I've been hearing lots of stories about people building an iOS/Android app using HTML5/Javascript. Now, I've done alot of searching, and haven't really found any answers as to how you actually do it. Do you need some sort of SDK or special dev tool? I already know how to build iOS/Android apps natively, and I have a decent knowledge of HTML5 and Javascript.

These are a few reasons I'm asking:

- Since I hear it can be done, I'd like to give it a try.

- I have a job interview as an SDET and I'd like to have a working example by then, if possible.

- On my last job, I worked at Amazon and our app was also web based mobile app (some HTML/Javascript, and Selenium for debugging/automation) but since I wasn't a dev, I didn't know exactly how they did it.

Now, to be clear, I'm not asking how to build some webpage using HTML5/Javascript only to navigate to it on the mobile browser, I mean your app launches the HTML5/Javascript from <insert URL here> or some offline content packaged inside the app, and it runs as a standalone program.

I tried googling this, but nothing really made much sense at the time. Any ideas? Thanks.

Shogun.

Do you need some sort of SDK or special dev tool?

No you don't you can write an web app in regular HTML5 and javascript and include a splashscreen and icon and a few Apple specific meta tags at the top of your document. It looks like a web app that the user navigates to in the browser but safari will show a prompt asking the user to add your web app to their home screen, Once they do this your app will appear and function just like any other native full screen application.

There are frameworks available that make it easier to develop iOS apps with HTML5 a few popular ones are:

PhoneGap
Sencha
Titanium

You can write a full aplication in js+ html5, only difference from real OS platformed one is the fact that your applicaiton cannot write the data to client side, as well as cannot read from client side (it can be by passed by explixit settings of browser, but who would set it on though...).

So if you remember this design pattern from the very beginning you can do just anything.

you just can't automatically load it without their interaction. And you can save a file, you just have to let the use pick where to save it.

A very few design patterns can come out this way, since confirmation from user would have to happen per file read/write :)

Better way is to read a requested http distant file that browser find in its local file cache.

One should design html application to need a server for user initiated data writes, and you can distribute server with the application any moment you fall for it.