A SearchSOA.

com E-book

ED LETTER

CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground
0 f
9
D
for mobile
W
!

development

CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile
j
with Windows

. ? u
X
CHAPTER 3
Create
SmartPhone
apps using
2
JavaScript

f
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
mobile SOA
connection

CHAPTER 5
Mobile
development
resource
Mobile Application Development:
guide

Making it easier for developers

r

1 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Ed Letter

Developers forge ahead

with mobile applications
By Jack Vaughan
ED LETTER

CHAPTER 1 workers pecking away at handheld

Shifting ground
for mobile
Mobile applications devices. Although these machines
development have not only have tons more memory than in the
past, they still are basically working
piqued the interest remotely, hitting on a server some-
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile
with Windows
of developers, but where, and dealing with the world via
services.
also of the average Behind the scenes will emerge a
CHAPTER 3 cell phone user. whole new class of mobile app devel-
Create opment tools, writes John K. Waters in
SmartPhone
apps using
Learn what all the our lead story, “Mobile app dev trends:
JavaScript fuss is about. Making life easier for developers.”
Meanwhile, writer Patrick Meader
CHAPTER 4
discusses transfer Microsoft develop-
IBM preps ers in “Goin’ mobile with Windows.”
mobile SOA MOBILE APPLICATIONS have piqued the Technology writer George Lawton
connection
interest of developers. First, the talks about JavaScript taking advan-
iPhone redefined what a phone was: it tage of iPhone resources in his piece
CHAPTER 5 looked a lot like a Web browser, really. “Create smartphone apps using Java-
Mobile
development
Then, Apple opened an iPhone App Script.” Writer Rich Seeley adds IBM’s
resource store that promised developers an input in the mobile community in
guide
opportunity to write and sell an appli- “IBM preps mobile SOA connection.”
cation to a new mass audience. The There is also plenty of information in
year 2009 looks gloomy for mobile the Mobile development resource
phone sellers. But converged mobile guide. ■
devices, the kind the iPhone epito-
mizes, are expected to fare far better Jack Vaughan oversees editorial planning and
than traditional ones. coverage for SearchSOA.com. He has written about
computer hardware and software for such publica-
Clearly, when one is on the road, tions as Software Magazine, Digital Design and EDN
one sees more and more knowledge News Edition.

2 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 1

Shifting ground for

mobile development
By John K. Waters
ED LETTER

downloads from the App Store

CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground
for mobile
The emergence of a exceeded 800 million. That’s only
development new type of mobile eight months after the store opened in
July 2008. According to the report,
app development tool the total will likely surpass one billion
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile
with Windows
is aimed at develop- before the store is even a year old.
Of course, the App Store’s success
ers looking to expoit didn’t go unnoticed by Apple’s com-
CHAPTER 3
the App Stores and petitors. Mobile app developers will
soon have access to similar market
Create
SmartPhone their monetization models from a range of mobile plat-
apps using
JavaScript models. forms, including Research in Motion’s
BlackBerry App World, Microsoft’s
Windows Marketplace for Mobile,
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps Nokia’s Ovi, Palm’s App Catalog, and
mobile SOA MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPERS have Google’s Android.
connection
always trod on shifting ground; it’s the The advent of these mobile-focused
nature of the terrain. Lately, though, app marketplaces has sparked what
CHAPTER 5 the mobile app landscape has begun Jeffrey S. Hammond, principal analyst
Mobile to shake with seismic intensity. For- in the application development group
development
resource rester analyst Neil Strother says we’re at Forrester, calls “a race to lower the
guide in the midst of an “app frenzy,” thanks barriers to entry for developers,”
largely to the proliferation of Apple’s which is likely to have a big impact on
enormously popular iPhone device mobile app developers. The clearest
and its rapidly evolving App Store evidence of this trend, he says, can be
concept. seen in the emergence of a new type
In a recent industry report (“Is an of mobile app development tool aimed
iPhone App Right for You?”), Strother at developers looking to exploit the
cited some stunning statistics: At the app stores and their new monetization
time of this writing (mid-May), total models.

3 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 1

“These aren’t so much specialized project is anything but modest. “The

mobile development tools as tools Web is moving off the desktop and
that appeal to Web developers,” Ham- into the pockets of people all over the
mond explains. “I think the long term
trend here is toward an extension of
Web development in the mobile app “The long term trend
space.” is toward an extension
Hammond points to two examples
ED LETTER
of this trend that are worth watching:
of Web development in
Nitobi’s PhoneGap is an open source the mobile app space.”
CHAPTER 1 dev tool designed for building mobile —JEFFREY S. HAMMOND,
Shifting ground apps with JavaScript and HTML. The principal analyst in the application
for mobile
development tool is designed for the Web develop- development group at Forrester
er who wants to build mobile applica-
tions in HTML and JavaScript while
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile still taking advantage of the core fea-
with Windows tures in the iPhone, Android, and world,” the company writes on the
Blackberry SDKs.” PhoneGap community Web site.
Based in Vancouver, British Colum- “Phones are the new window to the
CHAPTER 3
Create bia, Nitobi’s hope for the PhoneGap Internet and, currently, they are sec-
SmartPhone
apps using
JavaScript

