14 DAY TRIAL // The first day of the BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 conference was a pretty busy one, with quite a few announcements coming from Research In Motion, including the new BlackBerry PlayBook, or various tools for developers, such as the BlackBerry WebWorks, a next-generation web-based development platform.
According to the Canadian mobile phone maker, the new BlackBerry WebWorks offers web developers the possibility to come up with HTML-5, CSS and JavaScript-based full-featured applications for the BlackBerry smartphones.
The new solution comes with a wide range of existing BlackBerry web development tools, complemented by new tools and platform services, and RIM announced plans to release source code for the BlackBerry web platform to the open source community.
Developers would benefit from a comprehensive toolset aimed at the building of applications that sport deep integration with core BlackBerry features, as well as multi-tasking, Push technology, or access to various BlackBerry services.
The new BlackBerry WebWorks has been packed with a series of updates for the web application packager too, as well as with new web APIs and the BlackBerry Web Plug-Ins 2.5.
The web application packager 1.5 enables devs package apps the same way as BlackBerry Java applications are packaged, and with the same file formats.
All BlackBerry web applications can be pushed to users via the BlackBerry App World, the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or over the air.
New BlackBerry Web APIs: - BlackBerry WebWorks includes a set of new web extensions that enable a deeper integration with native applications and other functions of the handset. • Send a text message from within the application • Read call log data from the phone application, check if the phone is currently in an active call, check the number of missed calls • Play an audio file as well as create APIs for playing, pausing, stopping and seeking of the audio file from within the application’s UI
Web Plug-Ins 2.5 for BlackBerry WebWorks enables devs to start their application in the background, or to launch it from the homescreen or from the download folder.
In addition to these enhancements, RIM announced that it is working with the open source developer community to offer access to the BlackBerry open web application platform.
“In addition to sharing source code for the BlackBerry web platform, RIM is working with leading open source JavaScript framework companies DoJo, GitHub, JQuery, Nitobi and Sencha to encourage developers to create web applications with advanced web and AJAX functionality,” the company announced.