StudioVisit released
George C Brackett
(whew!) StudioVisit has just been accepted by the App Store: see
http://itunes.apple.com/app/studiovisit/id406222044?mt=8. Creative
professionals can use StudioVisit to make a portable portfolio of
their latest work, a 'studio visit' in a pocket.
Meanwhile I'm looking forward to a time soon when a project like
StudioVisit can be executed in LiveCode iOS!
Scott Rossi
What do you think about working in PhoneGap? Can you mention a bit about
your experience using that environment?
Regards,
Scott Rossi
Creative Director
Tactile Media, UX Design
George C Brackett
1. In addition to PhoneGap, you must be reasonably conversant with HTML and CSS, and at least have a passing acquaintance with JavaScript. jQuery is the way to actually program productively in JavaScript, but it's not too hard to learn. jQTouch, a plugin to jQuery, makes it easy to lay out an app in one HTML page and handle the navigation. The best way I know to learn how these technologies fit together in an extended example is to purchase "Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS and JavaScript" by Jonathan Stark (O'Reilly). Despite its title, Jonathan's book has lots of information on the key parts of jQuery, CSS, JQTouch, and PhoneGap. I also used "CSS: the missing manual" by David Sawyer McFarland (O'Reilly) and "JavaScript: the missing manual" by the same author, which also discusses jQuery.
2. PhoneGap's job is to provide an interface to key functionality of smart phones. Currently these are Accelerometer, Camera, Compass, Contacts, Device (ident), Events, File, GeoLocation, Media and Network. For details consult http://docs.phonegap.com/. Of these, I used Camera and Events to build Studio Visit. These interfaces may not provide all of the functionality you need in a given area; like many development environments, everything is under development.
3. Numerous programmers have produced useful add-ons to the basic technologies. These are, like the technologies themselves, free. I used jQT.Photo, one of a number of extensions to JQTouch written by Sam Shull and distributed via github. There are also forks of some technologies, notably jQTouch, which has been absorbed into SenchaTouch while retaining a semi-independent status. One fork of jQTouch that looks interesting is DataZombies', which has some very good support for tab bars across the screen bottom. PhoneGap has a nice set from PurpleCabbage, a nom de plume of one if its developers.
4. Needless to say, I suppose, coming to understand this large range of technologies, some very new, some long in the tooth, is a very challenging task. Don't expect to do it quickly. Using Jonathan Stark's book or the PhoneGap tutorials, you can have a basic app with several pages, navigation, some content up and running very quickly (from minutes to hours). Adding the functionality required for a marketable app will take much longer. I'm semi-retired, 67, taking care of grandchildren, serving as the chair of the condominium trustees and a member of another board etc. and it took me maybe 6 months. Meanwhile, of course, many of the technologies shift under your feet.
5. I can't recommend strongly enough starting with Jonathan Stark's book, following along, and as gaps in your understanding of other technologies crop up, putting the book down and consulting another, or examples you'll find online. Both jQTouch and PhoneGap have very active Google groups, and just letting that chatter flow under your gaze can be very useful too. Plus you can always ask questions and get good advice.
Without getting further into details, that's the best I can do at this point, Scott. I hope you find it useful.
Merry Christmas to all! --George
George C Brackett
Storage. I used Notification to put up alert and confirm dialogs;
Storage was not available when I needed it, so I used Safari Mobile's
SQLite interface to store the images in the user's slide shows.
--George