Pro Android web apps develop for Android using HTML5, CSS3 & JavaScript. - Description based on print version record. - Includes index

Developing applications for Android and other mobile devices using web technologies is now well within reach. When the capabilities of HTML5 are combined with CSS3 and JavaScript, web application developers have an opportunity to develop compelling mobile applications using familiar tools. Not only is it possible to build mobile web apps that feel as good as native apps, but to also write an application once and have it run a variety of different devices. While the HTML5 specification is still evolving, there is a lot that can be used right now to build mobile web apps. Mobile web apps are now starting to provide many of the features that were once only available to native-language-based apps in Java, Objective-C, etc. Pro Android Web Apps teaches developers already familiar with web application development, how to code and structure a web app for use on the Android mobile platform. Understand both the why and how of mobile web app development, focusing on the Android platform. Learn how to structure mobile web apps through a number of practical, real-world application examples. Discover what cloud platforms such as Google AppEngine have to offer Android web apps, for both hosting web apps and providing device to cloud data synchronization solutions. Get a real picture of the status of HTML5 on Android and other mobile devices, including some things to watch out for when building your own applications. Understand the capabilities of the web application stack, and how to complement those with native bridging frameworks such as PhoneGap to access native features of the device. Gain an understanding of the different UI frameworks that are available for building mobile web apps. Learn how to include mapping and leverage location-based services in mobile web apps to create engaging mobile experiences. Enable social integration with your Android web app and gain access to millions of potential users. After reading this book, you will not only have a greater understanding of the world of web apps on Android, but also how to leverage additional tools and frameworks to increase the reach of your mobile web apps. Additionally, through the practical samples in the book you will have been given solid exposure of where both the opportunities and challenges lie when building mobile apps the web way. What you’ll learn What Android web apps can do, and when to use web development rather than native development to create an application. How to use existing JavaScript and CSS frameworks to create rich mobile user interfaces. When to use HTML5 and when to use a native bridging framework to access native Android functionality. Connext with cloud services and APIs to build engaging location based services and games. Enable social integration with your Android web app and gain access to millions of potential users. Who this book is for This book is targeted at web developers looking to transfer their skills over to mobile application development. Readers will understand that Android is continuing to gain momentum in the marketplace and will want to build an application specifically for that platform. They will have a strong desire to use web technologies rather than the native tools to build applications, either due to personal taste or to gain cross-platform mobile portability for the majority of their application code. Table of Contents Getting Started Building a Mobile HTML Entry Form HTML5 Storage APIs Constructing a Multipage App Synchronizing with the Cloud Competing with Native Apps Exploring Interactivity Location Based Services and Mobile Mapping Native Bridging with PhoneGap Integrating with Social APIs Mobile UI Frameworks Compared Polishing and Packaging an App for Release The Future of Mobile Computing Appendix: Debugging Android Web Apps Cover......Page 1 Contents at a Glance......Page 3 Contents......Page 6 About the Authors......Page 11 About the Technical Reviewer......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Introduction......Page 14 Understanding Android Platform Capabilities......Page 16 Device Connectivity......Page 17 Geolocation......Page 18 Hardware Sensors......Page 19 Messaging and Push Notifications......Page 20 Process Management......Page 21 Android OS Feature Summary......Page 22 Text Editors and Working Directories......Page 23 Web Server......Page 24 Emulator......Page 26 Hello World......Page 31 Summary......Page 34 Mobile-Ready Web Pages......Page 35 Adding Form Elements......Page 40 Adding Some Style......Page 41 Form Styles with a Splash of CSS3......Page 44 Improving the Page Title Appearance......Page 47 Coding for Different Screen Sizes......Page 48 Handling Device Orientation Changes......Page 49 Adding Form Validation......Page 53 Providing Feedback with Limited Screen Space......Page 54 Summary......Page 60 HTML5 Storage APIs......Page 61 The Web Storage API......Page 62 Saving Objects to Web Storage Using JSON......Page 63 The Web SQL Database......Page 68 Saving To-Do List Items with a Client-Side Database......Page 70 Database Versioning and Upgrades......Page 76 