New Book Offers Insight on Standards-Based Mobile Web Development

A recently published book by Gail Frederick and Rajesh Lai offers good instruction on smartphone development.

 

The book, named “Beginning Smartphone Web Development: Building Javascript, CSS, HTML and Ajax-Based Applications for iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Nokia (News - Alert) S60,” is written primarily for developers who are trying out mobile technology for the first time.

 

Published by Apress, the book is available on Amazon.com (News - Alert) for $39.99.

 

The next generation of programmers needs to be trained on how to take maximum advantage of new technologies. Even though mobile technology and development is similar to Web 2.0 development, there are enough differences by device, operating system, and form factor that even veteran web developers are often surprised by mobile web development’s complexity.

 

Frederick teaches the Web standards and fundamentals specific to smartphones and other feature-driven mobile phones and devices in this book. The book reveals ways to build interactive mobile Web sites using Web technologies optimized for browsers in smartphones. It details markup fundamentals, design principles, content adaptation, usability, and interoperability; and it explores cross-platform standards and best practices for the mobile Web authored by the W3C (News - Alert), dotMobi and similar organizations. Finally, it provides information on the feature sets of popular mobile browsers.

 

The book also offers its readers the training, tools, and techniques for creating robust mobile Web experiences for their favorite smartphone or other mobile device. The readers will also learn how to build interactive mobile web pages that comply with industry standards and best practices, develop Web sites using the markup languages of the mobile Web, XHTML-MP, Wireless CSS (News - Alert), and WML; use Mobile JavaScript and Ajax for client-side web interactivity and adapt the syntax and design of mobile web pages to target smartphone models.

 

In addition, information on how to enhance mobile web pages to target advanced features of smartphone browsers, validate and compress mobile markup to optimize for network transmission and browser performance and how to simulate smartphone browsers using emulators and development tools is also present.

 

Gail Rahn Frederick is a mobile software architect, mobile web enthusiast and instructor at Portland Community College. Gail teaches mobile Web development for smartphones and other devices, including defensive programming and other survival tips for the mobile ecosystem. In addition, she is the author of the well-known mobile software blog “Learn the Mobile Web.” Frederick is also one of the first developers at Medio Systems (News - Alert) in Seattle, where her software has appeared on more than 500 different mobile devices.

 

Rajesh Lal, is an author, designer, developer and technology evangelist working at Nokia. He has authored multiple books on gadgets and widgets.