Beginning PhoneGap: Mobile Web Framework for JavaScript and HTML5

Beginning PhoneGap: Mobile Web Framework for JavaScript and HTML5

Released February 2012
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781430239031

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Book description

PhoneGap is a growing and leading open-source mobile web apps development framework that lets developers build JavaScript and HTML5-based web applications with native wrappers for more than six mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, and BlackBerry. This framework lets you build HTML- and JavaScript-based apps and still take advantage of native mobile device capabilities like camera, localStorage, geolocation, storage and much more, irrespective of the mobile platform you target. It also lets you use more specialized JavaScript frameworks like jQuery Mobile and more.

Beginning PhoneGap is a definitive, one-of-a-kind book that teaches the fundamentals and strategies behind cross-platform mobile application development. Instead of learning languages like Objective-C, focus on building apps from day one for Android, iOS, Blackberry, WebOS and Symbian—without the complexities of these platforms.

This book shows how to build apps which makes use of Google Local Search to create a Restaurant finder apps (which uses Maps to layout locations and uses internal database to store your favorite restaurants. Furthermore, you'll learn how to extend PhoneGap's functionality by using PhoneGap plugins to write apps like Dropbox (syncing files in the background outside HTML/JavaScript code and in native code).

By the time you finish Beginning PhoneGap, you'll know PhoneGap inside and out, and, consequently, be able to develop mobile web apps faster and more efficiently than ever before. Make more money in less time!

What you'll learn

This book offers an examples-based approach on how to build PhoneGap-based HTML and JavaScript that integrates device features like geolocation, camera, storage, and more.

  • To understand mobile web applications development using the PhoneGap framework

  • How to build simple apps for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, WebOS and Symbian

  • The differences in capabilities across various mobile devices

  • How to integrate other popular mobile JavaScript frameworks to build user interfaces in PhoneGap

  • All the major features in PhoneGap, like geolocation, camera, media, storage, and more.

  • How to build app which make use of OAuth for authentication with services like Facebook

  • How to extend PhoneGap using the PhoneGap plugin development framework

Who this book is for

This book is for project managers and developers of mobile applications who plan to develop for more than one platform, and are interested in saving money and time in the development process.

Table of contents

  1. Title
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents at a Glance
  4. Contents
  5. About the Authors
  6. About the Technical Reviewers
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
    1. Who This Book Is For
    2. How This Book Is Structured
    3. Downloading the Code
    4. Contacting the Authors
  9. Chapter 1: Understanding Cross-Platform Mobile Application Development
    1. Types of Mobile Applications
    2. Understanding Web Services
    3. Overview of Mobile Applications
    4. Challenges in Cross-Platform Mobile Application Development
    5. PhoneGap’s Strategy for Cross-Platform Mobile Application
  10. Chapter 2: Getting Started with PhoneGap
    1. PhoneGap Architecture
    2. Setting up an Environment on the Android
    3. Exploring PhoneGap Features
    4. PhoneGap Tutorials
  11. Chapter 3: Setting the Environment
    1. Local Development Environment
    2. Prerequisite Steps
    3. Cloud Build Environment Using PhoneGap Build
    4. Conclusion
  12. Chapter 4: Using PhoneGap with jQuery Mobile
    1. Getting Acquainted with jQuery
    2. Getting Acquainted with jQueryMobile
    3. Including jQueryMobile in Mobile App
    4. jQueryMobile Declarative UI
    5. jQueryMobile Event Handling
    6. PhoneGap jQueryMobile Integration
    7. Local Search Using jQueryMobile and PhoneGap
  13. Chapter 5: Using PhoneGap with Sencha Touch
    1. Why Use Sencha Touch?
    2. Downloading Sencha Touch
    3. Integrating Sencha with PhoneGap
    4. Building a Local Search Application Using Sencha Touch
    5. Conclusion
  14. Chapter 6: Using PhoneGap with GWT
    1. Why Use GWT for User Interface Development?
    2. Getting Acquainted with the GWT PhoneGap
    3. Building a PhoneGap GWT Application
  15. Chapter 7: PhoneGap Emulator and Remote Debugging
    1. Introduction
    2. PhoneGap Emulator for Chrome – Using Ripple
    3. Remote Debugging – http://debug.phonegap.com
    4. Conclusion
  16. Chapter 8: Using PhoneGap Plug-Ins
    1. What Is PhoneGap Plug-In?
    2. Facebook Authentication and Fetching Friends
    3. C2DM Plug-In for Mobile Push Notification to PhoneGap
  17. Chapter 9: Extending PhoneGap
    1. JavaScript Limitations
    2. Solution
    3. Architecture
    4. Scope
    5. Extending PhoneGap for Android
    6. Extending PhoneGap for iPhone
    7. Extending PhoneGap for BlackBerry
    8. Conclusion
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Beginning PhoneGap: Mobile Web Framework for JavaScript and HTML5
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: February 2012
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781430239031