PhoneGap is an open source framework that allows developers to build cross-platform mobile apps using standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It works by wrapping web content in a native container, allowing apps to access native device features like the camera, geolocation, contacts, and more. Developers create web content and compile it into native apps for iOS, Android, Blackberry and other platforms. This allows developers to leverage their web skills to build mobile apps that work across platforms.
Emergent Methods: Multi-lingual narrative tracking in the news - real-time ex...
Mobile Web Dev
1. Introduction to
PhoneGap
The Open Source Cross Platform
Mobile Web App Development Framework
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2. 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?).
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4. 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.
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5. Smart Phones
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6. 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
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7. 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?
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8. 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”.
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9. 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.
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10. Video
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13. Get a Contact
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14. Geo-Location
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15. Supported Features
- SQLite Support
- Support for JS Frameworks
- iUI, xUI, Magic Framework, Dashcode,
JQTouch, etc..
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16. Sample Apps
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17. Sample Apps
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18. Sample Apps
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19. 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!)
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20. Upcoming
• More platforms: Nokia (SymbianOS), Palm
WebOS, Windows Mobile, Nintendo DS?
• Support for OpenGL
• Support for Gecko / Mozilla
• Many more...
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