F I G U R E 1 : W h i c h a p p l i c a t i o n t y p e s a re yo u wo rk i n g o n?
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
mobile SOA 90%
connection
■ Web applications,
80% excluding e-commerce
Web sites
70%
CHAPTER 5 ■ Content management
Mobile ■ Business process
60%
development management
resource
guide 50% ■ Infrastructure
■ Mobile applications
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

4 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 1

ond class. PhoneGap aims to move coders.

your device to a nice first class win- Mobile developers are also likely to
dow.” feel the fallout from what Hammond
Another toolmaker that fits this sees as a battle brewing among the
trend, Hammond says, is Rhomobile, a aforementioned smartphone operat-
ing systems, and what may well be the
ultimate demise of the feature phone
ED LETTER
“Phones are the new (essentially anything that isn’t a
smartphone). “As Moore’s law has put
window to the Internet increasingly capable devices in the
CHAPTER 1
and, currently, they hands of a majority of consumers,” he
Shifting ground
for mobile
are second class. says, “it cuts into feature phone mar-
development
PhoneGap aims to ket share.”
Hammond hastens to add to that
move your device to a list of major smartphones, Palm’s new
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile nice first class window.” webOS, which was unveiled in April
with Windows
—PHONEGAP community web site at the annual Web 2.0 conference.
Palm’s senior VP, Michael Abbott,
made a direct pitch to developers dur-
CHAPTER 3
Create ing his conference keynote. “Develop-
SmartPhone ers are an incredibly important part of
apps using
JavaScript Cupertino, CA-based startup offering the webOS ecosystem,” he said.
a new open source mobile application “We’re eager to get the [Mojo] SDK
framework. Called Rhodes, the frame- into their hands, and are very excited
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
work is designed for quick builds of to work with developers to make this
mobile SOA native mobile apps for smartphone unique development environment
connection
OSes (the company lists iPhone, even better.”
BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Sym- “Unique development environ-
CHAPTER 5 bian, and Android ). According to the ments” is the problem, Hammond
Mobile company, the apps are not mobile says. “The bottom line is that mobile
development
resource Web apps but “true native device development is a mess,” he says.
guide applications” that “work with synchro- “With six different OS options, it will
nized local data and take advantage of get more confusing before it gets sim-
device capabilities such as GPS, PIM pler.”
contacts and camera.”
Rhomobile’s CEO, Adam Blum, says
that 90 percent of the apps currently INDUSTRY INITIATIVE
built with the Rhodes framework are MAY CLEAN THINGS UP
being developed by ISVs. Ten percent, Bola Rotibi, principal analyst at Mace-
he says, are coming from enterprise hiter Ward-Dutton, also sees evidence

5 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 1

of this “race” to lower entry barriers to but it’s an example of a simple tool for
the new mobile app markets in a re- dealing with increasing demands for
cent move by some of the big mobile sophisticated content on mobile
platform players. The Eclipse Founda- devices, she says.
tion’s Pulsar initiative might well be
viewed as an attempt to clean up that
mobile-dev mess for developers. “Mobile application
Launched in March, Pulsar is an developers are being
ED LETTER
industry initiative aimed at creating a called upon to write
standard mobile-app development
CHAPTER 1 tools platform based on the open- applications that use
Shifting ground
for mobile
source Eclipse framework. The list of all this rich content, but
development charter members includes Motorola, the tools are emerging
Nokia, Genuitec, IBM, RIM, and Sony
Ericsson Mobile Communications. to make it all much
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile The initiative’s goal is to define a com- easier.”
with Windows mon set of Eclipse-based tools in a —BOLA ROTIBI, principal analyst
packaged distribution that can inter- at MacehiterWard-Dutton
operate with the SDKs provided by the
CHAPTER 3
Create handset makers. When the initiative
SmartPhone was announced, Motorola’s senior
apps using
JavaScript director of developer platforms and
services, Dino Brusco, said that it “It’s about trying to have support for
would enable mobile application all the different types of media man-
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
developers to work within a single, aged in one environment,” Rotibi says.
mobile SOA familiar development environment “Mobile application developers are
connection
that allows them to target multiple being called upon to write applica-
device families. tions that use all this rich content, but
CHAPTER 5 “It remains to be seen where this the tools are emerging to make it all
Mobile goes, but I’d call that an attempt to much easier.”
development
resource lower barriers to entry,” Rotibi says. “The truth is, this trend isn’t new,”
guide “Eclipse is a great starting place for an Rotibi adds. “We’ve seen it before
initiative like this. The environment among the major tool makers. The
and skills are already there.” Rotibi app stores have sparked what I’d call a
also points to Adobe’s Flash Catalyst, resurgence.” ■
an interactive design tool for building
interfaces and interactive content John K. Waters is a freelance journalist
without coding. The tool is still in beta, and author on the tech beat in Silicon Valley.

