Android WebView CSS Support
Email
The HTML5 Microzone is presented by DZone and Microsoft to bring you the most interesting and relevant content on emerging web standards. Experience all that the HTML5 Microzone has to offer on our homepage and check out the cutting edge web development tutorials on Script Junkie, Build My Pinned Site, and the HTML5 DevCenter.
Creating HTML applications
can be a great way to cut down development time between two platforms.
The trend today is to develop a web app for iOS (with a varying amount of
native code) and simply use the HTML, CSS, and Javascript on other platforms like Android.
The process can work well, and it can save you considerable time while still having a nice, polished app on multiple platforms. The approach has a few pitfalls, though. One of the main troubles is developing for iOS first.
You see, iOS has a great in-app browser. It has support for all of the latest HTML5 components, it fully supports CSS3, and it has great Javascript performance. The problem is that no other platform is near this level yet. This can create some issues when you are porting your HTML, CSS, and Javascript to other platforms such as the Android.
When following the pattern above, you should really develop for the lower platform first and then port to iOS. This way, you will have less development time lost to solving compabability issues. Some of these issues could be: Javascript DOM differences, CSS3 syntactical differences, and Javascript performance differences. Also, keep in mind that the usage of third-party libraries may work great on iOS but may not work on other platforms. It may not even have an equivalent version available.
One more thing to watch out for is:
-webkit-linear-gradient... versus -webkit-gradient...
I'm sure that there are several other major differences between what is supported between Android and iOS. Once I find more, I'll let you know.
The process can work well, and it can save you considerable time while still having a nice, polished app on multiple platforms. The approach has a few pitfalls, though. One of the main troubles is developing for iOS first.
You see, iOS has a great in-app browser. It has support for all of the latest HTML5 components, it fully supports CSS3, and it has great Javascript performance. The problem is that no other platform is near this level yet. This can create some issues when you are porting your HTML, CSS, and Javascript to other platforms such as the Android.
When following the pattern above, you should really develop for the lower platform first and then port to iOS. This way, you will have less development time lost to solving compabability issues. Some of these issues could be: Javascript DOM differences, CSS3 syntactical differences, and Javascript performance differences. Also, keep in mind that the usage of third-party libraries may work great on iOS but may not work on other platforms. It may not even have an equivalent version available.
One more thing to watch out for is:
-webkit-linear-gradient... versus -webkit-gradient...
I'm sure that there are several other major differences between what is supported between Android and iOS. Once I find more, I'll let you know.
Tags:
Published at DZone with permission of Isaac Taylor, author and DZone MVB. (source)(Note: Opinions expressed in this article and its replies are the opinions of their respective authors and not those of DZone, Inc.)
HTML5 is the most dramatic step in the evolution of web standards. It incorporates features such as geolocation, video playback and drag-and-drop. HTML5 allows developers to create rich internet applications without the need for third party APIs and browser plug-ins. Under the banner of HTML5, modern web standards such as CSS3, SVG, XHR2, WebSockets, IndexedDB, and AppCache are pushing the boundaries for what a browser can achieve using web standards. This Microzone is supported by Microsoft, and it will delve into the intricacies of using these new web technologies and teach you how to make your websites compatible with all of the modern browsers.
