Introduction to PhoneGap The Open Source Cross Platform Mobile Web App Development Framework Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Background • Evolution of Mobile Web. • Formats: WAP, cHTML, mHTML. • Limited by Phone’s web browser. • Manufacturer dependent proprietary web browser. • WAP: “Where Are the Phones?” • Limited resources, capabilities & bandwidth. • Inconsistent form factors (screen size, color depth, bitmap support, plugin?). Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society WAP/cHTML Phones Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Mobile Web Today • Powerful Smart Phones. • Powerful full-featured mobile Operating Systems. • Old Birds: Windows Mobile, Symbian OS, Blackberry • Linux Based: iPhone OS, Android, WebOS, Maemo • Powerful cross-platform web browsers. • More bandwidth (3G, WiFi, WiMax). • More consistent form-factors. Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Smart Phones Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Developing for Mobile Web • Inconsistency: • Layout, screen resolution, form factors, capabilities, bandwidth, plug-in • Proprietary APIs • Caveat: Cross platform web browsers (Webkit, Mozilla, Opera) • Limited in Scope • Web browser “Silo” • Self-contained & away from the rest of the OS • Secure but quite useless Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Native Phone App? • Learning Curve: • New SDK, New Language, New Paradigmn • OS Dependent quirks, limitations, conventions • Weapon of Choice (which platform?): • Significant investment in time & money • Egg in one basket? Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society What is PhoneGap? • Leverages on what we web developers knows best - HTML & Javascript. • Gives us access to the phone’s native APIs & features - Geo-location, Vibration, Accelerometer, Sound, Contacts, Camera, etc... • “Wraps the web view with a container. This container gives the view access to APIs available on the device that may not be available on the Web view alone”. http://www.phonegap.com Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Developing in PhoneGap 1. Create Web Views • HTML, Javascript, Graphics, etc. 2. Store it in a folder. 3. Compile the Web view into a native app binary file. • iPhone, Android, Blackberry • Coming Soon: Nokia (WRT), Windows Mobile, WebOS 4. Install into device. Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Video Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Some Sample Codes Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Get a Contact Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Geo-Location Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Supported Features - SQLite Support - Support for JS Frameworks - iUI, xUI, Magic Framework, Dashcode, JQTouch, etc.. Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Sample Apps Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Sample Apps Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Sample Apps Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Conclusion • Things will only get better. • Active community (Google Groups) • http://groups.google.com/group/phonegap • Good wiki documentation • http://phonegap.pbworks.com/ • Device agnostic • Completely open source (FREE!) Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society Upcoming • More platforms: Nokia (SymbianOS), Palm WebOS, Windows Mobile, Nintendo DS? • Support for OpenGL • Support for Gecko / Mozilla • Many more... Ph.P SOCIETY Philosophy in Programming Society.