| Developer(s) | Nitobi |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2005 |
| Preview release | 1.3.0 / December 19, 2011 |
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3 |
| Operating system | iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 |
| Available in | English |
| Type | mobile development framework |
| License | Modified BSD license or the MIT License [1] |
| Website | www.phonegap.com |
PhoneGap (also called Apache Callback[2][3]) is an open-source mobile development framework developed by Nitobi Software.[4] It enables software programmers to build applications for mobile devices using JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3, instead of often less-known languages such as Objective-C.[5] The resulting applications are hybrid, meaning that they are neither truly native (all layout rendering is done via the webview instead of Objective-C or Corona apps) nor purely web based (much of the functions would be supported by HTML5). One disadvantage is that hybrid applications do not have full access to the device application programming interface (API).
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First developed at an iPhoneDevCamp event in San Francisco,[6] PhoneGap went on to win the People's Choice Award at O'Reilly Media's 2009 Web 2.0 Conference[7] and the framework has been used to develop many apps.[8]Apple Inc. has confirmed that the framework has its approval, even with the new 4.0 developer license agreement changes.[9] The PhoneGap framework is used by several mobile application platforms such as Worklight[10][11] and appMobi[12] as the backbone of their mobile client development engine. Adobe officially announced the acquisition of Nitobi Software on October 4, 2011.[13]
The mobile framework allows web developers to natively target all smartphone with a single codebase (JavaScript, HTML and CSS) by enabling a Foreign Function Interface (FFI) to an embedded WebView or Webkit on the device.
PhoneGap currently supports development for the operating systems Apple iOS, Google Android, HP webOS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Nokia Symbian OS[14] and RIM BlackBerry. Support for recent versions, such as BlackBerry 5 and 6 and Windows Phone 7, is being implemented now.[15][16] Bada (the operating system used by the Samsung Wave S8500) support is "coming soon".[17] The table below is a list of supported features for each operating system.[18]
| Feature | iPhone /iPhone 3G |
iPhone 3GS and newer |
Android |
Windows Phone 7 |
5.x-6.0+ |
4.6-4.7 |
Bada |
Symbian |
webOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | Yes | N/A | N/A |
| Contacts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| File | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Geolocation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Media | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Network | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Notification (Alert) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Notification (Sound) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Notification (Vibration) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Storage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | N/A | Yes | Yes |
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