jQuery Mobile: Up and Running

Testing Webapps

We have already mentioned that a jQuery Mobile webapp will work on almost every modern desktop browser. However, it would be better if we could test them in a more accurate environment (see Figure 1-8).

Figure 1-8. Testing jQuery Mobile accessibility from an iPad

To test the mobile webapp in different environments, we can use:

• Real devices

• Remote labs

• Emulators

• Simulators

• Lot of friends

Emulators and Simulators

The most useful tools for our work will be emulators and simulators. Generally speaking, an emulator is a piece of software that translates compiled code from an original architecture to the platform where it is running. It allows us to run an operating system and applications on another operating system. In the mobile development world, an emulator is a desktop application that emulates mobile device hardware and operating systems, allowing us to test and debug our applications and see how they are working. The browser, and even the operating system, is not aware that it is running on an emulator, so we can execute the same code as on the real device.

We should also add to our mobile development environment classic tools for project and configuration management, such as bug tracking, version control, and project management tools. Figure 1-8 shows how you can test jQuery Mobile accessibility from an iPhone, iPod, or iPad with iOS 4.0 or higher. Go to Settings → General ...