Smashing CoffeeScript

CHAPTER 12

Mobile CoffeeScript Applications

When it seems like there’s nowhere new for the web to go and that innovation is slowing down, something new comes along and throws a spanner in the works. Right now, that something is mobile. Although people have been able to access the Internet using various mobile systems for over 20 years, the advent of mobile broadband connections and smartphones has signaled an entirely new breed of mobile user.

Today’s mobile web has come a long way, and although it’s still not as rich or engaging as the traditional experience, users expect a highly functional and, above all else, fast experience. A wealth of mobile devices with broadly different functionalities has also dragged the web developer back into the pit of browser compatibility worries and endless testing. Luckily, there are tools available to tame this beast.

This chapter takes a look at two useful frameworks for developing mobile applications. Spine.mobile extends the main Spine framework that you looked at in Chapter 10, adding various mobile-focused features. jQuery Mobile is a new project that adds mobile features and user interface to the jQuery library, similar to how jQuery UI works. Either of these is useful on its own, but you’ll also see how these libraries can be combined.

Understanding Mobile first principles

What is the point of using a mobile web browser? After all, as well as the bandwidth costs being significantly more expensive than the wired equivalent, the devices ...