6 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. © International Business Machines Corporation 2010.
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, Power Systems, Rational, Tivoli, Smarter Planet and the planet icon are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and

Smarter technology for a Smarter Planet:

What 3 million lines of code means

to a piece of luggage.
It means Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will be able to accurately and efficiently move 70 million pieces of luggage per
year—20 million more bags per year than they used to. The airport’s automated baggage solution will allow them
to increase their baggage handling capacity by 40%, so they can meet the growing demand placed on them as
one of Europe’s largest transport hubs. This system is built on IBM Rational® and Tivoli® software and runs on
Power Systems™. A smarter business is built on smarter software, systems and services.

Let’s build a smarter planet. ibm.com/luggage

A data visualization of the flow of baggage

traffic at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, Power Systems, Rational, Tivoli, Smarter Planet and the planet icon are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and
service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. © International Business Machines Corporation 2010.

Ad No.: SGP-10-28 SAP No.: IMN.IMNIT.10022.K.011

Ad Title: IBM Capabilities - Amsterdam
This advertisement prepared by: Ogilvy & Mather
To appear in: Fortune, Forbes, Tech Review, Info Week, Windows IT pro, SQL Server, EETimes,
EWeek,Baseline, CIO, CSO, Network World, ComputerWorld, Information Management The Atlantic,
Economist, HBR, New Yorker, Stores, CIO Insight, Business Finance, Health Data Management
Size: Page Bleed Color: 4/c
Bleed: 8.25”w x 11”h Trim: 7.625”w x 10.5”h Safety: 7”w x 10”h
Creative Director: Tom Godici/Greg Ketchum Art Director: Chris Van Oosterhout Copywriter: Rob Jamieson/Dov Zmood
Account Exec: Nicole Wilson Print Producer: Mike Piscatelli Traffic: Rachel Fuller

98454_03_SGP_10_28
98454_03_SGP_10_28.pgs 10.15.2010 18:26 PDFX1a
 Chapter 2

Goin’ mobile
with Windows
By Patrick Meader
ED LETTER

forms such as smartphones and PDAs.

CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground
for mobile
Resources, links and You know the .NET Framework and
development caveats, along with your favorite languages, the argument
goes; all that’s required is to familiar-
your knowledge of ize yourself with the different name-
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile
with Windows
the .NET Framework, spaces and learn the nuances of the
particular platforms you’re interested
can help you assess in targeting. This is especially true if
CHAPTER 3
the potential bene- you’re a .NET developer who pro-
grams primarily in Microsoft’s signa-
Create
SmartPhone fits of programming ture .NET programming language, C#.
apps using
JavaScript for the Windows It’s not just your development lan-
guage you can leverage, either. Other
Mobile platform. Microsoft technologies supported on
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps the Compact Framework include a
mobile SOA mobile version of ASP.NET and a spe-
connection
cial version of SQL Server for compact
ONE OF MICROSOFT’S most consistent, devices. That’s not all: You might be
CHAPTER 5 oft-iterated promises is that if you pleased to learn that many of the third
Mobile take the time to learn its flagship party vendors that provide tools for
development
resource Visual Studio developer suite, then the full .NET Framework also provide
guide
you can take the skills you learn and tools for mobile developers.
apply them to a wide variety of other Knowledge of the full .NET Frame-
situations. For example, if you’re a work is a good start if you’re interest-
developer who uses Visual Studio ed in targeting the Windows Mobile
2005 or 2008 to create desktop or platform, but you should also be
Web-based .NET applications, then aware of some important resources
you’re someone who can branch out and caveats. I’ll walk you through
with the knowledge you already have both, explaining where you can find
to target different, but related plat- the necessary software development

8 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 2

kits to begin programming mobile dows Mobile devices using Express

devices and point you at the wealth of versions of Visual Studio at this time.
Microsoft-related resources available, Microsoft also released the Win-
including the official Windows devel- dows Mobile 6.5 Developer Toolkit
oper blog, a special tutorial on ramp-
ing up with Windows Mobile, links to
the official forums, and more. Finally, What you’re
I’ll touch on one of the ways you can
ED LETTER
monetize your understanding of Win- leveraging is your
dows Mobile by creating applications knowledge of the
CHAPTER 1 for Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace Microsoft platform
Shifting ground for Mobile, an online store that Micro-
for mobile
development soft will be launching later this year. and how it works.

CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile GETTING STARTED
with Windows The Windows Mobile developer group (DTK) in June 2009. The 6.5 DTK
has a page that points you to every- ships with emulators, gesture APIs,
thing you need to start programming and article samples for developing
CHAPTER 3
Create Windows Mobile devices. Windows Mobile 6.5 applications.
SmartPhone You can download either the Win- Note that the underlying requirements
apps using
JavaScript dows Mobile 6 Professional Software haven’t changed: You must have a
Development Kit or the Windows non-Express version of Visual Studio
Mobile 6 Standard Software Develop- 2005 or later, as well as either the
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
ment Kit here. You can develop Win- Windows Mobile 6 Professional SDK
mobile SOA dows Mobile applications on any of or the Windows Mobile Standard SDK
connection
three platforms: Windows Server installed on your system.
2003, Windows XP, and Windows
CHAPTER 5 Vista. All three platforms require that
Mobile you also install Visual Studio 2005 or THE MOBILE DEVICE API SUBSET
development
resource later, as well as the Microsoft .NET For obvious reasons, the resource-
guide Compact Framework v2 SP2. Win- constrained Windows Mobile plat-
dows Server 2003 and Windows XP form doesn’t include every feature
also require that you have ActiveSync you’ll find in the full Framework.
4.5 installed; Windows Vista requires According to a document on MSDN,
that you install the Windows Mobile the .NET Compact Framework imple-
Device Center for synchronizing data. ments approximately 30 percent of
Note that you must use Visual Studio the full .NET Framework. That’s a sig-
2005 Standard Edition or higher; you nificant chunk of the .NET Framework
cannot develop applications for Win- that Microsoft has excised, and it isn’t

