Friday, January 13, 2012

Mobile Application Development in the Cloud For Beginners

Mobile Application Development in the Cloud For Beginners

The last few years have seen a sharp increase in the adoption rate of Smart Phones and tablet devices. We all know of Apple’s market share dominance with the iPhone and the iPad, but we can’t lose sight that Google, Amazon, RIM, and Microsoft all have key roles to play and offer their own breed of competitive mobile products.

RIM’s share price surely has taken a nose dive in 2011 but they have an existing customer base within the corporate landscape that is now permitting Android apps to enter their platform. Amazon has unveiled the Kindle Fire in late 2011 and will it prove to be a lower price point competitor to the iPad? Will Microsoft’s strategic partnerships provide them with a developer eco-system that will grow into a viable concern for the Android Market or App Store? Only time will tell the future direction of the mobile market but there are some common fundamentals that we can focus on as people interested in mobile application development.

The maturity of the HTML5 specification may be the great equalizer for mobile application developers. It can provide developers with the ability to develop and test code within a local browser that supports the WebKit framework such as Google Chrome or Apple’s Safari. Adobe has announced in late 2011 that they will be focusing on HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash.

Mobile application developers can also benefit from the current trend where cross platform providers such as PhoneGap or RhoMobile are providing cloud access to their tools. RhoMobile goes so far as even providing a cloud based IDE for its developer base.

What would happen if we combined open source tools, web development experience and the cloud for mobile application development needs? Well, we would have an effective method to create dynamic cross platform mobile applications.

This book will provide you with an easy to understand approach to develop cross platform mobile applications in the cloud. You don’t need to have any prior mobile application development experience and the best part is that you can get started without having to purchase any additional software. You can keep your credit card in your pocket and take it out only when you want to take a coffee break.

If you’re tired of trying to determine how to get started with developing mobile applications then why don’t you get started by reading the first chapter “The 5W’s”?

What this book covers

Chapter 1: The 5W’s…Who, What, Where, When and Why? This chapter provides you with an easy to use framework for understanding the basics of cross platform mobile application development.

Chapter 2: HTML5…You will explore free online sources to help you identify what HTML5 can offer you as a developer.

Chapter 3: Cloud Computing 101…This chapter will introduce you to the basic concepts of what cloud computing means and how it can provide you with tremendous flexibility as a mobile application developer.

Chapter 4: JavaScript…If you’re new to JavaScript then this chapter will provide you with an introductory overview of the key concepts along with some working examples.

Chapter 5: CSS3…You will learn how to maintain the look and feel of your mobile application through cascading style sheets.

Chapter 6: Cross Platform Mobile Application Development….This chapter will introduce you to the benefits of creating a mobile application that can be run on multiple platforms instead of having to code individual mobile applications for each distinct make such as iPhone, BlackBerry or Android.

Chapter 7: PhoneGap:Build…PhoneGap has been a player in the cross platform mobile development space for several years and they have launched cloud services for their developers. This chapter will get you started with PhoneGap:Build.

Chapter 8: Painting With The Kid’s Musical Jamboree …This chapter will now take the knowledge that you have learned in the previous chapters to work. You will create a working cross platform mobile application prototype based upon The Kid’s Musical Jamboree BlackBerry application that is available in BlackBerry App World. You will learn how to develop, build and sign your mobile application.

Chapter 9: Testing your app…This chapter will introduce you to testing your work directly in a browser or locally on a native simulator.

Chapter 10: Building your app…You will walk through the steps that are required to have your mobile application built within PhoneGap:Build.

Chapter 11: Deploying your app…PhoneGap Build provides you with two methods to deploy your app to customers and we’ll walk you through both options.

Chapter 12: Mobile Design Considerations…screen size, accessibility, orientation, hand gestures can all impact your design. This chapter will provide you with some tips on how to plan for development before writing any code.

Chapter 13: Global Village…You will find free options to translate your material in order to reach a global market place.

Chapter 14: Managing Your Projects…This chapter will discuss the software development life cycle when developing mobile applications.

Chapter 15: Designing Accessible Apps…Introduces some of the key aspects related to UI design, navigation, text and colors that you need to know before submitting a commercial application.

Chapter 16: Make Your Apps Stand Out…How can your app be unique when compared to other mobile apps?

Chapter 17: Growing Your App Business…If you’re not just dabbling in mobile development for personal fun then you will need to have a game plan in order to grow your new business.

Chapter 18: Conclusion…A quick summary of the key concepts learned in the previous chapters.

Chapter 19: Bonus: Create An E-Book…We will leave you with an additional example to use as a starting point for your mobile application development learning.

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