We are building GWT Web Application mainly focused on iOS + Safari platform. I need to debug and profile the application directly on the device. We are working only on Windows computers.
As mentioned e.g. here, one cannot use iOS Web Inspector built in in Safari, since the newest version of Safari is not available for Windows.
So we started to use alternative tool Telerik AppBuilder to do it, as suggested e.g. here. I am quite happy with it and it is getting more and more powerful.
However I would like to see comparison of those two tools by someone, who has experience with both of them. I am considering, whenever to invest into Mac computer to be able to use Web Inspector. Are there any features or advantages in Web Inspector, which Telerik does not have?
Based on my further experience, Telerik is good enough to do all debugging we need. And since it is based on same API as debugger in Safari, it has about same features. It is not as good as Safari debugger, but close enough. Investment into Mac computer just for debugging features is not worth the advantages.
Related
This is a very basic question, but I have no idea how to be begin, so please bear with me.
I'm a C# software developer, so I'm very familiar with the VS IDE and with Windows and Web development. But I have never developed a mobile application.
With that said, I came up with an idea which is essentially a screen with a map and a bunch of pins, and a list that represents each pin. It will run in an iphone and android phone. It will look something like below.
I decided to develop it in Xamarin because 1) I've worked with VS for many years so I understand how it works, 2) I can develop one app in Xamarin that can run both in ios and android.
I understand that it may be a very basic question, but I have no idea where to start. I also have experience with development, so I don't want to go thru the Hello World example. Finally, I also have a full-time job, so my limited free time would be used to completing this particular app.
So my question is: where do I start?
First thing first. You should get yourself familiar with Mobile Development(app life cycle, patterns etc.) by creating few sample applications (since you stated you were developing in Visual Studio using c# before it should be quick procedure for you). You can find documentation and sample codes on official Xamarin site:
Xamarin Website
Next get yourself familiar with MVVM pattern and MVVM frameworks to write applications using modern patterns and modern practises. I personally recommend MVVMCross or MVVMFresh.
Data Binding from Official site
FreshMVVM with Samples
Then get yourself familiar with Xamarin.Forms maps. It's a nice library that allows you to use one code and share them across 2 platforms. Google Maps official apis are also good but they are platform specific.
Xamarin Forms Maps
Enjoy and welcome to the Dark Side ;)
I have a multi-platform mobile app that I am releasing on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, and Blackberry 10 (WebWorks). For the other three non-BB platforms, I have a way to distribute the enterprise app via a web server (user installs by clicking a link on a web page inside of a mobile browser). However, for BB10 Webworks, I can't seem to find a documented way to distribute a .bar file in this same manner.
Options:
1) I have seen docs that discuss placing Java-based apps (.jad and .cod files) on a web server for OTA distro, but can't find any documentation on being able to do the same with BB10 .bar files.
2) Blackberry App World - but this is public, which is not what I want for this enterprise app
3) Blackberry App World for Work and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 - both of these seem to be overkill for my modest purpose. I only have a single app and simply need a download link, not full app/device management, app catalogs, etc.
Is it possible to do #1 with .bars? Or is there another option I have not considered?
Thanks
I was not aware that sandboxed users could see apps other users couldn't, as mentioned in the one of the answer - something for me to try!
The only other option I am aware of is to "side load" the bar file, you can side load with various tools which you can find if you search, such as:
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-10-os-f269/how-get-bb10-hardware-id-sideload-app-bar-file-into-blackberry-10-a-780773/
http://forums.crackberry.com/android-app-sideloading-f279/how-sideload-apps-bb10-device-easy-way-windows-825656/
I haven't tried out these tools, sorry.
I actually do it using the tools you get with the Android Command line toolset - available from BB web site here:
http://developer.blackberry.com/android/tools/
but this approach are not 'user friendly'. I use it because I have converted a few Android apps to run on BB10 and so got to know the tools.
I can't say that these tools are safe, since I don't actually know them, but what I can say is that I am not aware of any way that a PC based tool sending something over the internet (or USB) to your BB10 could break it, nor am I aware of any way that a side loaded app could break your BB10. The days of bricking your BB devise with a dubious bit of software do seem (thankfully) to be over.
Edit: Just thought I would update this given the options that Nate has found, which I also didn't know about!
