Reply to: HTML5 takes the internet by storm

[xoggoth]

Been various platform independent web based solutions for apps for a few years. Forget the name of the one I tried, but it crashed my PC. Maybe it's improved since, might have a look at that PhoneGap.

PS Hey that looks pretty simple!!! On android anyway! Android browser supports javascript anyway supposedly. Presume this gives control of various phone features from it.

http://phonegap.com/start#android

[eek]

The first reason is, unfortunately fashion. Apps are ever-so-trendy nowadays and everyone's got to have one to compliment their corporate Twitter and Facebook accounts. The app stores themselves are a valuable source of new users, a near-free advertising channel that has the potential to draw in hundreds of thousands of muppe^H^H^H^H^Heyeballs. So until the app stores start listing web links, the trend is unlikely to change. I can't see Apple doing this, but maybe Google will (they have on the desktop).

Thankfully we've got frameworks like PhoneGap, which allow you to develop apps in HTML + JavaScript while offering a cross-platform JavaScript API that allows access to the sensor hardware and OS services, so you can write an app once then compile the code for all the different platforms without changing it. Everything ends up looking like a really lazy port from iPhone, but it's way better than developing the same crummy app in Objective C, Java, C# and C++.

You could use c# / mono with monodroid and monotouch or unity 3d if you really want to. To be honest though I'm startimh to think that HTML 5 with a PhoneGap port for ios marketing purposes is the way to go.

[TimberWolf]

The first reason is, unfortunately fashion. Apps are ever-so-trendy nowadays and everyone's got to have one to compliment their corporate Twitter and Facebook accounts. The app stores themselves are a valuable source of new users, a near-free advertising channel that has the potential to draw in hundreds of thousands of muppe^H^H^H^H^Heyeballs. So until the app stores start listing web links, the trend is unlikely to change. I can't see Apple doing this, but maybe Google will (they have on the desktop).

Thankfully we've got frameworks like PhoneGap, which allow you to develop apps in HTML + JavaScript while offering a cross-platform JavaScript API that allows access to the sensor hardware and OS services, so you can write an app once then compile the code for all the different platforms without changing it. Everything ends up looking like a really lazy port from iPhone, but it's way better than developing the same crummy app in Objective C, Java, C# and C++.

Interesting. And intriguingly it was purchased last year by Adobe: PhoneGap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[bitplane]

Why code apps for different device and device and software versions when a capable web app will run on just about anything?

The first reason is, unfortunately fashion. Apps are ever-so-trendy nowadays and everyone's got to have one to compliment their corporate Twitter and Facebook accounts. The app stores themselves are a valuable source of new users, a near-free advertising channel that has the potential to draw in hundreds of thousands of muppe^H^H^H^H^Heyeballs. So until the app stores start listing web links, the trend is unlikely to change. I can't see Apple doing this, but maybe Google will (they have on the desktop).

Thankfully we've got frameworks like PhoneGap, which allow you to develop apps in HTML + JavaScript while offering a cross-platform JavaScript API that allows access to the sensor hardware and OS services, so you can write an app once then compile the code for all the different platforms without changing it. Everything ends up looking like a really lazy port from iPhone, but it's way better than developing the same crummy app in Objective C, Java, C# and C++.

[Sysman]

The BBC appear to have stumbled across Bruce Lawson's presentation without realising it's a parody: Leveraging HTML 5.0

[d000hg]

Its also dead and has been since MS announced its plans for windows 8 see InfoQ: Microsoft has Abandoned Silverlight and All Other Plugins in Metro IE

Yes you can still create silverlight apps but as they won't work in window 8s default mode whats the point.

Metro IE is a special version; plugins in general are certainly not going away any time soon as they are widely. IE10 still supports plugins in the traditional Windows desktop, which is the one everyone with a PC is going to be using. IE10 Metro is more aimed at tablets/phones.

[Sysman]

Still doesn't work on a 3270 terminal. What about people using Charlotte or Lynx?

I don't think Lynx ever supported Javascript. It's still handy on occasion.

[eek]

Silverlight is used by Netflix, which is kind of a big deal. However I don't think it's a tech I'd look at learning, it's clearly not going that way... unless you make it a niche.

Its also dead and has been since MS announced its plans for windows 8 see InfoQ: Microsoft has Abandoned Silverlight and All Other Plugins in Metro IE

Yes you can still create silverlight apps but as they won't work in window 8s default mode whats the point.

[darmstadt]

Still doesn't work on a 3270 terminal. What about people using Charlotte or Lynx?

[OwlHoot]

You mean Silverlight?

I've seen it offered as an optional install dozens of time in Windows Update (but not recently). I think I've only found one web page outside Microsoft.com that asked me to download it, and I was surfing on a Linux system at the time so didn't bother.

That's the one, an entirely predictable turkey

I was thinking of Adobe AIR though; but a quick search reveals that Adobe Edge is the new heir apparent (or in this case AIR apparent)

Truly it was said by the prophet "Many are called, few are chosen"

[d000hg]

Silverlight is used by Netflix, which is kind of a big deal. However I don't think it's a tech I'd look at learning, it's clearly not going that way... unless you make it a niche.

[Sysman]

Yippee - Another skill I've been meaning to get up to speed on and practice, but can now forget about.

Like Silverlake or whatever it's called, or is that .Net? (I should know - It's on my CV )

You mean Silverlight?

I've seen it offered as an optional install dozens of time in Windows Update (but not recently). I think I've only found one web page outside Microsoft.com that asked me to download it, and I was surfing on a Linux system at the time so didn't bother.

[OwlHoot]

Bye-Bye Flash?

Yippee - Another skill I've been meaning to get up to speed on and practice, but can now forget about.

Like Silverlake or whatever it's called, or is that .Net? (I should know - It's on my CV )

[TimberWolf]

I still use TABLEs in my HTML...

Have you got anything sensible to contribute

[TimberWolf]

Exactly. I have somewhere got a bunch of documentation which is stashed as HTML / Javascript and it works perfectly well offline.

Well I suppose if one needs separate files in addition to the web app, for holding images , data or whatnot, you might need to "install" a whole folder rather than just a file?

Or if a folder is too complicated, an HTML manifest will cache stuff:
6.7 Offline Web applications