9 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 2

hard to drill down on the .NET Frame- EXTENDING DESKTOP APPS

work Class Library and find significant One common mobile scenario is to
areas that aren’t supported in the take an existing desktop app and
Compact Framework. extend it to smartphones and/or PDA-
The class library viewer displays a style mobile devices. For example, you
small PDA-style icon next to methods, might want to take your sales contact
properties, and other objects in the manager and make it available on a
.NET class library that are implement- mobile device. As a .NET developer,
ED LETTER
ed in the .NET Compact Framework you might be excited about being able
(see Figure 2); it’s also possible to use to use your knowledge of the Frame-
CHAPTER 1 topic filters from within Visual Studio work, SQL Server, ASP.NET, and other
Shifting ground to find the subset of classes specifi- technologies with mobile devices.
for mobile
development cally part of the .NET Compact Frame- And that’s all good. However, many
work. Specific areas not supported in developers conflate the promise of
the .NET Compact Framework include leveraging their skills with being able
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile remoting and code access security, to port existing applications whole (or
with Windows among other features. close to it) to the .NET Compact

CHAPTER 3
Create
SmartPhone
apps using F I G U R E 2 : A s c re e n s h o t o f t h e W i n d ow s M o b i l e A P I f r a m e wo rk .
JavaScript

CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
mobile SOA
connection

CHAPTER 5
Mobile
development
resource
guide

10 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 2

Framework. Unfortunately, the Com- unlikely that you would want to port
pact Framework is a subset—and a a business app directly to a mobile
small subset at that—of the full device as-is, anyway. As a developer,
Microsoft .NET Framework. You can- you need to give careful consideration
not simply take a desktop application to the overall architecture of your
built against the full Microsoft .NET application, paying particular atten-
Framework that you’re already using tion to which aspects of a given app
and reference that project from a need to be on the mobile device. For
ED LETTER
mobile device project. example, you need to consider which
Instead, you should begin by creat- elements of the app need to be always
CHAPTER 1 ing the user interface for the platform available (and thus implemented
Shifting ground you are targeting, whether it’s for locally), which functions of the app
for mobile
development smartphone or other device, consider can be performed remotely, what data
what business logic you can repur- needs to be stored remotely and on
pose, and proceed from there. It is the device, and so on.
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile
with Windows

CHAPTER 3 Available Resources

Create
SmartPhone there are many resources available for would-be Windows Mobile developers.
apps using It should come as no surprise that many of these resources are available from
JavaScript
Microsoft, and I’ll cover several of those here.
A good starting point is Microsoft’s Getting Started page for Windows Mobile
CHAPTER 4 development.
IBM preps
mobile SOA
In May 2009, Microsoft Learning posted a “RampUp” series for Windows Mobile
connection development. If you’re not familiar with this series, Microsoft describes its RampUp
series as “a free online learning program that helps developers to acquire skills in
specific technologies and development areas.” Using RampUp requires a Windows
CHAPTER 5
Mobile Live ID; you also need to fill out a survey similar to what you might fill out when you
development sign up for a controlled magazine.
resource
guide Microsoft also sponsors a moderated Windows Mobile development forum and a
moderated Compact Framework development blog. Obviously, you’re not guaranteed
a response if you post questions at such forums, but you can read related questions
and answers that other developers have posted and received.
Finally, you can keep abreast of what’s new in Windows Mobile development a blog
that is maintained by the people who create the tools for this technology, and pro-
vides frequent updates on significant developer issues; new developer tools, includ-
ing free resource kits for developers; and regular posts about upcoming versions and
technologies related to Windows Mobile development. ■

