Chapter 1. Getting Started

Are you all excited, as we are, to get started? Well, before we start writing some code, we have a few things we need to do first. These first couple of chapters may be light on code, but are rich in concepts and ideas that you will need on your journey to master jQuery Mobile.

Before we begin, let's talk briefly about what jQuery Mobile is and, more importantly, what it isn't. It is an extension of jQuery that will allow you to create cross-browser web applications and websites that will look the same, regardless of the mobile browser used to view them and the underlying mobile OS. jQuery Mobile provides wide browser and device coverage using progressive enhancement, making your website accessible on the widest range of devices and browsers. It also enhances the form inputs and UI widgets to be touch-friendly. It is not a framework that will allow you to build native applications, but you can use this framework to build hybrid mobile applications. In one of the last chapters of this book, we will look at using one such framework—Apache's Cordova.

Now that we have got that out of the way, grab your drink of choice, fire up your computer, and let's rock 'n' roll.