Pro Android Web Apps: Develop for Android using HTML5, CSS3 & JavaScript

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

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 and Packaging an App for Release
13. The Future of Mobile Computing
14. Appendix: Debugging Android Web Apps