PhoneGap Day EU 2015 conference report Sebastian Lopienski CAPPS meeting, June 2015

Apache Cordova / PhoneGap Apache Cordova is a platform for building native mobile applications using HTML5/CSS/JavaScript mobile means tablets and smartphones, but also wearables (Google Glass PoC created recently) big community; 900+ plugins available (!) PhoneGap is a distribution of Apache Cordova http://phonegap.com/2012/03/19/phonegap-cordova-and-what%E2%80%99s-in-a-name/ https://www.addthis.com/blog/2014/10/27/7-things-to-consider-when-making-ios-and-android-apps-with-cordova-or-phonegap/#.VVsoElXyu-c

PhoneGap Day EU 2015 http://pgday.phonegap.com/eu2015/ In central Amsterdam (30min train+walk from Schiphol) Conference on May 18: ~15 presentations Workshops on May 19 (didn’t attend) Around 150 people: experts, developers etc. Lively and friendly community Very interesting coffee discussions Very interesting sponsors stands (!)

Affiliation hardly visible Most common question: “Where are you from?”

From http://www. slideshare

Hybrid apps: 7 performance tips http://www. slideshare use a JS framework (don’t write your own!) avoid animations use FastClick to avoid the dreaded 300ms tap delay use PouchDB for offline storage (syncs with CouchDB) detect when app is in background => don’t update UI avoid memory leaks reuse HTML/DOM elements remove unused media from memory (img.src=”empty.gif”) use callbacks or promises instead of timeouts or intervals use CrossWalk to put the latest Chromium on Androids Also: http://speckyboy.com/2014/12/18/dos-donts-building-html5-hybrid-apps/ http://coenraets.org/blog/2013/10/top-10-performance-techniques-for-phonegap-and-hybrid-apps-slides-available/

Apple App Store rule 3.3.2 3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exception to the foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple's built-in WebKit framework, provided that such scripts and code do not change the primary purpose of the Application by providing features or functionality that are inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the Application as submitted to the App Store. This means we can update hybrid apps live (!!!), without going through the review process. http://info.meteor.com/blog/Apple-hot-code-push-mobile

Hybrid apps Performance used to the problem – but now solved Superpowers of hybrid apps: platform coverage development cost (a single web developer vs. one per OS) agility (update your app live to change UI, do A/B testing) one codebase to maintain many tools available (dev, debug, test, deploy, analytics…)

Ionic Framework Becoming the solution for hybrid mobile app dev not “just” a framework, but a whole ecosystem (tools, libs, plugins, services etc.) mature: v1.0 stable released May 2015 https://www.airpair.com/javascript/posts/switching-from-ios-to-ionic https://www.airpair.com/javascript/posts/switching-from-ios-to-ionic

Phone: first day of off-line sale Shifting focus from apps to scopes categorized context home screens (e.g. Nearby, Music, News) branded scopes - (e.g. from Amazon) no need to discover and download apps Development: C/C++ (scopes) Qt/QML (native apps) HTML5 (web apps + hybrid apps) Devices (targeting European market): BQ Aquaris E4.5 (dual SIM, 169 EURO) Meizu MX4 (a high-end device, coming soon)

Push and pull models Android: Google Play Store apps that use push: 15% Installed apps that use push: 42% Push notifications enhance user experience if done well Main reason for removing an app: too frequent notifications Make frequency and content configurable Respect quiet hours (night); don’t rely on “Do not disturb” Solutions available: phonegap-push plugin for Cordova/PhoneGap ionic-push API for Ionic apps

Push and pull models Pull is the traditional model – but still valid Combine all requests into one, compress data Web File API hard to use, results in a “callback hell” list files -> download one -> unzip it -> remove the zip Solution: phonegap-plugin-contentsync plugin You can even update your app (!!!)

Accessibility From a "nice to have" to a a requirement especially for governments, education etc. Mobile OSes support accessibility in their webviews good news for web/hybrid developers! a web site cannot see if accessibility features are enabled (for privacy reasons) phonegap-mobile-accessibility plugin comes to rescue Developers’ duties: Take care of reading order, structure the page, add alt text Use semantic HTML: e.g. star icon is an HTML checkbox Enable accessibility features in your mobile OS and use them really to learn the logic

Other presentations WebViews (WebKit, Chromium) - differences, fragmentation Telerik – development platform for mobile apps CrossWalk – modern WebView with advanced web features for legacy Android devices HTML GL – library to rendering HTML/CSS via WebGL, for speeding up HTML/CSS animations: <html-gl> <img src="file.gif"> </html-gl> phonegap-plugin-gameCenter – add gamification to an app Growing your app’s user base - luck? work!

Misc App downloads Android vs. iOS is 1:50 (!?!) “Android users don't download apps” Some other frameworks, tools and libraries mentioned: ReactNative - build native apps with React and JavasScript Parse - online services: DB/back-end, push server, analytics Kendo - jQuery-based mobile widgets w/ Angular integration Sencha Touch - cross-platform mobile web app framework Monaca - cloud-based app development environment localForage - a library for offline storage, improved

My conclusions: Hybrid mobile apps are mainstream The technology (Cordova / PhoneGap) is mature The ecosystem (frameworks, 900+ plugins) is very rich “Low performance” argument not valid anymore Benefits (one codebase etc.) hard to ignore