Building Cross-platform Mobile applications for multiple devices using the IBM worklight optimization framework

Brief introduction

One of the common challenges in developing mobile applications (and financing mobile application development) is to present them in cross-platform scenarios, that is, to display the same mobile application equally on IOS, Android, and BlackBerry devices. The Worklight optimization API alleviates this problem by maximizing the common business logic that can be shared across platforms and maximizing customization through the logic unique to each platform and device.

This article describes how the Worklight optimization framework makes it easy for a sample business case scenario to implement a mobile enterprise solution across devices. The article first outlines the Worklight product, the architecture of the optimization framework, a sample business case for Cross-platform mobile applications, an overall solution design, and how to build, run, and test the application on a supported mainstream mobile platform. After reading this article, you will be familiar with the Worklight optimization framework, which can be used to improve the efficiency of all aspects of mobile application development.

This article assumes that you are familiar with Java EE, mobile application development, and any IDE, such as Eclipse. This information applies to IBM Worklight 5 and 6.

Prerequisite

The IBM Worklight development environment includes IBM Worklight Server and IBM Worklight Studio based on Eclipse. These products support:

Windows 7, Windows Vista, or XP (32 or 64 bits)

Macintosh.

To store metadata and cached back-end information, Worklight requires one of the following databases:

Apache Derby, SDK 10.8 or later

Oracle 11g Database Server, Standard or Enterprise version, 1th Edition or later

MySQL 5.1

IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition V9.7 or later.

Get the right Eclipse

Eclipse Downloads Page

IBM worklight Studio can install the following Eclipse versions:

Eclipse Classic Indigo 3.7.2 and 3.6.2

Eclipse for Java EE developers Indigo 3.7.2 and 3.6.2.

Product installation instructions are not included in this article.

Worklight Simple Introduction

IBM Worklight provides an open, comprehensive, advanced mobile application Platform for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. By using standards-based technologies and tools, mobile-optimized middleware, and various security mechanisms (all of which have integrated management and analytics capabilities), Worklight provides an enterprise with the ability to efficiently develop, run, and manage HTML5, hybrid, and native mobile applications. Worklight enables you to implement a feature-rich Cross-platform platform application without using code conversion, and has a better user experience on a variety of mobile platforms.

A major focus of the mobile enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) is the ability of mobile applications to connect to back-end data sources such as databases, WEB services, message queues, and so on, across platforms. In this regard, Worklight is very good at helping you:

Cross-Verify whether the application has been optimized for the device and built, connected, run, and managed with the highest code reuse rate.

Manage application security and authentication.

Analyze usage and adapt to usage in an intelligent way.

Enable developers to quickly master development, integration, and maintenance skills.

Develop rapid iterations through agile development and deployment.

Use Ready-to-use back-end connectors that use an out-of-the-box adapter.

Seamlessly connect to existing back-end data and applications.

Drag and Drop HTML5 and Dojo mobile controls.

Use unified notification, Run-time skin, versioning, access control, security, integration, and delivery.

Exposes and uses the library and client APIs to connect native device features.

Worklight Environment Optimization

Applications built with Worklight can be run in multiple mobile devices, tablets, and Web environments. The run-time environment may differ from one another in many features, including screen size, orientation, UI design guidelines and components, the physical user interface, and unique environmental features. Worklight's environmental optimization Framework enhances the efficiency and productivity of development, provides tools to help you write your application's core logic and design guidelines using WEB technology (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), and then shares these elements across platforms, regardless of the device you use, Will keep the application logic consistent. You can easily add environment-specific optimizations when you need to.

When building Worklight hybrid mobile applications, their skills apply to a variety of mobile applications in almost any environment, regardless of what WEB skills the developer has or what skills are in any particular native programming domain. For example, if you use HTML5 to develop an application, the corresponding native code is automatically generated and ported to the necessary mobile devices (such as IOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and so on) that are supported by various operating systems.

The optimization framework facilitates the process of creating common code in a stand-alone directory structure based on the desired device operating system platform. The framework then combines all the environment-specific content at build time and eventually generates the corresponding native SDK code. This allows you to focus more on the business requirements rather than on providing the best experience on each device.

Your Worklight license allows you to access your own IBM worklight Application Center, which enables your distributed development team to process applications by accessing a common code repository. If you use the source control management system, the instructions for submitting the source code to the source control system can be found in the Worklight User's Guide.

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