Creating Mobile Apps with HTML5

About This Course

Do you want to make mobile apps that run on iPhone and iPad, as well as on Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone? Sure you do! Do you want to learn five different programming languages? Of course you don't!

Fortunately, you're about to discover a better way to build apps. In this course, you'll learn how to imagine, design, build, and optimize a cross-platform mobile app using the very latest HTML5 standards. The result will be a mobile app that's fast and runs on just about any smartphone or tablet computer.

You'll also learn some of the most sought-after skills in Web and mobile development, including:

• HTML5 and how it's different from previous versions of HTML.
• CSS3, the layout and styling language of the mobile Web.
• Scripting with JavaScript and several JavaScript frameworks and techniques such as jQuery, jQuery Mobile, and AJAX.
• How to use Web services such as Google Maps in your app.
• How to determine an app's user location by accessing the built-in geolocation capabilities of the user's smartphone.
• How to use Web Application Programming Interfaces (Web APIs) to combine different Web services to create mobile mashups.
• How to optimize your app for performance to make sure that it runs as fast as possible for your users.
• How to convert your HTML5 apps into native apps that you can submit to app stores such as Apple's App Store, Google Play, and Blackberry App World.

By the end of the course, you'll have built your first mobile web app, and you'll be on your way to making your dream of being a successful mobile app developer a reality!

About The Instructor

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Chris Minnick.

Chris Minnick is the CEO of Minnick, LLC. He teaches and consults on the mobile Web and has written books and articles on a wide range of Internet-related topics since the mid-1990s. His latest book, WebKit for Dummies, teaches how to develop cross-platform mobile apps using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript in conjunction with the WebKit browser engine that's present on nearly every smartphone and tablet. In addition to being one of the most experienced Web developers to have never held a proper job, Chris is an award-winning winemaker and an avid (albeit amateur) swimmer, musician, and tinkerer. More information is available on his blog: www.chrisminnick.com.

Syllabus

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week 1

Wednesday - Lesson 01

What are the compelling reasons for developing mobile apps with HTML5? And why are some of the Web's biggest players—including Google, Facebook, and Twitter—moving all their apps to the mobile Web? Today you'll learn four principles for designing great mobile apps, and you'll get acquainted with the concept of "mobile first" Web development. By the end of this lesson, you'll be ready to start writing an app.

Friday - Lesson 02

Today you'll follow the progress of employees at a fictitious company as they build a mobile app. In the process, you'll set up your tools and get your hands dirty with some real HTML5 code.

Week 2

Wednesday - Lesson 03

HTML5 is the latest version of the markup language of the Web. In this lesson, you'll learn why Web developers and mobile developers are so gung-ho for HTML5. More importantly, you'll find out how you can use it to write your own webpages. By the end of the lesson, you'll understand the basics of markup languages and HTML5 syntax.

Friday - Lesson 04

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) will make your Web apps workable on the largest number of devices, and it'll make your code easier to maintain. In this lesson, you'll use CSS to format HTML documents. We'll also look at the new capabilities that are possible with CSS version 3.

Week 3

Wednesday - Lesson 05

JavaScript is the programming language of the mobile Web. In this lesson, you'll learn to use JavaScript to add interactivity to mobile apps.

Friday - Lesson 06

Today's lesson is all about getting things done faster, better, and with less effort! You'll use jQuery Mobile to make your HTML5 apps feel at home on mobile devices. You'll also use JavaScript libraries and frameworks to get more done in less time.

Week 4

Wednesday - Lesson 07

By accessing built-in device features such as offline storage and location services, you can make your mobile Web apps much more dynamic. In this lesson, you'll learn what's possible and how to do it.

Friday - Lesson 08

No Web app is an island. Hundreds of app developers have made certain features of their software available using Web Application Programming Interfaces. By using these APIs to retrieve data and then combining different data sources, you can create endless combinations called mashups.

Week 5

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Graphics and animation can really spice up your mobile apps. The mobile Web has special requirements and technologies that you need to be aware of, however. In this lesson, you'll learn to optimize your graphics for the mobile Web.

Friday - Lesson 10

Smartphones and tablets come in different shapes and sizes. In this lesson, you'll learn to make your Web app look good on the largest possible variety of devices. You'll also add some meta tags that will give your app more polish on iPhone and Android. Then we'll touch on touch-enabling your app.

Week 6

Wednesday - Lesson 11

A responsive app doesn't keep the user waiting. In this lesson, you'll learn tools and techniques to make your app responsive.

Friday - Lesson 12

Native apps give you access to more device features and to the distribution power of an app store. Learn how to use PhoneGap to convert your Web app into a native one for multiple mobile operating systems.

Requirements

All additional software needed for this course (including a code editor and a WebKit browser) is freely available on the Internet and the process for downloading and installing it will be covered during the lessons. One of the following operating systems is required: Windows XP or later, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later; Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader). Note: HTML and/or programming experience will be helpful, but is not required.