Web development for iPhone using html and js only

In some cases, there is no need to use Objective C and special licenses to develop web applications for iPhone. All you need is your knowledge of html and js.

Of course, you can just create a web site and adapt it for iPhone. But we want to add some more information about it.

First, with the advent of html 5 we all get the chance to work with local databases. Moreover, all the browsers based on the WebKit engine (we mean the last updates, of course) support this feature now. It’s so easy to work with them:
db = openDatabase (“YourDemoDB”, “2.0″, “HTML5 DemoDB”, 134000);
The function of database creation refers to the following parameters:
• name of the database;
• its version;
• display name;
• size in bytes.

Then open the transaction and perform the needed actions:
db.transaction (function (tx)
(
tx.executeSql (“DELETE FROM tbl_test WHERE id =?”, [item.id]);
));

Secondly, it is worth saying about the possibilities of off-line work with creation of a manifest-file. More information about it can be found on the Apple website.

So, manifest is an ordinary file, such as css or js, for example, that contains information about cache of your application. When you enter the page for the first time all the data, indicated in this file will be cached.
Now let’s see what it looks like in practice:

1. Indicate a link to some file on our page

2. Create the file
CACHE MANIFEST
demoimages/image_1.jpg
demoimages/image_2.jpg
demoimages/icon.jpg
And that is all! It works. You have developed web application for iPhone and can work fully with your cache: update it, handle events, and so on.

Mobile OS Racing: BlackBerry, Android and iPhone. Who Wins and Who Loses?

comScore, a well known web statistics provider, released the results of its regular research. It conducted a study of the American mobile market, analyzing platforms of the most popular phones and smartphones.
So, BlackBerry smartphones kept their leadership in the USA. The comScore study covered the period from November, 2009 to February, 2010. And at this time BlackBerry occupied 43% of the market. This is 1.7% more than in August-October, 2009.

Nevertheless, positions of BlackBerry were threatened by the Android platform. This OS from Google, that took the fancy of mobile apps developers all over the world, demonstrated the highest growth rates. Android needed just a quarter to increase its presence in the United States from 2.8% to 7.1%. At the same time, the market share of mobile operating system from Microsoft declined from 19.7% to 15.7% during the analyzed period. On the other hand, there were no changes in the rates of iPhone: Apple smartphones stably occupied 25.1% of the U.S. market.

So, mobile application development for Android and iPhone platforms can be estimated as good investment in your future development.

Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight: which platform to choose?

SD Times, the first and only newspaper that was launched for software development managers in February 2000, has become interested in our expertise in Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight. So we have got an opportunity to share our experience with more than 60,000 subscribers in more than 130 countries.

Mr. Sergey Marchuk, the Chief Technical Officer of Oxagile, disclosed some secrets in his interview. First of all he explained whether it’s correct to compare Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight, and noted that speaking about AIR on this point we should considered Flash / Flex development and such technologies as JavaScript / HTML.

Discussing pros and cons of both platforms he provided interesting data about their percent abundance. Silverlight was proved to be less popular than Flash (50% of PCs with preinstalled Silverlight plug-in vs. 97% of machines supporting Flash). Moreover their rates of popularity can change as new version of HTML (HTML5) becomes available. As we know, it allows watching video without any additional plug-ins (Flash Player or Silverlight). So, as the CTO of Oxagile stressed, nowadays it’s very important to find “the right” software developer and consult on how and which platform to use for every specific software project.

What is new in WordPress 3.0? (quick review of some new features)

The next version of WordPress, the most popular platform for websites, is due on the 1st of May, 2010. So, we propose to read about the most significant changes that are coming in WordPress CMS 3.0.

Combining WordPress MU and WordPress

It’s a great piece of news for those specialists who work at professional website development on WordPress. And what does it mean for CMS users?
They will be able to create multiple sites using the same admin area (without any new installations).

Custom record types

This function wasn’t added in WordPress 2.9, but finally will appear in the 3.0 version. The combination of record types and taxonomy will make WordPress a more powerful CMS. This option allows to create different types of articles for a website or blog.

Improving website menus

А so-called Custom Woo Navigation will be included in the WordPress system, its mission is to make the website navigation more convenient. Users will be able to drag and drop menu items on a special page, like on the page with WordPress widgets.

New default template

This new template supports replaceable backgrounds that can be added in functions.php:

add_custom_background ();

Templates for designers

WordPress 2.9 has an option that allows to create templates for categories with their URL (slug) in category-slug.php. So, the 3.0 version will have similar feature for WordPress website developers (a new function get_author_template ()).

Android becomes even more real: new toys for mobile apps developers

Now we can touch and feel Android in Oxagile office not only on screens of our mobile phones. We have got quite a full-fledged idol and can address it in terms of worship.

Artist Andrew Bell talked with guys from Google and together with Dyzplastic he created something what can be called as “designer toy”. This creature in the flesh represents a popular logo that has become favorite one for those who work at application development for Android OS.

Android is available in variety of skins from the 10th of February (with international delivery services!). Its head rotates, as well as hands, its price is about seven dollars, and the height is three inches.

Mobile software developers working for Oxagile think that Android toy can become the same legendary hero as Be@rbrick and Memobot.