In this post, I’ll describe how to install both PhoneGap and the Ripple extension for Chrome and then fire up a “Hello, World” app. As mentioned in an earlier post, there are two versions of PhoneGap, PhoneGap Desktop (GUI) and PhoneGap CLI (command line). Here, I’ll be installing Desktop. First, it’s easier to use and second, from reading the documentation, I get the sense it’s where Adobe will be putting its future efforts.
Mobile
Evaluating Adobe PhoneGap
In evaluating multi-platform development tools for mobile, I came across PhoneGap, Adobe’s entry into the marketplace. What makes PhoneGap unique is that apps can be developed using standard web development technologies, such as HTML, CSS and javascript. What surprised me was the access PhoneGap provides to device-level features, such as the accelerometer, camera and GPS. I thought that level of access required Xcode, or at least a multi-platform tool like Xamarin, with its reliance on C# and Mono .NET. PhoneGap apps will even handle push notifications.