11 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 2

SELL YOUR APPS ONLINE you submit for certification. Microsoft

One of Microsoft’s most ambitious has announced a promotion intended
goals for Windows Mobile is to estab- to drum up interest in the program: If
lish a marketplace for Windows you register to participate in the pro-
Mobile apps. Windows Marketplace gram before the end of 2009, Micro-
for Mobile follows the model of soft will give you five free application
Apple’s iPhone application store and submissions with your initial registra-
will be part of an increasingly crowded tion. You can learn more about this
ED LETTER market segment that also features program here. Note that Microsoft will
similar efforts from Google and let you post both free and commercial
CHAPTER 1 Research in Motion. software on this site, but all applica-
Shifting ground Microsoft’s store will feature full tions must undergo the certification
for mobile
development support for Windows 6.5 devices, process before they can be hosted on
which are expected to launch in the the site.
Fall of 2009. At the time I write this,
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile
Microsoft has committed only to pro-
with Windows vide support for Windows 6.5 devices SUMMARY
and applications at its new online .NET developers interested in pro-
store. Note that Microsoft has an gramming for the Windows Mobile
CHAPTER 3
Create existing online store for mobile appli- platform have many opportunities to
SmartPhone cations, but its aim is substantially dif- leverage their knowledge in ways that
apps using
JavaScript ferent from that of the announced can save them a lot of time and
store. The existing store features money. However, you should be aware
select applications from key partners, that what you’re leveraging is your
CHAPTER 4 and directs customers to third-party knowledge of the Microsoft platform
IBM preps
mobile SOA sites for downloads. Windows Mar- and how it works. You should not
connection ketplace for Mobile aims to provide a assume that you’ll be able to port your
one-stop location for discovering, pur- existing applications or code to a
CHAPTER 5
chasing, and downloading Windows mobile platform without revisiting
Mobile Mobile applications. your basic architecture.
development
resource
What makes this new store of par- That said, the resources, links, and
guide ticular interest to developers is that it caveats I’ve detailed, along with your
represents a chance to monetize your knowledge of the .NET Framework,
investment in Windows Mobile by can help you assess the potential ben-
creating apps for the store. Microsoft efits of programming for the Windows
is offering developers 70 percent of Mobile platform. ■
the revenue for apps purchased at the
store. Participating in this store re- Patrick Meader has been covering the Windows
quires putting up a $99 annual regis- development as an editor, analyst, and author for
tration fee, plus $99 per application more than 13 years.

12 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 3

Create smartphone
apps using JavaScript
By George Lawton
ED LETTER

for basic applications or prototyping.

CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground Learn about the More sophisticated applications
for mobile
development benefits of JavaScript developers will have to turn to Objec-
tive-C, the native Mac programming
and how a number language, which Simon Brocklehurst
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile of bridges have points out is not nearly as popular as
with Windows other languages, like JavaScript.
emerged to help One of the problems is that Java-
CHAPTER 3
JavaScript take Script must be interpreted by the
WebKit embedded browser. As Dr.
Create
SmartPhone advantage of native Nic notes, WebKit apps are slow. It
apps using
JavaScript iPhone resources. can take a few seconds for the WebKit
object to become available. It also suf-
fers from running inside a JavaScript
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps interpreter on top of a limited proces-
mobile SOA WHILE OBJECTIVE-C REMAINS the most sor with small memory. Another
connection
powerful iPhone development lan- drawback is that the bridge is only one
guage, JavaScript has been gaining directional. From Objective-C you can
CHAPTER 5 traction as a viable alternative, partic- call JavaScript, but you can’t invoke
Mobile ularly for basic applications and rapid native Objective-C objects. However,
development
resource prototyping. The benefits of JavaScript he notes that JavaScript is a sweet
guide are a far larger audience of program- option for rapid prototyping, particu-
mers and development tools, and a larly if your objective-C skills are limit-
number of bridges have emerged to ed, because it gives the designer
help JavaScript take advantage of immediate access to building the app.
native iPhone resources. The limitations are also becoming
JavaScript alone does not give the less onerous. The second version of
developer access to all of the native the iPhone firmware has doubled
resources of the iPhone, but there are JavaScript performance compared to
ways of accessing iPhone functionality the first release. This was made possi-

13 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 3

ble with an update to the WebKit ren- Web apps and native iPhone APIs
dering engine. The iPhone 3G proces- for resources like the accelerometer
sor is also 35% faster than the original and geolocation. Future versions will
hardware, which also enhances per- support the camera and audio fea-
formance. tures. The goal of the project is to
John Resig has summarized his take
on different strategies for writing
JavaScript apps for the iPhone using JavaScript alone
ED LETTER
JiggyApp, JSCocoa, tuning apps,
PhoneGap, and WebTouch. does not give the
CHAPTER 1 JiggyApp was one of the first developer access
Shifting ground iPhone scripting languages. Unfortu-
for mobile to all of the native
development nately it required a jailbroken iPhone,
and the main site has since died. It resources of the iPhone,
gained a lot of publicity as it enabled a but there are ways
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile developer to code right from the of accessing iPhone
with Windows phone.
JSCocoa is a bridge from JavaScript functionality for basic
CHAPTER 3
Core to Cocoa, allowing developers to applications or
Create create Objective-C applications using prototyping.
SmartPhone JavaScript. Developers can call C
apps using
JavaScript code, Objective-C code, and build
JavaScript classes inheriting from
Objective-C classes. Resig believes it
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
is better suited for OX-X applications. drive the adoption of open device
mobile SOA Note that the main JSCocoa site has standards for JavaScript applications
connection
documentation and tips and tricks. running on major mobile platforms
The Google code site has more docu- including the iPhone, Android, and
CHAPTER 5 mentation and downloads for writing Blackberry.
Mobile and testing apps. Meanwhile, WebTouch is a WebKit
development
resource Tuning Web apps: Developers can instance to render an iPhone applica-
guide tune their JavaScript mobile Web tion. At the moment, the project only
application code to look a little more provides a few snippets of sample
like native iPhone apps by doing code, but Resig believes it is a good
things like providing a tray icon and a entry point for developing hybrid
full screen view without the browser HTML/CSS, JavaScript/Objective-
toolbar. However, these kinds of apps C/Cocoa apps. ■
have limited access to native iPhone
resources. George Lawton is a technology writer living
PhoneGap bridges the gap between in northern California.