Summary......Page 77 Single HTML File, Multiple App Pages......Page 78 Creating a View Manager......Page 81 Implementing View Actions......Page 83 Building the Application’s Main Screen......Page 86 Tweaking ViewManager Functionality......Page 90 Home Screen Storage Requirements......Page 91 Wiring Up the Home Screen......Page 95 Building the All Tasks Screen......Page 98 Implementing the View Stack......Page 104 Summary......Page 107 Exploring Online Storage Options......Page 108 User Authentication......Page 109 Possible Synchronization Solutions......Page 110 Getting Started with Google App Engine......Page 111 Deploying jsonengine Locally......Page 112 Choosing a Suitable Synchronization Mode......Page 113 Sending Your Offline Data to jsonengine......Page 114 Updating the User Interface for Online Synchronization......Page 116 Making a Desktop Interface......Page 119 Querying a jsonengine Instance......Page 120 Deploying Your Application on the Cloud......Page 122 Summary......Page 123 Adding Lightweight Animations and Native-Like Layouts......Page 124 Adding a Simple Loading Spinner......Page 125 Adding Scrollable Content......Page 128 Sprucing Up the Action Bar......Page 129 The W3C Geolocation API Specification......Page 131 The Offline Cache Manifest File......Page 135 Exploring Hidden Offline-Caching Features......Page 137 Detecting Your Connection Status......Page 139 Summary......Page 140 Introduction to the HTML5 Canvas......Page 141 Interactivity: The Way of the Mouse......Page 144 Interactivity: The Way of Touch......Page 146 Creating an Animation Loop......Page 149 Drawing a Frame of Animation......Page 150 Drawing Images: Accounting for Device DPI......Page 154 Creating Realistic Movement in Animations......Page 161 Canvas Transformations and Animation......Page 165 Transformations and Our Car Animation......Page 168 Summary......Page 172 Location-Based Services......Page 173 Geosocial Networking......Page 175 Mobile Mapping......Page 176 Displaying a Map with Google Maps......Page 177 Tile5: An Alternative HTML5 Mapping API......Page 179 Adding Markers to a Google Map......Page 181 Showing Marker Detail......Page 183 A Mapping UI Mockup......Page 185 Coding a Boilerplate Mobile Mapping UI......Page 187 Implementing UI Navigation in the Boilerplate......Page 192 Selecting Markers with the Navigation Bar......Page 196 Summary......Page 204 Introducing Bridging Frameworks......Page 205 Downloading PhoneGap......Page 206 A Sample PhoneGap Application......Page 207 Building the Sample Application......Page 209 Investigating the Sample Application......Page 216 Tweaking the Sample PhoneGap Project......Page 221 Transferring Existing Code into a PhoneGap App......Page 226 Summary......Page 231 Connecting to Web APIs......Page 232 What Is JSONP?......Page 233 Dealing with APIs That Lack JSONP Support......Page 239 Introducing the Geominer API......Page 241 Locating Resources in Moundz......Page 243 Finding Nearby Resources with the Geominer API......Page 245 Using Geolocation to Track Your Position......Page 249 Implementing a User Login......Page 252 Constructing the Welcome and Login Screen......Page 253 Twitter Anywhere and the Login Process......Page 256 Alternative Twitter Authentication via Geominer......Page 261 Summary......Page 264 Mobile UI Frameworks Overview......Page 266 Similarities and Differences Between Frameworks......Page 267 Setting Up for the Framework Comparison......Page 268 Jo......Page 272 Getting Started with Jo......Page 273 Moundz, Meet Jo......Page 275 jQTouch......Page 280 Getting Started with jQTouch......Page 281 Applying Some jQTouch-Ups to Moundz......Page 284 jQuery Mobile......Page 289 Getting Started with jQuery Mobile......Page 290 Moundz and jQuery Mobile......Page 292 Sencha Touch......Page 298 Getting Started with Sencha Touch......Page 299 Moundz and Sencha Touch......Page 301 Summary......Page 309 Reinstating the Login Screen......Page 310 Improving Navigation Layout......Page 316 Building the Resource Details Screen......Page 318 Using Geominer for Resource Tracking......Page 325 Bundling for PhoneGap......Page 327 Tweaking Application Permissions......Page 332 Our Previous Web Authentication Flow......Page 334 An Overview of Android Intents......Page 335 Using PhoneGap Plug-Ins to Handle Intents......Page 337 Packaging Our Application for Release......Page 342 Summary......Page 347 The Era of Mobile Computing......Page 348 A Worldwide Phenomenon......Page 349 Embracing Progressive Enhancement......Page 350 Improvements in Tools and Libraries......Page 353 Changes in Device Architecture......Page 355 The Internet of Things......Page 357 Hardware Sensor Networks......Page 358 The Human Sensor......Page 360 Summary......Page 361 JSLint: Prevention Is Better Than Cure......Page 362 Catching Messages and Errors in the Console......Page 363 Script Debugging......Page 365 Inspecting the DOM with the Elements Tab......Page 367 Debugging with the Android Debug Bridge......Page 368 A......Page 370 B......Page 371 D......Page 372 E......Page 373 I......Page 374 L......Page 375 M......Page 376 O......Page 377 P......Page 378 R......Page 379 T......Page 380 W......Page 381 Z......Page 382

