David Beers, founder of Pikesoft Mobile, wrote several illuminating articles last month dealing with webOS, web apps, and Java that should be a good read for webOS enthusiasts. Below is a summary of what he had to say:
Palm webOS applications are not "web apps": Ever since the announcement of the Pre at CES, the term "web apps" has been thrown around rather loosely. However, just because webOS apps can be developed using HTML, CSS and JavaScript doesn't classify them as true web apps, because by nature, these apps run in a browser. webOS apps are clearly used outside the confines of a browser.
Moreoever, HTML 5 goes well beyond HTML, and even modern desktop browsers only implement part of this spec. As for JavaScript, it's a seperate programming language from the HTML document object model. Moreover, both JavaScript and HTML are naturally slower because of interpretation, but webOS applications need no interpretation; they do not run in a browser.
All this starts to blur the distinction between "web apps" and "local apps," and that's where I think we're going with the mobile web...Nice to see good old Palm pushing out the frontier once again.
Is that a Java application server running on your Palm Pre?: The application framework on a Pre closely resembles a Linux web server rather than Android, ALP, or Linux-based mobile platform. Leaked screenshots of a possible Palm webOS SDK has led Beers to guess that there could be a Java app server running on the phone with a Java runtime. He goes on to explain this, comparing webOS to technology on Sprint's Titan, OSGi, and relating it back to advantages and disadvantages over a standalone Java environment. He states:
"If I were going to develop a system like webOS I would certainly use OSGi, and that...guys at Sprint came to the same conclusion." "Palm will be in a superb position to build a developer ecosystem that draws deeply and broadly on the talent that powers Web 2.0 today."
How Palm will storm the desktop with webOS: Beers discusses how Palm has put themselves in "an astonishing strategic position" with their exciting software development prospects for the Pre. Because of their system that utilizes cross-platform standards like JavaScript, WebKit, Java and Jetty, companion applications can technically run on any desktop, using the same code that runs on the handset. The desktop can therefore be used as a tool to try out applications, breaking down resistances to try out something new. A possible "Palm companion" on the desktop could integrate features like remote GPS tracking, all communicated over the "cloud". He even speculates on a new Palm Foleo that could "run properly configured applications created for the Pre without modification." As for what Palm needs to succeed this time?
Palm's success in the 90's was built on stellar developer support and it's revival today must be built the same way. Early indications give hope that Palm gets this.
Pikesoft Mobile was founded in 2001, and have developed custom Java, PalmOS, and Pocket PC software for clients in numerous industries including sales, marketing, publishing, research, and the military.
UPDATE (02/19): jkOnTheRun has written an article along the same lines of "web apps" that should also be a good follow-up read.
Palm never said that WebOS applcations were “web apps.” They said that the WebOS appliations were built on web standards like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. In contrast, “web apps” are generally provided to you from a remote server to your web client, which would require a connection. That’s very different.
He goes on to state that the embracing of web standards for apps won't make it any easier for web developers to create Pre apps.
Check out his article here.
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