The jQuery Mobile framework is jQuery’s latest rabbit out of the hat project. The jQuery Mobile framework is open source and is supported by all the big players: iOS, Android, Bada, BlackBerry, Nokia, Adobe, and so, covering all the names behind the project. It is a truly cross platform framework and porting applications made in jQuery mobile will be a snap with this new technology in your hands. Get to grips with everything you need to know to sprint through developing high end web applications for mobiles.
jQuery Mobile First Look will show you the features of the jQuery Mobile framework, what they do, and how they can be used. It covers the installation thoroughly on all the machines, as it is found with any new technology that the most difficult part is getting people to correctly install the product.
From installation to specifications and from designing to deployment this book covers all the factors that you need to know before starting your own mobile web application development. Starting with an introduction to jQuery Mobile, the book will give you an overview of the key features of the framework and how they can be used to implement a mobile web application. Development tips and troubleshooting add to the standard information contained in these pages. The topics covered include everything the jQuery Mobile developer needs to know in order to create a full-feature web application for mobile devices. Ranging from a comparison of jQuery mobile with other popular frameworks and its installation on various Operating Systems to theming pages, website layout, and content formatting, the book presents information about buttons, toolbars, dialogs, forms, and list views, as well as suggesting best practices and workarounds to accomplish things in an alternative way.
jQuery Mobile First Look will help you learn one of the most promising JavaScript mobile frameworks and grasp how widgets and elements work and what you can do to customize and enhance their behavior.
A by-example guide that will let you explore all the features of jQuery Mobile and get you ready for all the mobile web development you will do.
Chapter 1, What is jQuery Mobile?: We will give some background information about the jQuery Mobile framework but, most important of all, will discuss the differences between the various mobile frameworks out there and explain why jQuery Mobile outperforms its competitor. Installation and other miscellaneous information are also included.
Chapter 2, Organizing Content: Pages and Dialogs: We'll see how pages are structured in jQuery Mobile and how can we link between them or create multi-page templates. In a very similar fashion, dialogs will also be discussed.
Chapter 3, Configuring and Extending jQuery Mobile: As the name suggests, we'll learn how to configure the default settings, handle events (taping, swiping, animations, and so on), and take advantage of jQuery Mobile's built-in methods and utilities to further interact with the elements on our web page.
Chapter 4, Reading, Writing, Communicating: Content: This chapter addresses the issue of content, explaining how it will be displayed by default and what we can do to change the way it looks. Usage of elements such as grids (to organize information) and collapsible blocks (for hiding and showing paragraphs) will be revealed.
Chapter 5, Navigation Made Easier: Toolbars: The importance of toolbars in jQuery Mobile needs to be pointed out; and in this chapter we'll understand how to use toolbars to provide additional options and control to the user, and how to position, theme, and enhance them in every possible way.
Chapter 6, Mobile Clicking: Buttons: Buttons and their key role in mobile development: how they can be grouped, displayed customized for a better user experience in a mobile enviroinment.
Chapter 7, Transmitting Information: Forms: This chapter deals with creating forms and submitting data via AJAX using jQuery Mobile. We'll also have a look at how to implement sliders, toggle switches, search inputs into our fieldset elements.
Chapter 8, Organizing Information. List Views: We don't want to miss out on list views, which play a huge role in jQuery Mobile when it comes to organizing and laying out our content. This chapter presents the basics of list elements and guides you through the realization of a music player interface.
Appendix A, API Calls and Properties: This appendix presents a list of the API calls and properties to interact with jQuery Mobile internals.
Appendix B, Resources and Troubleshooting: This appendix presents a list of useful resources, development tools, and troubleshooting in order to better understand how jQuery (Mobile) and JavaScript work together.
In order to get the best out of this book, you only need a web browser and a copy of jQuery Mobile – we'll discuss how to actually grab one in Chapter 1 , What is jQuery Mobile?.
It's also suggested to use Firefox as a web browser in conjunction with the firebug extension; alternatively, any other browser with their respective developer plugin is on par (see Appendix B, Resources and Troubleshooting to learn how to install and enable such plugins).
This is a First Look book that allows existing jQuery users to get a look at the features of jQuery mobile. It is targeted at jQuery users who want to enter the exciting world of mobile web development. All you need is the basics of jQuery and an interest to get involved with mobile development and you can use this book as a launch-pad for your future ventures in mobile web development with jQuery Mobile framework.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text are shown as follows: "We then wrap all of it into a container which has a data-role="fieldcontain" attribute".
A block of code is set as follows:
[<title>jQuery Mobile Page Structure Test</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="jquery.mobile-latest.min.css"" />
<script src="jquery-latest.min.js"></script>
<script src="jquery.mobile-latest.min.js"></script>When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:
<script src="jquery.js"></script>
<script src="custom-scripting.js"></script>
<script src="jquery-mobile.js"></script>New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "The Cancel button should be included this time, as there is no Close button in the top-left corner".
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