14 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 4

IBM preps mobile

SOA connection
By Rich Seeley
ED LETTER

of this year, but composite applica-

CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground IBM plans to put tions like those IBM describes may
for mobile
development business process help make the iPhone platform an
enterprise client, not just a stylish
management technology gadget. WebSphere Busi-
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile and business event ness Monitor provides the notifica-
with Windows tions and the dashboards and reports
processing in the now go to a Blackberry, with iPhone
CHAPTER 3
palm of business support to follow.
The new software bridging main-
Create
SmartPhone executives hands. frame to mobile includes IBM Rational
apps using
JavaScript Business Developer, a tool for creating
Web 2.0 mobile applications using Big
Blue’s new Enterprise Generation Lan-
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
IBM SAID IT has created developer tools guage (EGL). Downloadable from the
mobile SOA to support a new set of software and IBM alphaWorks project, platform
connection
services for mobile devices. This will independent EGL applications can run
put business process management on mainframe or mobile, Carter said.
CHAPTER 5 and business event processing in the “With EGL, developers don’t have to
Mobile palm of business executives hands, worry about the platform,” she
development
resource says Sandy Carter, vice president for explained. “They write the application
guide SOA and WebSphere strategy. so it works on a mobile and it can
WebSphere Business Monitor links extend whatever they have, whether
BlackBerry devices to back office it’s something from the mainframe or
applications so business executives a pSeries [Unix] box. They don’t have
and consumers can check sales met- to worry or be familiar with the under-
rics or their bank balances on the run pinning middleware or platform tech-
wherever they are. nology. They write it and it’s platform
iPhone connectivity won’t be gener- independent.”
ally available until the fourth quarter Carter said the new IBM mobile ini-

15 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 4

tiative puts business event process- said Dennis Quan, director of develop-
ing—Big Blue’s moniker for a subset of ment in IBM’s Autonomic Computing
complex event processing (CEP)—in division. The rising demand of millions
the palm of their hands. of mobile executives, workers, and
“Business events are about captur- consumers requires the kind of com-
ing patterns for really insightful busi- puting power the cloud can deliver, he
ness analysis of all the events running said.
through our ESB,” Carter said. “IBM’s
ED LETTER
mobile initiative allows you to look at
events that are not just coming in In places like Japan
CHAPTER 1 from your corporate ESB but through and South Korea,
Shifting ground events that are triggered by a mobile
for mobile consumers walking
development device. So our business event soft-
ware combined with the mobile soft- through a shopping
ware can help you identify patterns area with their iPhones
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile and trigger business decisions.” get e-coupons from
with Windows This is already happening in places
like Japan and South Korea, where the retail stores as
consumers walking through a shop- they pass by.
CHAPTER 3
Create ping area with their iPhones get e-
SmartPhone coupons from the retail stores as they
apps using
JavaScript pass by, she said. Combining GPS
capabilities with business event pro- “Google’s Android project and other
cessing makes it possible for a retail mobile initiatives are the driving force
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
store owner to fine tune e-coupons to behind the development of cloud
mobile SOA meet immediate market conditions. computing because they are really
connection
While IBM’s mobile initiative is not creating the kinds of scalability
directly connected to cloud computing requirements that are needed for the
CHAPTER 5 and does not yet have a connection to next generation of data centers,” Quan
Mobile the Google Android mobile platform, explained. ■
development
resource there is a synergistic relationship.
guide The proliferation of mobile comput- Rich Seeley is a former News writer
ing is a driver for cloud computing, for SearchSOA.com

16 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 5

Mobile development
resource guide
By the SearchSOA.com staff
ED LETTER

Shark analysis tools.

CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground Click here to find
for mobile
development resources, defini- ■ iPhoneDevelopment Central: This
online database of free iPhone SDK
tions and links to all tutorials has over 600 minutes of
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile the newest mobile video tutorials developed by over
with Windows 1950 registered users. It includes links
developments. to the iPhone SDK Forum, a weekly
CHAPTER 3
challenge, developer blogs, and news.
Create
SmartPhone
apps using IPHONE
JavaScript WINDOWS MOBILE SPECIFIC
The iPhone has become something of ■ Windows Mobile Development
a legend. Although the first generation
Center: Provides a central repository
CHAPTER 4 device fell short of many corporate
IBM preps for content on building apps with the
needs, the ease of use and Steve Job’s
mobile SOA .NET Compact Framework, SQL Server
connection magic touch attracted a cult following.
and Windows CE/Mobile/Every-
At the moment, native iPhone apps
where/Compact. A section on Appli-
are developed with Objective C.
CHAPTER 5 cations for Smart Devices targets
Mobile native, managed, and SQL Server
development ■ iPhone Developer Program: Official
resource Compact topics. A Mobile Web sec-
guide iPhone developer site from Apple.
tion covers the nuts and bolts of build-
Developers can download the SDK to
ing Web sites designed for mobile
develop and test new applications. It
devices such as .MOBI standards,
also has information on distributing
W3C Mobile Web best practices and
new apps on the iPhone store. The
the XHTML Mobile Profile.
free iPhone SDK includes Xcode IDE,
an iPhone simulator with Open GL ES ■Windows Mobile Development Net-
support, Interface Builder, Instru-
work: The Microsoft mobile develop-
ments, frameworks, compilers and
ers site with links to upcoming events,

