PhoneGap 3, Beginner’s Guide, 2nd Edition

You don’t have to know complex languages like Objective C to compete in the ever-growing mobile market place. The PhoneGap framework lets you use your web development skills to build HTML and JavaScript-based mobile applications with native wrappers that run on all the major mobile platforms, including Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 8.

“PhoneGap 3 Beginner’s Guide” will help you break into the world of mobile application development. You will learn how to set up and configure your mobile development environment, implement the most common features of modern mobile apps, and build rich, native-style applications. The examples in this book deal with real use case scenarios, which will help you develop your own apps, and then publish them on the most popular app stores.

Dive deep into PhoneGap and refine your skills by learning how to build the main features of a real world app.

“PhoneGap 3 Beginner’s Guide” will guide you through the building blocks of a mobile application that lets users plan a trip and share their trip information. With the help of this app, you will learn how to work with key PhoneGap tools and APIs, extend the framework’s functionality with plug-ins, and integrate device features such as the camera, contacts, storage, and more. By the time you’re finished, you will have a solid understanding of the common challenges mobile app developers face, and you will know how to solve them.

What you will learn from this book

• Set up and configure your development environment
• Manage cross-platform code bases
• Build well-performing modular apps
• Interact with the device sensors, file system, and camera
• Use key PhoneGap APIs
• Integrate native code in your mobile app
• Write a PhoneGap plugin
• Localize a mobile app

Approach
Written in a friendly, example-driven Beginner’s Guide format, there are plenty of step-by-step instructions to help you get started with PhoneGap.

Who this book is for
If you are a web developer or mobile application developer interested in an examples-based approach to learning mobile application development basics with PhoneGap, then this book is for you.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Getting Started with PhoneGap
Chapter 2: Building and Debugging on Multiple Platforms
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Mobile Applications
Chapter 4: Architecting Your Mobile App
Chapter 5: Improving the User Interface and Device Interaction
Chapter 6: Using Device Storage and the Contacts API
Chapter 7: Accessing Device Sensors
Chapter 8: Using Location Data with PhoneGap
Chapter 9: Manipulating Files
Chapter 10: Capturing and Manipulating Device Media
Chapter 11: Working with PhoneGap Plugins

Appendix A: Localizing Your App
Appendix B: Publishing Your App
Appendix C: Pop Quiz Answers