In the video, we show how to take advantage of the PhoneGap API with ready-to-use “device services” and data mapping in the Tiggzi app builder. For this lesson, we build a simple contacts app and go through the steps of testing it in an Android emulator.
Here is the complete set of lessons from the video page on our help site:
Lesson 1: The UI Builder
Lesson 2: Data Mapping to a Service
Lesson 3: Using the Tiggzi Database Service
Lesson 4: Web Service Caching
Lesson 5: Tiggzi & PhoneGap Capabilities
Lesson 6: A Windows 8 App with the Twitter API
Each lesson links to a YouTube video. For each lesson there is also a link to a Tiggzi backup ZIP of the finished lesson app, which you can open as a new project within Tiggzi.
We’ll be updating the series soon, so chime in with any suggestions
Tiggzi’s new HTML5 app builder has been the default builder for the past couple of weeks and we continue to update it with new features. One such feature is new Windows 8 support. In addition to jQuery Mobile/PhoneGap apps, you can now build Windows 8 apps with native support such as Snap View, Search Charm, Share Charm, and Live Tile.
To create a new Windows 8 app, click the “More create options” link from the Apps page and then select Windows 8 App as the app type. Try our Windows 8 app tutorial.
jQuery Mobile 1.2
We also upgraded to a much better jQuery Mobile version 1.2.
PhoneGap 2.2
We also upgraded PhoneGap to version 2.2. This means Tiggzi’s cloud build has also been upgraded to PhoneGap 1.2:
If you use Tiggzi Mobile App Tester for Android - go and grab an update so it also uses the latest PhoneGap version.
Push Notifications
A long requested feature - Push Notifications feature has been added to Tiggzi Backend Services.
We got some really cool stuff out this week. Check it out.
Better way to test your app
When you open the app builder you should see a new and very nice phone frame:
The old one was more Android-like. The new one is neither Android, iPhone or Windows Phone. Just a nice phone frame.
There is an upgraded test page:
You can use the new tool bar at the top to change the phone orientation as well as change the size:
That’s not all. We also now have an option to test the app without the mobile frame. In the Test pop-up, uncheck Show in mobile frame:
When you open the app, it won’t use the frame:
The frame looks nice in the browser, but technically speaking testing without the frame is better — as you are testing the actual app (just the app code, no frame). Of course when you run the app on your device, the frame is not there as well.
jQuery Mobile Multi-page Template
jQuery Mobile supports multi-page templates where two or more pages are placed inside the same file. You can now turn on this features in Tiggzi app builder (it’s turn off by default). Go to Project > Project Profile:
Queries In Database Console
Tiggzi Database comes with Queries support (docs) and now you can try the queries right from the collection console:
Showing products that cost more than $30 (or any other currency):
PhoneGap Upgrade
We upgraded to PhoneGap version 1.8.1. Every new and existing app will now use this new version of PhoneGap.
Android 4.0.x
We also added build support for Android 4.0.x
As always, we want to get your feedback. You can always email us ([email protected]) or post on our forum.
In the past year or so, we have witnessed a major shift from client-server to client-cloud. This shift is primarily fueled by two factors: mobile devices exceeding desktop computers and the thousands of different APIs available on the Internet today. What started in early 2000 on eBay and Amazon has become a real revolution in 2012 with thousands of companies, from Twitter and Facebook to AT&T, offering cloud-based services.
REST API
One of the most common ways to access private or public service APIs is via REST requests.
In the client-server approach an organization builds applications that consume its own internal content and resources. However, even large IT organizations such as AT&T, Verizon and Amazon have come to realize that they are no match for the social consumer and social enterprise developers out there. By making APIs publicly available, these organizations hope that developers and “citizen developers” will come and build applications and mobile apps on top of their services.
Citizen developers at work
Analysts at Gartner see a trend toward app creation independent of IT. They predict that by 2014, citizen developers – employees outside of IT and software development – will build 25% of new business applications. In 2007, they built less than 5%.
One of the best-known API success stories comes from Amazon: Its cloud service APIs let outsiders access the company’s massive data centers. Twitter, with its deceptively simple 140-character message model, exploded thanks to its API. In fact, you probably read and write tweets via a Twitter application or mobile app rather than going directly to Twitter’s Web site. Facebook’s Graph API has spawned a whole industry of apps to support its hundreds of millions of users.
The Tiggzi team keeps making the great even better, as you can see in this latest release of Tiggzi Mobile App Builder. New features include everything from iOS binary builds to updated support for jQuery Mobile and PhoneGap. Read on to find out more. Read the rest of this entry »
We just published a very nice hands-one tutorial on how to build HTML5/jQuery Mobile app connected to StackMob API. StackMob is super easy to use service for creating a mobile back-end for your app. Everything you create is instantly exposed as REST.
First of all thanks to Kinvey for creating this wonderful map and including Tiggzi in it (blue Mobile SDK line). Tiggzi could actually span 3 different lines: BaaS, Mobile SDK and Mobile API. Tiggzi is a cloud-based HTML5 mobile app builder, so it’s not exactly a mobile SDK. In fact, the technology under the hood is HTML, JavaScript and jQuery Mobile. For hybrid apps, the app can be wrapped in PhoneGap, which also provides access to native device features. So, there is no really “custom” SDK.
Second, from the builder it’s incredibly easy to consume any REST API (yellow Mobile API line). Tiggzi comes with a pretty nice REST services console where any service can be tested. From the same console, the REST service response (structure) can be automatically created. Once the service is defined, it is mapped to jQuery Mobile UI using a visual mapper (UI to service input, service output to UI).
Thirdly, as most BaaS services (orange line) are exposed as REST, HTML5 mobile app built in Tiggzi, can easily connect and use those services.
Lastly, and maybe the most important point is how incredibly fast you can build apps. It sort of all makes sense.. you got cloud-based mobile backend (exposed as REST) and cloud-based app builder to build the apps. It sounds simple.. but a really elegant picture.
This perfectly describes Tiggzi. Tiggzi is cloud-based builder for creating HTML5, jQuery Mobile, PhoneGap, and RESTful mobile apps.
Originally posted: http://mkblog.exadel.com/2012/02/mapping-the-tools-in-the-mobile-development-ecosystem-and-how-tiggzi-mobile-app-builder-fits-in/.
One of the really great features in Tiggzi mobile app builder is that you can quickly export the app as mobile Web, Android or iOS:
For Android, you can get a ready for the app market binary file (Release binary). Just take the file and upload it to Android Market. It’s that simple. You can watch a webinar where an app is built, exported for Android and published.
iOS is little bit more involved (Apple requires to provide your developer information to build). There are two ways to go about it. First, export the app as xCode project and then follow the steps outlined in this guide to build the app.