Both the sites Nate has found seem to work in the same way as the tools I mentioned above. My understanding of all these tools is that they run a deploy utility, that connects to the BB10 device via a TCP/IP connection (which could be routed over WiFi or USB), and sends the bar file over this connection. The connection is initiated by the deploy utility, which is why it has to be in the same network.
There is likely some BBRY proprietary protocol involved, which includes an exchange of the password, as the password supplied to the deploy utility must match the development password on the device.
Now I strongly suspect that BBRY have not published the specification for this communication. I also strongly suspect that the password is never seen in the clear, so you could not use some tool like Wireshark to reverse engineer this. My suspicions therefore is that the tools, including the two I have pointed you at, all run something like the Android Command line tool under the covers - and they got this from BBRY. So perhaps you can build something like the web sites yourself - assuming you have the time and inclination of course.
Just a thought and just my opinion.
There is probably a better way, but I don't know about it. Anyway: you can deploy an app to the BB World, but not put it up for sale, then add users accounts to your sandbox. They, and only them, will be able to download your application, which will not be shown on the BB World to anyone else.
This isn't natively supported on BlackBerry 10, but it looks like there are a few hacks that people have already figured out to make this work.
Depending on your needs, these may or may not work for you (see especially the security caveats on the FAQ pages).
https://sideswype.me/
https://barinstall.com
These appear to take advantage of a VPN security hole. BlackBerry has previously patched this hole, but according to the BarInstall site, the owner just added support for 10.2, to work around the patch.
Both of these services do charge a modest fee, but it may be easier for you than maintaining a BES server.
Peter Strange's answer is quite comprehensive for the time it was written. I will just add that with the release of BB 10.2 you have the option to distribute your application OTA as an APK. Since you are using HTML5 for development I suspect there will be little performance difference between running the APK and running the BAR. But that is something you can check out if you have, or know someone with a BB10 device. Performance should improve with the release of 10.3.
What is the best tool to prototype a jquery mobile based app ? I would prefer one that runs on desktop as opposed to cloud based.
I used http://www.electricplum.com/ to get mine off the ground. jsFiddle.net also allows you to do work on their fiddler and connect it to mobile (however this is a cloud solution).
http://Xiffe.com is the most comprehensive mobile prototyping tool, providing prototyping for all major mobile platforms
It has a drag and drop interface and support for app workflow simulation by linking screens through button clicks. Supports iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
I have used Codiqa's web-based product and it is good. They just released a desktop based version with a free 7 day trial: https://codiqa.com/desktop
This is kind of a dumb question but I've aware of classic style JDE development for Blackberry but I've never tried using WebWorks. BB website says that it's possible to build applications for both smartphones (OS 6.0+) and tablets - sounds fantastic, but what's the price?
Is here anyone using WebWorks on a daily basis and capable of describing pros and cons?
Thanks in advance
I would suggest using it if you build webOS applications before hand. It make porting to the blackberry a breeze.
Use WebWorks if you know html5, Css3 and javascript over Java and C++.
I haven't ran into any issues with the webWorks, ported two applications without running into any issues. Its your standard html5, css3 and javascript you love with blackberry APIs
WebWorks is a good development choice, particularly as it allows easy migration from earlier BB OSes to BB10. It's mostly standard web technologies (HTML5, CSS3, etc.) and the team seems focused on making it perform well (e.g. hardware accelerated WebGL graphics) while at the same time providing BlackBerry-specific APIs to make WebWork apps capable and with good UX (e.g. you can make it look like a native app).
For native apps, you should look into Cascades. This is a modern development environment with good tooling, accelerated graphics, and APIs for building snazzy apps. It's the one that will most be a "BlackBerry app".
AIR remains an option, but I would recommend WebWorks over AIR, as even Adobe is migrating from Flash to web technologies. Likewise, you can develop Android apps on BB10, but unless you are keen on Java programming, you will get more cross-platform support from WebWorks (or even AIR) so there's no particular reason to go the Android route.
WebWorks API is limited, for example it does not have socket, so you cannot port a VNC (UltaVNC, tightVNC ..) to it but you can do it with JDE.
For UI, WebWorks allowed me to write UI of acceptable quality quickly and easily, a thing that I have never succeeded with JDE.
Still on the UI side, I can make use of multi-touch (PlayBook), I don't think this one is possible with JDE.
So depending on your needs you should go either WebWorks or Native, having heard that Java may not be supported in BB10, and Air may not be future proof (Adobe favors HTML5 instead of Flash). Android appli has some lag on start up when it is run on PlayBook, some customers are sensitive to the initial even just one time slow response time.
