Which framework is the best to develop a mobile application using database connection?
I developed a website using PHP5. Now, I want to sum up the main features of my website in a cross-platform mobile application.
I did some research about frameworks which can do this. I found 'jQuery Mobile', 'SenchaTouch' and 'Cordova' which are the most popular. But I want to develop an application which needs to have a connection to a database and which is portable on iOS and Android (at least).
I tried 'jQuery Mobile' but the application needs to be open in a web browser to display the application (like a simple website). For example, I would like to open my application like a current phone application without passing by a web browser using a database connection (to have the same behaviour than a current web site and display the content of MySQL request but without web browser).
Is it possible with jQuery Mobile or another one? Or do I have to pass by a web browser? Can anyone help me, please?
Answer
There are 3 different types of mobile applications that exist today: native apps, hybrid apps, and web apps. A native app is one that is written in Java (for Android) or Objective-C (for iOS). Native apps have full access to low level hardware features on the phone and can be downloaded from app stores. Web apps are websites that use special JavaScript toolkits (like jQuery Mobile and Sencha Touch) and custom CSS to make websites appear to look and function like native apps. However, Web Apps can only be accessed through a browser - while you can "bookmark" websites to the Home screen on your phone to make it easier to access, they still can't be downloaded from an app store and don't have access to the hardware functions on the phone. Hybrid apps are a cross between these two. Hybrid apps are basically websites that are "wrapped" in native code. This allows you to create a native app that at its core is just a website, however, the wrapping allows you to access low level hardware like a native app and allows you to publish the app to app stores. Another major benefit of hybrid apps is that you only need to know HTML/JavaScript to create a multi-platform app that will run on all of the mobile operating systems. This is what Cordova does.
It sounds like what you want to do is create a hybrid application using jQuery mobile (or Dojo Mobile, or Sencha Touch, or one of the hundreds of other JavaScript toolkits out there.) This way you can utilize your web development skills and build a website that connects to your database. However, when end up "compiling" your HTML/CSS "mobile website" using Cordova, it will spit out native-looking apps for iOS, Android, and other platforms that you can then publish to the app store. When a user downloads your app from the app store and clicks on the launch icon, they will see your website but they will not see a browser toolbar or anything like that - most users will have no idea that they are looking at an HTML/CSS "website." This sounds like your goal, to have an app that functions like a website but will not look like a website.