- Sencha Touch is a great framework, but requires a LOT getting used to. The officials Docs do not always have the answer you’re looking for. ST forums and stackoverflow are excellent resources to consult when in need.
- If you are a web developer, DO NOT waste time learning Objective-C or Java for creating native iOS and Android apps. Instead use something like ST to develop a mobile web app, and then convert it into a native app using Cordova / PhoneGap.
- Cordova is the renamed, open-source version of PhoneGap.
- If your app is data-centeric, most probably it will depend on a webservice / API. If the API and the app are hosted on the same server, no problemo. In case of native apps, that are basically web apps PhoneGapped into native apps, that’d mean calling a remote API, and that is the problem. See same origin policy.
- Most googled solutions will point to making the service JSONP supported; but JSONP works only for GET requests. CORS is a recent W3C standard that supports all HTTP methods, but it still doesn’t work for PhoneGapped apps. ASP.NET Web API provides an easy CORS implementation.
- The perfect solution is to keep making Ajax calls normally, but using the full URL of the remote API. That will work because a PhoneGapped app doesn’t render in a browser but in a WebView (through a file:// URL). So it’s not restricted by browser’s same origin policy.
- ASP.NET MVC 5 and Web API are awesome!
- You may frequently encounter annoying cache issues with PhoneGapped apps. Just place a
super.clearCache() in your Android app’s main activity’s onCreate().
- A PhoneGapped iOS app will run in fullscreen mode, by default, such that the status bar in iOS 7+ will appear over it. A fix is right here!
- One can create an IPA archive for testing on iOS devices via
Build > *.app > iTunes > ?*.ipa. Believe me, it’s one of the most stupid things you will ever do. This is the correct way to create IPA archives for ad hoc distribution.
- Here’s how to create an animated splash screen in Android (though I have yet to figure out how to correctly use this in a ST-PhoneGapped app).
- If your device has Android 4.4+, you can remote debug your WebView-based Android apps using Chrome.
- JavaScript is yummy!