Chapter 1. Introducing the iPhone and iPod touch Development Platform
The introduction of the iPhone and subsequent unveiling of the iPod touch revolutionized the way people interacted with handheld devices. No longer did users have to use a keypad for screen navigation or browse the Web through "dumbed down" pages. These Apple devices brought touch screen input, a revolutionary interface design, and a fully functional Web browser right into the palms of people's hands. However, the question in the developer community in the months leading up to the release of the iPhone was: Will Apple allow third-party developers to develop custom applications for this new mobile platform? Apple's response was one that made Web developers happy and Objective-C programmers sad — iPhone and iPod touch applications would be Safari-based apps that are built using standard Web technologies. Apple opted for this solution as a way to provide developers with the freedom to create custom apps, all the while maintaining control of the user experience of these two devices.
Discovering the Mobile Safari Platform
An iPhone and iPod touch application runs inside of the built-in Safari browser that is based on Web standards, including:
HTML/XHTML (HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.9, XHTML mobile profile document types)
CSS (CSS 2.1 and partial CSS3)
JavaScript (ECMAScript 3, JavaScript 1.4)
AJAX (e.g., XMLHTTPRequest)
Ancillary technologies (video and audio media, PDF, and so on)
Safari on iPhone and iPod touch (which I refer ...
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