
I am building a management web application based on php + mysql, developed with CakePhp framework.
Now I have been commissioned to develop the mobile version, mainly for android and ios devices (no windows, until now...)
leaving apart that right now i have to study from scratch mobile apps development, the questions are:
I figured out that mobile version of the app cannot be written in php...i know that android is based upon java, but what about ios?
it seems that I have to develop the mobile twice (waiting for windows os request...), so the second question is if there is a tool that could help to write once and to port everywhere (it seems the original java definition...)
Cake, even early version of it, takes to themes very gracefully. Just add to your existing website a mobile-friendly template, customized a bit for your brand look, and you won't need to learn a thing about mobile apps.
I know that those kind of questions have been asked before, but I couldn't find a topic to help me.
I have been give a HTML5 game and I was asked to verify if I can run it on an Android tablet.
I'm a little bit confused with what I have to do? Should I create an Android project and import the file or is there an easier way to create an apk?
Thanks for your help.
You could look at Apache Cordova. This is a powerful environment made to support app development in HTML5. As such you should be able to literally copy your game resources over, run a build and have a full fledge Android App. Fun fact, provided you have access to OS X, Cordova will produce an iOS compatible app too.
If your game consists of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, such that it can be run off a modern web browser with no special plugins installed, rest assured it can run in an Android tablet.
You could access it directly from the tablet's browser or you can make an app (packaged in an APK and installed from it) which does essentially the same, but with a great benefit: the web page and the app can communicate (via JavaScript), enabling a richer experience.
Example of such communication: you're making an app for a web forum, and the link for "compose new message" opens an Android activity for writing that POSTs the result to the server, instead of constraining you to write in a small web browser form.
For more information on the subject, check out Android API Guides for Web Apps.
I want to develop an application which works both in a regular browser and as an Android app. Both seem suitable but would I be right in saying if I went with Phone Gap, deploying the same html content as a regular, server hosted website is not trivial and would require modification? Also, are multi page applications not desirable in a Phone Gap wrapper?
Are there any alternatives I should consider? I'm surprised someone hasn't already written an Android wrapper with all the hardware access wiring done already. Or have they?
There are few things you should know,
If you are going to publish your app also on iOS, you can't use server hosted website for your app.
All of your basic functionality must stand on your app assets, is one of the iOS guidelines, and its also make-sense for best ui performance (both iOS & Android).
Use server-side wisely, when you want to fetch data which have to be up-to-date.
there are some new mobile browser features which will be available in the future, that allow your website to use the device hardware functions:
Device API on W3C
Good luck dude ;)
You can try with jquery mobile framework:
http://www.jquerymobile.com
It is jquery based framework for developing web apps that works on standard web and on multiple mobile devices (with cordova)
I am new to PhoneGap, and I have several questions:
I need a way to develop an application that will have iOS, Android, and other platform compatibility. In other words, I want to write 1 app and get compatibility versions for different platforms.
By reading the "Get Started" guide linked by the PhoneGap website, I found there are different procedures for different platforms. So to have compatibility versions across platforms, do I have to go one-by-one and change all of them if I make a modification to my app?
Also, what exactly is PhoneGap Build? It seems like I can avoid all that hassle mentioned previously and toss my app into the PhoneGap Build? Do I really not have to do anything besides writing the app? What if I need to make changes?
And finally, I've read that PhoneGap works with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, but not PHP. What if my app needs to contact a server? Can PhoneGap handle that?
Thank you for bearing with all these questions!
PhoneGap achieves platform compatibility by embedding a webview within your application. Therefore you can apply your knowledge in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and it additionally provides ways to interact with native features (e.g. camera, gps, ...).
With PhoneGap you write one general web app, tweak parts for the specific platform (sometimes you do not have to this at all) and build it for that platform. The latter can be handled with PhoneGap Build service: It takes your webapp and bundles it for the mobile operating systems out there (Embeds it within a Java app on Android, an Objective-C app on iOs)
PhoneGap is able to communicate with a server hosting a PHP script just as every other web application. Trying to dynamically load resources from remote sites can be quite a hassle but this is another question.
traumalles is correct. All your HTML/Javascript/CSS is running from within a webview on the device. Your code is, therefore, all "client-side." You can communicate with a server just like with any other page. When they say PhoneGap isn't compatible with PHP, they mean only that PhoneGap can't execute PHP code like it's a server, because it's not. It's just loading your webapp in, basically, a browser.
One other important question is what exactly do you mean with "other platforms" phonegap does provide many functionality for nearly every platform but the different webbrowser of the mobile devices have their problems and limitations.
For example are there many problems if you want to provide your application on a WindowsPhone Device because the Webbrowser has a few limitations which will cause your app to not look and behave like a native app.
Just look a bit through the phonegap API you will see that some functions are just available for IOS or for Android and there are a few only Blackberry methods and so on.
So you really have to be careful when a framework tells you it will work on all devices.
So i really don't have a problem with phonegap i worked with it very great but there will be limitations you have to deal with.
If you primarily want to develop for IOS and Android you can really achieve great native like results !
I would like to create a mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android (don't need other platforms for now). I am a web developer, so building something using web technologies is great, but the end result must also be as native like as possible (the user shouldn't notice) the difference.
The application is not complex, it has a few screens with simple stuff like lists, toolbars, tab bars, transitions, etc.
I've researched a lot and the best solution so far for me looks Sencha Touch and PhoneGap.
What do you recommend?
Edit: I think that many things have changed over the last year so I think that many resources and other Stack Overflow questions ;) are old now, that's why I'm asking this.
A good option for mobile web development of simple apps is jQuery Mobile + Phonegap. If you are a web programmer, you will feel right at home. Both projects are actively developed so things are just getting better.
You first develop your app in a browser (Webkit, e.g. Safari) and then use Phonegap to put this web app on a mobile device.
Android
For creating Android apps, you don't even need other tools, you can just upload a zip file of your app to Phonegap Build (an online service) that will compile your app into an .ipk file, which you can just upload to Google Play! Easy.
iOS
For iOS it is a little harder, but still manageable. Here, Phonegap have created an iOS project, which you can open in Xcode, then drop your files in and publish the app to App Store. The process is harder, since you have to first take care of all the developer certificates, provisioning profiles, etc., so be prepared for some hair pulling!