Re: [CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides
Playing around with the Android emulator, it looks great in regards to performance testing (it runs even slower than my Droid). Thanks for pointing this out. Have you had any luck sending multi-touch interactions to the Android emulator? Rapid pinch-to-zoom redraws have been the source of a lot of problems for us, and I know that Android 2.1 is supposed to support this in the browser. Jason
Re: [CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides
I was actually referring to the webOS emulator: http://developer.palm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1744&Itemid=58 "Currently, the emulator does not support the following: * Accelerometer * Audio * Bluetooth (UI and any interface-specific APIs do not work in the emulator) * Camera * Gesture area * Multi-touch * Rotation * Sound * Video * Wi-Fi (UI and any interface-specific APIs do not work in the emulator, but network connectivity works by using the desktop connection)" If the emulator supported multi-touch and rotation, I think this would work well for testing any mobile web content where the developer is concerned about memory and processor limitations. I think a lot of physical devices can work well as a canary in the coal mine, though. If I weren't messing with maps so much, it probably wouldn't be a big problem. Jason
Re: [CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides
Hi Jason, > I have mostly worked in the iPhone Simulator, but in this case you will > miss out on testing some of the device's resource limitations. This does seem to be the more the case for the iPhone Simulator. And I think you are correct to point out that the difference between a simulator (as comes with the iPhone SDK) and am emulator (as come with the Android or Palm SDKs) is more that must a matter of semantics. The Stack Overflow forum has some interesting things to say on this topic [1]. > If it supported multi-touch and rotation, it would probably be a great > testing environment. For now, I'll just keep an iPod Touch on my desk. If by rotation, you mean switching between portrait and landscape orientations, then the iPhone Simulator *does* support that. I also believe you can do some multi-touch on the Simulator via the "option" key + mouse controls [2]. Having an actual iPhone or iPod Touch is definitely the best testing environment though for that platform! -- Michael [1] Stack Overflow > iPhone device vs. iPhone simulator http://stackoverflow.com/questions/380062/iphone-device-vs-iphone-simulator [2] See a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGu52JNUSpQ # Michael Doran, Systems Librarian # University of Texas at Arlington # 817-272-5326 office # 817-688-1926 mobile # do...@uta.edu # http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/ > -Original Message- > From: Code for Libraries [mailto:code4...@listserv.nd.edu] On Behalf Of > Jason Casden > Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 12:53 PM > To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU > Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides > > I have mostly worked in the iPhone Simulator, but in this case you will > miss > out on testing some of the device's resource limitations. I have had > issues > both with a native application and a mobile web app where I had smooth > sailing in the simulator but then had crashes due to memory limitations > on > the actual device. Also, I have run into some things (maps) which run > great > in the simulator, but are crap on the device. While the simulator is > still > hugely useful and does allow you to fake an out of memory call, it's > definitely not complete (in this case). > > Actually, I bet this is a Simulator vs. Emulator issue. I see that the > Palm > webOS Emulator runs in a virtual machine, and I am able to get some > slow map > performance out of it. If it supported multi-touch and rotation, it > would > probably be a great testing environment. For now, I'll just keep an > iPod > Touch on my desk. > > Jason
Re: [CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides
I have mostly worked in the iPhone Simulator, but in this case you will miss out on testing some of the device's resource limitations. I have had issues both with a native application and a mobile web app where I had smooth sailing in the simulator but then had crashes due to memory limitations on the actual device. Also, I have run into some things (maps) which run great in the simulator, but are crap on the device. While the simulator is still hugely useful and does allow you to fake an out of memory call, it's definitely not complete (in this case). Actually, I bet this is a Simulator vs. Emulator issue. I see that the Palm webOS Emulator runs in a virtual machine, and I am able to get some slow map performance out of it. If it supported multi-touch and rotation, it would probably be a great testing environment. For now, I'll just keep an iPod Touch on my desk. Jason
Re: [CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides
Oops, I forgot this one: > emulators are cool, but won't reveal memory/processor limitations I don't believe that this is correct. In fact, although I generally don't delve that deeply into the SDKs since I am not developing native apps, my understanding is that that is one of the purposes of using an SDK-based emulator. When I tested on early Palm emulators I routinely exceeded the device's memory limitations, just based on HTML page size when displaying search results. I used browser/platform detection in order to adjust the results-per-page (and pagination) to account for that. -- Michael From: Doran, Michael D Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 10:20 PM To: Code for Libraries Subject: C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides The Code4Lib 2010 presentation slides for "Mobile Web App Design: Getting Started" are available for download from http://code4lib.org/conference/2010/doran or http://code4lib.org/conference/2010/schedule. I also wanted to take a stab at addressing some of the presentation-related questions raised on the IRC channel: > [in regard to the use of images of the Simpson's characters in the > presentation slides:] > does the use of the simpsons like this = fair use? I was not able to find an official set of Simpson's clip-art for sale by the copyright owner (e.g. on Fox's "The Simpson's Shop" at http://www.thesimpsonsshop.com/), or I would have tried that route. I was undoubtedly pushing the envelope of fair use. > [redacted] hasn't figured out how to get the emulator to work on windows For some SDK's (e.g. Android) it takes some extra steps after the SDK is installed to create an emulator image. If you contact me and provide some additional details of the problems you were encountering, I will try to help. Note that if you using an older Android SDK (even downloaded a few months ago), the current version is much more user-friendly in regards to creating an emulator image. > so, I need Windows, Mac, and Linux to test for mobile devices While it is true that you need a Mac for the iPhone SDK (and iPhone emulator), many of the other SDKs (e.g. Android) can be installed on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Another example is the Palm emulator, which runs on VirtualBox and "VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts". > why not do blackberry? curious thats a huge one My recollection is that for Blackberry, there is a separate SDK for *every* Blackberry model, unlike for instance, Android, where there is a single SDK for multiple models. I'm not a full-time (or even a quarter-time) developer, so have to use some discretion in how much time I spend setting up my testing environments. I may however, add at least one Blackberry model emulator to my testing as you make a good point about Blackberry's market dominance. > Are any of those emulators scriptable? I wasn't sure what was being asked here (it might have been humor that went over my head) -- scriptable in what way? If you can provide more information, I will try to answer. > wait, does shelflister exist? Yes it does! Version 1.0, optimized for PalmPilots and PocketPCs was released in 2003. Version 2.0, optimized for current generation smartphones was released in 2009. See http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/shelflister/ for more information. > did Kate sign a release form for that ;) Yes, that photo from Code4Lib 2009 was used by permission of both the photographer, Ray Schwartz, and the subject, Kate (thanks to both). -- Michael # Michael Doran, Systems Librarian # University of Texas at Arlington # 817-272-5326 office # 817-688-1926 mobile # do...@uta.edu # http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/
[CODE4LIB] C4L10 "Mobile Web App Design" slides
The Code4Lib 2010 presentation slides for "Mobile Web App Design: Getting Started" are available for download from http://code4lib.org/conference/2010/doran or http://code4lib.org/conference/2010/schedule. I also wanted to take a stab at addressing some of the presentation-related questions raised on the IRC channel: > [in regard to the use of images of the Simpson's characters in the > presentation slides:] > does the use of the simpsons like this = fair use? I was not able to find an official set of Simpson's clip-art for sale by the copyright owner (e.g. on Fox's "The Simpson's Shop" at http://www.thesimpsonsshop.com/), or I would have tried that route. I was undoubtedly pushing the envelope of fair use. > [redacted] hasn't figured out how to get the emulator to work on windows For some SDK's (e.g. Android) it takes some extra steps after the SDK is installed to create an emulator image. If you contact me and provide some additional details of the problems you were encountering, I will try to help. Note that if you using an older Android SDK (even downloaded a few months ago), the current version is much more user-friendly in regards to creating an emulator image. > so, I need Windows, Mac, and Linux to test for mobile devices While it is true that you need a Mac for the iPhone SDK (and iPhone emulator), many of the other SDKs (e.g. Android) can be installed on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Another example is the Palm emulator, which runs on VirtualBox and "VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts". > why not do blackberry? curious thats a huge one My recollection is that for Blackberry, there is a separate SDK for *every* Blackberry model, unlike for instance, Android, where there is a single SDK for multiple models. I'm not a full-time (or even a quarter-time) developer, so have to use some discretion in how much time I spend setting up my testing environments. I may however, add at least one Blackberry model emulator to my testing as you make a good point about Blackberry's market dominance. > Are any of those emulators scriptable? I wasn't sure what was being asked here (it might have been humor that went over my head) -- scriptable in what way? If you can provide more information, I will try to answer. > wait, does shelflister exist? Yes it does! Version 1.0, optimized for PalmPilots and PocketPCs was released in 2003. Version 2.0, optimized for current generation smartphones was released in 2009. See http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/shelflister/ for more information. > did Kate sign a release form for that ;) Yes, that photo from Code4Lib 2009 was used by permission of both the photographer, Ray Schwartz, and the subject, Kate (thanks to both). -- Michael # Michael Doran, Systems Librarian # University of Texas at Arlington # 817-272-5326 office # 817-688-1926 mobile # do...@uta.edu # http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/
