Learn how to build apps for mobile devices on Cloud
platforms

The marketplace for apps is ever expanding, increasing the
potential to make money. With this guide, you'll learn how to build
cross-platform applications for mobile devices that are supported
by the power of Cloud-based services such as Amazon Web Services.
An introduction to Cloud-based applications explains how to use
HTML5 to create cross-platform mobile apps and then use Cloud
services to enhance those apps. You'll learn how to build your
first app with HTML5 and set it up in the Cloud, while also
discovering how to use jQuery to your advantage.

* Highlights the skills and knowledge you need to create
successful apps for mobile devices with HTML5

* Takes you through the steps for building web applications for
the iPhone and Android

* Details how to enhance your app through faster launching, touch
vs. click, storage capabilities, and a cache

* Looks at how best to use JSON, FourSquare, jQuery, AJAX, and
more

* Shares tips for creating hybrid apps that run natively

If you're interested in having your application be one of the
200,000+ apps featured in the iPhone store or the 50,000+ in the
Android store, then you need this book.

Richard Rodger is the CTO of FeedHenry Ltd, a company specializing in bringing the first tools to develop cloud based applications for mobile devices. He is currently a member of the W3C Web Applications Working Group, which defines the standard for mobile widget applications.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

Zusammenfassung
Learn how to build apps for mobile devices on Cloud platforms

The marketplace for apps is ever expanding, increasing the potential to make money. With this guide, you'll learn how to build cross-platform applications for mobile devices that are supported by the power of Cloud-based services such as Amazon Web Services. An introduction to Cloud-based applications explains how to use HTML5 to create cross-platform mobile apps and then use Cloud services to enhance those apps. You'll learn how to build your first app with HTML5 and set it up in the Cloud, while also discovering how to use jQuery to your advantage.

• Highlights the skills and knowledge you need to create successful apps for mobile devices with HTML5
• Takes you through the steps for building web applications for the iPhone and Android
• Details how to enhance your app through faster launching, touch vs. click, storage capabilities, and a cache
• Looks at how best to use JSON, FourSquare, jQuery, AJAX, and more
• Shares tips for creating hybrid apps that run natively

If you're interested in having your application be one of the 200,000+ apps featured in the iPhone store or the 50,000+ in the Android store, then you need this book.

Introduction xxi

Chapter 1: Introducing Cloud-Based Mobile Apps 1

How to Build Mobile Apps in the Cloud 2

Using Your Existing Skill Set 2

Determining What Tools You Need 3

The Skills You'll Learn 4

Two Big Ideas About the App Industry 4

Web Apps and the Future 5

The Cloud as the Future 6

Getting Started 7

Using JavaScript Functions 7

The WebKit Browser Engine 20

A Colorful Little App 21

Introducing the nginx Web Server 25

Summary 29

Chapter 2: Mobilizing Your App 31

Building a Touch-Sensitive Drawing App 32

How to Draw on the Screen 32

Drawing in Response to Touch Events 39

Applying the DRY Principle to Your Code 46

Using the Amazon Cloud 52

How Geography Affects Amazon AWS 54

Using the Elastic Compute Cloud 54

Deploying Your Mobile Web App 61

Deploying Your Mobile App to the Instance 65

Summary 67

Chapter 3: Building Mobile Web Apps 71

What You Can Do with Mobile Web Apps 71

Locating Your User 72

Responding to Device Orientation 74

More Features for Later 76

Installing Mobile Web Apps on iPhone Devices 76

Installing Mobile Web Apps on Android Devices 77

Introducing jQuery and jQuery Mobile 78

The jQuery Library 78

The jQuery Mobile Library 83

Building a To-Do List App 91

Summary 108

Chapter 4: Enhancing Your App 111

Using App Caching 112

Handling Touch Events 115

Touch Events 116

Gesture Events 118

Embedding an Interactive Map 127

The Google Maps API 127

Providing an Application Icon and a Startup Screen 131

Summary 132

Chapter 5: Building Apps In The Cloud 135

Server-Side JavaScript 136

Introducing Node 136

Installing Node 138

Using the Node Package Manager 141

Introducing the MongoDB Database 144

Cloud Analytics for Your To-Do List App 150

Doing the Math 150

Organizing Your System 152

Collecting the Usage Data 160

Submitting the Usage Data 164

Charting the Usage Data 167

Summary 174

Chapter 6: Use the Cloud! 177

The Classic Cloud Architecture 177

The REST Approach 178

Cloud Databases 179

Introducing Amazon SimpleDB 180

The SimpleDB Approach to Cloud Storage 180

The SimpleDB API 181

Putting the To-Do List App in the Cloud 182

Introducing the simpledb Library 182

Building a Command-Line Client 188

Working on Cloud Time 196

Running a Cloud Server 198

Synchronizing with the Cloud 203

Summary 209

Chapter 7: Enhancing the User Experience 211

Creating a Classic Tab Bar Interface 211

Implementing the jQuery Mobile Solution 212

Using the iScroll Solution 216

Enabling Mobile Audio and Video 222

Playing Audio in Your App 222

Playing Video in Your App 226

Launching Apps from Your App 230

Launching a Web Browser from Your App 230

Launching a Phone from Your App 230

Launching SMS from Your App 230

Launching Mail from Your App 231

Launching Maps from Your App 231

Launching YouTube from Your App 231

Summary 232

Chapter 8: Working With the Cloud 235

Storing Content in Amazon S3 236

The Architecture of Amazon S3 236

Using Amazon S3 238

Signing In with the Cloud 247

Building Large-Scale Apps 255

Getting the Big Picture Right 256

Using the Cache! 258

Summa...