17 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 5

an application showcase, help and one of the most popular smartphone

tips, along with a variety of podcasts. platforms with over 180 million
devices shipped by June 2008. This
■Windows Mobile Team Blog: This site provides an overview to S60
official Microsoft blog relating to Win- development with information on get-
dows Mobile development links to ting started, tools and SDKs, and tech-
news, tips and tricks about .Net Com- nical specs for S60 enabled devices. It
pact Framework, application compati- has sections for C++, Java, Flash Lite,
ED LETTER
bility, and Silverlight. and Python developers.

CHAPTER 1 ■ S40 Development Forum: S40

Shifting ground OTHER SMARTPHONE PLATFORMS from Nokia is the world’s most widely
for mobile
development ■ BlackBerry: The main BlackBerry deployed mobile device platform.
development site has information on It is designed for phones with fewer
browser development, rapid applica- resources than many smartphones,
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile tion development, and Java applica- yet still runs Java and Flash Lite appli-
with Windows tion development. The site includes an cations. Nokia provides IDE plug-ins
eclipse IDE plug-in, as well as simula- for Carbide, NetBeans, Eclipse, and
tors for many of the phone models, Aptana.
CHAPTER 3
Create including the new Storm smartphone.
SmartPhone ■ Qualcomm Brew Developer’s
apps using
JavaScript ■ Symbian: The main Symbian devel- Home: Qualcomm’s Brew doesn’t get
oper’s page with technical information all of the publicity of the iPhone and
and news, tools, discussion forums, the Blackberry, but it silently handles a
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
and tutorials. Symbian is the market lot of applications. The company esti-
mobile SOA leading mobile phone OS, with mates that Brew applications generat-
connection
approximately 226 million cumulative ed an average of 80.5 million transac-
shipped phones by June 2008. A wide tions per month in 2007, while paying
CHAPTER 5 variety of user interfaces run on top of out over $1 billion in earnings to Brew
Mobile the base OS including Nokia’s S60, developers and publishers. This site
development
resource NTT DOCOMO’s MOAP user inter- contains a link to the SDK, tutorials
guide face for the FOMA 3G network and and learning guides, and information
UIQ, designed by UIQ Technology, a on how to create a business on top of
joint venture between Motorola and the Brew platform.
Sony Ericsson. Symbian phone manu-
facturers include Fujitsu, LG, Mit- ■Google Android: Android is a mobile
subishi, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, OS based on Linux and championed
Sharp and Sony Ericsson. by Google and the Open Handset
Alliance. Developers write managed
■ S60 Development Forum: S60 is (Continued on page 19)

18 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 5

NEC and SAIC use SOA for first-responder app

By Jack Vaughan
WHILE SOME SING the funeral song of SOA, software services continue to spread and
evolve—finding new forms, especially in the realm of telecommunications. For exam-
ple, such services are being used as part of innovative first-emergency-responder
ED LETTER
applications being created by Science Applications International Corporation.
Last month, NEC Corp. subsidiary NEC Sphere Communications announced it was
working with SAIC to deliver interactive unified communications capabilities as part
CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground of their service-oriented architecture infrastructure for collaboration.
for mobile Todd Landry, senior vice president of NEC Sphere, said SAIC and NEC Sphere have
development
developed mobile collaboration technology—in effect, a SOA-RIA-Web Services-IP
Telephony mashup—that will be useful to first responders, law enforcement, and oth-
CHAPTER 2 ers. The implementation combines SAIC’s GeoSpatial browser-based collaboration
Goin’ mobile
with Windows software with NEC Sphere’s unified communications technology.
Landry told SearchSOA.com that NEC Sphere Communications, acquired by NEC 18
months ago, is dedicated to building communications capabilities as software servic-
CHAPTER 3
Create
es, rather than hardware elements as was traditionally the case with telecommunica-
SmartPhone tions devices and systems. He said this movement will redefine business processes
apps using
JavaScript that involve human interaction.
“If you build a workflow related to your data applications, for example, an ERP sys-
tem getting information from inventory, at some point people in the business become
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps part of the workflow. At that point it is good to have the ability for the business sys-
mobile SOA tem to reach out to the people that can ensure the next step is taken,” said Landry.
connection
On the development side, Landry said NEC Sphere’s approach to services allows
wider ranks of programmers to work with telecommunications systems—a very
CHAPTER 5 arcane area for many people.
Mobile
development “We have abstracted the services in a way that application developers can con-
resource sume the services without having to understand the underlying telecommunications
guide
[systems],” he said. NEC Sphere development tools include a suite of WSDL files that
allow application developers to more easily bring telecomm services into their devel-
opment environments, Landry indicated.
The SAIC work is a fairly advanced application. SAIC’s GeoSpatial service enables
users to share geospatial displays. Together with Instant Messaging and Voice-over-
Internet Protocol services, the system is ultimately intended to help emergency
responders successfully coordinate activities, especially when dealing with catastro-
phes. ■

