Using JavaScript in mobile web application

Question

I need to use JavaScript in a form for mobile web application.

I need some information about it, related to browser compatibility as well as way to use JavaScript in mobile web applications (syntax).

Answer 1

It's a nightmare. It's like working with web-browsers in the 90's but with the manager expectations of tomorrow.

I strongly recommend you determine your target platforms in terms of regions, software, and actual hardware since the market is much more fragmented than the web and a large number of mobile devices have issues with CSS, JS and even XHTML ranging from painful to not-on-this-platform.

The good news is that android and iphone are pushing the field rapidly. The bad news is that makes a lot of the sources you'll google badly out-of-date.

Some references:

• http://www.w3.org/TR/mobileOK-basic10-tests/#test_objects_or_script
• http://mobiforge.com/developing/story/getting-started-with-mobile-ajax
• http://mobiforge.com/

Especially that last one :)

Answer 2

The reality have changed since this question was asked. Modern smartphones support browsers, that are compatibile with their desktop big brothers, with same JavaScript support. However, still there are differences how application is displayed and how it is operated, you can't rely on drag-and-drop, there are some rendering differences, f.g. in GWT-Ext Showcase on Opera Mobile tab close buttons are not rendered. So you should not rely on modern JavaScript 'magic framework' such as Ext.