What can we expect from using HTML5 & JavaScript for developing mobile applications.

1. Mobile HTML5 Applications
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2. Why?
• Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, ...
• Hopefully:
• Save time / no duplicate development
• Only one source code for all plattforms
• Web developers are a commodity
• The Web has improved a lot
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3. Estimation
• How much time can we save?
• 3 platforms, |native dev| == |web dev|, no platform specific work
• at most factor 3
• That‘s pretty good
• But not too good
• Very good vs. mediocre developer are at least factor 10
• (tenfinity factor, etc...)
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4. JavaScript resurrection
• Introduced with Netscape Navigator 2.0 in September 1995
• Java Applets, Java FX and other replacements
• all failed miserably
• Nevertheless interest declined
• Ajax & JIT Compiler
• Huge performance improvements
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5. HTML5
• <video>, <audio>, and <canvas>
• SVG Images
• offline storage
• Geolocation access
• Initial release: 26 January 2000
• still a working draft
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6. All shiny and good?
• Successful native apps
• Facebook, Twitter, Maps, Earth, Angry Birds, ...
• Successful HTML5 apps
•?
•
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7. What is wrong?
• Native look & feel (impossible per definition)
• Still missing functionality
• record video, alarm clock, file access, push notification, ...
• Integration with existing apps
• launch maps, mail, camera, youtube, gallery, ...
• Speed
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8. What is wrong? Part 2
• Different web engines & plugins
• available <video> codecs
• Dev tool support
• debugging?
• Handling different screen sizes and densities
• either simple layout or different code-paths
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9. Screen estate, resources
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10. Hybrid Apps
• Native App with parts of HTML
• we do that already (Kurt Beck, MemberScout)
• service agreement, group descriptions, help, <video>
• PhoneGap & Rhomobile
• access to features like camera, gps, etc
• for web-only devs
• quality vs. quantity
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11. Example: 70‘s Rock Trivia
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12. Example: 70‘s Rock Trivia
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13. Example: Medical App
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14. PhoneGap Examples
• Majority of apps is single-platform
• only 1/10 is multi-platform
• Don‘t need to learn sth. new
• Often lack of quality
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15. Conclusion
• HTML5 will get more and more important
• You can always improve a web app with a native one
• In some cases, web might be „good enough“ or even better
• custom UI design, show/edit data
• parts of the app: documents, high-score, video-list
• Not yet ready for prime-time as a replacement
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