I'm a huge proponent of Webworks. Ever since I've started using it, it quickly became the default option for my apps going forward. Especially for someone like me who is just writing a few apps on the side, I don't have the time to do it in c++.
The apps I'm writing revolve around home automation. They are client/server based from the get go.
Here's why I like it:
First and foremost, native API support. I can very easily create my own active frames, import invocation from other apps (think camera, stuff like that). I can export portions of my webworks app as an invocation card! Which means I can write say 3 unique apps (in this case home automation, lights, thermostat, security cameras). And I can very easily pull features from each app into the other. Maybe I want to turn my lights on in the living room, I can also import the camera card from my IPcam app and view the results, without having to add that code into my lights app and maintain two separate code lines.
Rapid design. Since I've been dabbling in html since I was a kid, it's now very easy for me to whip up an appealing UI in little time. Because web engines these days offer good performance in terms of graphics capability, I also can make apps that behave very fluid.
Considering the time to make something beautiful, it's hard for me to leave webworks and go for something in c++. Also the big plus is often these apps I'm making are intended for multiple devices, namely an app on my phone and being hosted on my personal website. By maintaining two slightly different css files, most of the time I need no code changes, just load a different css depending on if it's a phone or a pc. (Exactly what you'd do if you were developing a regular old website).
For that matter, I actually don't put my code on the device, I host all of my html and javascript, images etc on my server. The webworks app is just the config.xml pointing it's source to my server, and an icon. A glorified website bookmark on the homescreen, only difference is I can use native API and there's no browser bar in the app.
Also, this way I can still continue to edit the same single codeline on my server, and instantly apply changes to the in-browser app and the on-device app.
This is especially cool if you're designing an app where all of it's data is out in the "cloud", say you work for a publication and you want to write a magazine app which pulls content from your servers on the net.
I'd like my Blackberry devices to get and possibly set data to the server, and am a little confused by all the options:
RIM-Push/Pap-Push. Use any library that is able to compose a HTTP GET request to the MDS-CS service (not MDS-IS). This is a one way operation from the server to the device.
RIM-Push (Push a URL and or shorcut to a device for possible offline viewing)
PAP-Push (Same as above, BUT allows for message confirmation of delivery)
WebServices: Use Visual Studio 2008 to create a Web Services only project. I'm unclear if this is supported anymore, or if MDS-IS is used. This is a 2 way operation.
MDS-IS: Use Eclipse to develop the applications and Java is required, I am unsure of what client libraries are able to do (2 way operation).
Let me know if missing any option, or if I need to revise my understanding of the basics
This is actually quite a broad question - there are a lot of ways for a BlackBerry device to interact with a server, and the ideal way depends heavily on your specific application.
Generally:
MDS Studio: the Visual Studio 2008 method is no longer actively supported. It was a mostly visual forms designer, but not a great solution for a lot of reasons. Basically, don't use it.
Mobile Web: Depending on what you need to do, this might work. Everything server side. The thing to be aware of (and why this doesn't work for a lot of problems) is that prior to BlackBerry 6 the browser wasn't very capable, either in terms of HTML support or JavaScript support. You can, however, create shortcuts to mobile web sites which appear as icons on the BlackBerry homescreen. And you can use BlackBerry Web Signals: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/browserdev/websignals.jsp to push changes to mobile web pages to devices
Widgets: Supported in BlackBerry OS 5 and higher. http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/browserdev/widgetsdk.jsp These are packaged much like 'native' BlackBerry apps, but written using HTML and JavaScript. Can be a good option for rapid development if you're ok with just targeting OS 5, and with the limitations of the BlackBerry Browser. Lots of JavaScript hooks to system functions, so they give you more functionality than pure mobile web, and you can distribute them through App World and the like.
Java Apps: Most development work, but you get potentially the best user experience, and the most functionality. Too broad a topic to cover adequately here, but there are a lot of questions related to these on SO and elsewhere. A good starting point is the BlackBerry developer zone: http://www.blackberry.com/developers RIM Push and PAP Push both fall into this category, as they interact with Java apps, though there are other methods that you can use to achieve similar results (client polling, or I've even seen SMS or email used to push info or wake up a client, though this isn't recommended by RIM).
For a deeper overview of the options I'd recommend a book by my friend John Wargo, called BlackBerry Development Fundamentals. He covers the various options pretty well.