Developing applications for Android and other mobile devices using web technologies is now well within reach. When the capabilities of HTML5 are combined with CSS3 and JavaScript, web application developers have an opportunity to develop compelling mobile applications using familiar tools. Not only is it possible to build mobile web apps that feel as good as native apps, but to also write an application once and have it run a variety of different devices.

While the HTML5 specification is still evolving, there is a lot that can be used right now to build mobile web apps. Mobile web apps are now starting to provide many of the features that were once only available to native-language-based apps in Java, Objective-C, etc. Pro Android Web Apps teaches developers already familiar with web application development, how to code and structure a web app for use on the Android mobile platform.

• Understand both the why and how of mobile web app development, focusing on the Android platform.
• Learn how to structure mobile web apps through a number of practical, real-world application examples.
• Discover what cloud platforms such as Google AppEngine have to offer Android web apps, for both hosting web apps and providing device to cloud data synchronization solutions.
• Get a real picture of the status of HTML5 on Android and other mobile devices, including some things to watch out for when building your own applications.
• Understand the capabilities of the web application stack, and how to complement those with native bridging frameworks such as PhoneGap to access native features of the device.
• Gain an understanding of the different UI frameworks that are available for building mobile web apps.
• Learn how to include mapping and leverage location-based services in mobile web apps to create engaging mobile experiences.
• Enable social integration with your Android web app and gain access to millions of potential users.

After reading this book, you will not only have a greater understanding of the world of web apps on Android, but also how to leverage additional tools and frameworks to increase the reach of your mobile web apps. Additionally, through the practical samples in the book you will have been given solid exposure of where both the opportunities and challenges lie when building mobile apps the web way.

What you’ll learn

• What Android web apps can do, and when to use web development rather than native development to create an application.
• How to use existing JavaScript and CSS frameworks to create rich mobile user interfaces.
• When to use HTML5 and when to use a native bridging framework to access native Android functionality.
• Connext with cloud services and APIs to build engaging location based services and games.
• Enable social integration with your Android web app and gain access to millions of potential users.

Who this book is for

This bookis targeted at web developers looking to transfer their skills over to mobile application development.Readers will understand that Android is continuing to gain momentum in the marketplace and will want to build an application specifically for that platform.They will have a strong desire to use web technologies rather than the native tools to build applications, either due to personal taste or to gain cross-platform mobile portability for the majority of their application code.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. Building a Mobile HTML Entry Form
3. HTML5 Storage APIs
4. Constructing a Multipage App
5. Synchronizing with the Cloud
6. Competing with Native Apps
7. Exploring Interactivity
8. Location Based Services and Mobile Mapping
9. Native Bridging with PhoneGap
10. Integrating with Social APIs
11. Mobile UI Frameworks Compared
12. Polishing andPackaging an App for Release
13. The Future of Mobile Computing
14. Appendix: Debugging Android Web Apps

From the publisher. Developing applications for Android and other mobile devices using web technologies is now well within reach. When the capabilities of HTML5 are combined with CSS3 and JavaScript, web application developers have an opportunity to develop compelling mobile applications using familiar tools. Not only is it possible to build mobile web apps that feel as good as native apps, but to also write an application once and have it run a variety of different devices. While the HTML5 specification is still evolving, there is a lot that can be used right now to build mobile web apps. Mobile web apps are now starting to provide many of the features that were once only available to native-language-based apps in Java, Objective-C, etc. Pro Android Web Apps teaches developers already familiar with web application development, how to code and structure a web app for use on the Android mobile platform. Understand both the why and how of mobile web app development, focusing on the Android platform. Learn how to structure mobile web apps through a number of practical, real-world application examples. Discover what cloud platforms such as Google AppEngine have to offer Android web apps, for both hosting web apps and providing device to cloud data synchronization solutions. Get a real picture of the status of HTML5 on Android and other mobile devices, including some things to watch out for when building your own applications. Understand the capabilities of the web application stack, and how to complement those with native bridging frameworks such as PhoneGap to access native features of the device. Gain an understanding of the different UI frameworks that are available for building mobile web apps. Learn how to include mapping and leverage location-based services in mobile web apps to create engaging mobile experiences. Enable social integration with your Android web app and gain access to millions of potential users. After reading this book, you will not only have a greater understanding of the world of web apps on Android, but also how to leverage additional tools and frameworks to increase the reach of your mobile web apps. Additionally, through the practical samples in the book you will have been given solid exposure of where both the opportunities and challenges lie when building mobile apps the web way. What you'll learn: what Android web apps can do, and when to use web development rather than native development to create an application; how to use existing JavaScript and CSS frameworks to create rich mobile user interfaces; when to use HTML5 and when to use a native bridging framework to access native Android functionality; connect with cloud services and APIs to build engaging location based services and games; enable social integration with your Android web app and gain access to millions of potential users. This book is targeted at web developers looking to transfer their skills over to mobile application development. Readers will understand that Android is continuing to gain momentum in the marketplace and will want to build an application specifically for that platform. They will have a strong desire to use web technologies rather than the native tools to build applications, either due to personal taste or to gain cross-platform mobile portability for the majority of their application code