19 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 5

(Continued from page 17) members. It has information on start-

code that use Google libraries. Mem- ing, designing, developing, testing, and
bers of the OHA alliance include HTC, running mobile apps. The site is pro-
Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, T-Mobile, vided by dotMobi, based in Ireland. It
Sprint, Sony Ericsson, and Vodaphone. exists to accelerate the mobile Web
Initially, T-Mobile is the only company and promote best practices for mobile
to deploy the phone. However, the sites. It includes a directory of suppli-
phone is getting quite a bit of spotlight ers, services and tools for designing
ED LETTER
because of Google’s backing. This site developing and testing mobile sites.
includes the Android SDK, and a vari-
CHAPTER 1 ety of tools to develop mobile apps on ■ Mobile Development: Mobile dev
Shifting ground the Android platform. The SDK is blog maintained by Sunil Kumar, a
for mobile
development designed for use with Eclipse, but the mobile app developer from Singapore.
SDK includes other tools for debug- This site highlights lesser known facts
ging, packaging, and installing appli- to mobile developers, such as how to
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile cations on the emulator. detect if a phone is 3G enabled or how
with Windows to force apps to use AGPS rather than
■ Adobe Flash Lite: Flash Lite is a GPS.
stripped down version of the Flash
CHAPTER 3
Create Player for mobile phones. This version ■ Device Atlas: The world’s most
SmartPhone is designed for phones and consumer comprehensive database of mobile
apps using
JavaScript electronics devices like the Chumby device information includes multi-
and media players. The Flash Lite sourced data, for maximum reliability
player supports ActionScript pro- and scope. It is free to use for devel-
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
gramming language. This site is the opment purposes. It includes informa-
mobile SOA main Flash Lite Developer page with tion about the components in the
connection
links to tools, tips, tricks, and a sample device as well as development infor-
gallery illustrating Flash Lite possibili- mation, APIs, properties, DRM, and
CHAPTER 5 ties. other technical information.
Mobile
development
resource
■ QT Software (Formerly Trolltech):
guide MULTI-PLATFORM SITES QT is a cross-platform application
■ Mobile Phone Development: Blog framework. It allows developers to
by mobile developer Simon Judge on create applications once using C++
Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android, and Java that can be deployed on top
iPhone, Java ME and the Mobile Web. of Windows CE, and embedded Linux
platforms (and the Symbian S60 in
■ MobiForge: MobiForge is the world’s Q2 2009) without rewriting the
largest independent mobile develop- source code. The company was
ment community with over 20,000 acquired by Nokia in June 2008. This

20 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 Chapter 5

site includes a link to a trial version of

the development tool IDE and various
mobile development white papers,
webinars and tutorials.

■ Navteq: Navteq is one of the world’s

largest providers of maps, traffic infor- EDITOR
mation, and other geographic data. Jack Vaughan
ED LETTER
This site includes tips and tools for
GROUP MANAGING EDITOR
developing mobile mapping applica- Bree Matturro
CHAPTER 1 tions for consumers and enterprises.
Shifting ground The NAVTEQ Network for Developers ASSISTANT SITE EDITOR
for mobile Mike Pontacoloni
development provides application developers
access to the extensive collection CONTRIBUTORS
George Lawton
of highly accurate and robust digital Patrick Meader
CHAPTER 2
Goin’ mobile NAVTEQ maps, and the resources Rich Seeley
with Windows needed to bring new location-enabled John K. Waters
services to market. ■
The enclosed material is copyright
CHAPTER 3 SearchSOA.com unless otherwise stated.
Create John K. Waters is a freelance journalist
SmartPhone and author on the tech beat in Silicon Valley.
apps using
JavaScript

CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
mobile SOA
connection

CHAPTER 5
Mobile
development
resource
guide

21 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM

 From our sponsor

ED LETTER
q IBM, Research in Motion – Mobilizing Business WorldWide
CHAPTER 1
Shifting ground
for mobile q IBM-Research in Motion BlackBerry Client Trial Offer
development

CHAPTER 2 q Integrated Service Management for Design & Delivery

Goin’ mobile
with Windows

About IBM
CHAPTER 3 At IBM, we strive to lead in the creation, development and manufacture of the
Create
SmartPhone industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems,
apps using software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. We trans-
JavaScript
late these advanced technologies into value for our customers through our pro-
fessional solutions and services businesses worldwide. www.ibm.com
CHAPTER 4
IBM preps
mobile SOA
connection

CHAPTER 5
Mobile
development
resource
guide

22 MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT • SEARCHSOA.COM