Web and WebWorks Development

[CrozyBB]

Hey all, let me first apologize if something similar has been discuessed/asked elsewhere.

I'm new to mobile app development and programming (to a certain extent) and I've been getting pretty excited about a few apps I have in mind for the BB10 launch. With that being said, I'm currently torn between choosing HTML5 and C++ as my language base to code in. I hear both are great to work with for BB10 and that HTML5 is probably easier for new programmer.

The important part for me is that whichever language I choose to develop in I want to make sure I will be able to accomplish all the tasks of my program. So the basic requirements I'm looking for are as follow:

-Access to camera and file system

-Access to BBM API's (obviously not yet released for BB10)

-Access to SQL DB's

-Call/Write cababilities for web API's such as twitter, facebook, etc. This one I know will work regardless of the language however I'm more interested in which will be easier to make calls in

---->Network access seems difficult so far using C++

-Scoreloop integration

-Making an awesome UI (Cascades or BBUI.js)

Thoughts on which would be best?? I mostly just dont want to be stuck developing for one language and then down the road realize that it can't do everything I want. Hopefully I make sense but I would be surprised if it sounds confusing haha

Thanks and cheers!

[papped]

Theoretically I think you can do everything in either one.  Couple things worth noting though:

-C++ api's arrive faster than webworks.

-Not all api's are available yet in general.  I don't think the storage api's for BB10 webworks are available yet, as of right now you are stuck with HTML5 local storage.

You can make nice UIs either way, through any number of javascript frameworks in webworks.  BBUI.js basically looks the same as native applications, or you can use others with 3d transitions, etc.

[interfaSys]

Everything you need will be available in WebWorks before launch, so it might be easier to just use that since it's easier to write apps in Javascript.

The only unusual item in your list is "Scoreloop integration". Isn't Scoreloop a gaming SDK? How do you intend on integrating your app with it?

[CrozyBB]

Awesome, thanks for both the replies!

I'm hoping to use scoreloop for leaderboards, user profiles and online personal data storage even though my app wll not technically be a game. I havent looked too much into wether or not this is possible yet.

[whoang]

Hello @CrozyBB and welcome!

Developing for HTML5 or C++ are both great entries into mobile application development.  The path to take depends on what your application will be doing.  If the application will be using device level hardware such as GPS then it is worth considering the Native track as the APIs where designed to support the platform at hand.  The BlackBerry10 mobile browser is feature rich as recently demonstrated by the Ringmark benchmarks surpassing the other platform browser products in the standard HTML5 tests.  Thus, developers are able to create great experiences using HTML5/WebWorks APIs.

Regarding your requirements, both streams are available to offer the services -- Example:

Camera:  HTML5 WebWorks  & Cascades

File System:  HTML5 WebWorks & Cascades
    

You can definitely use Scoreloop to implement leaderboards and user profiles for your application though the core features will best be examplified in a game environment.  Currently Scoreloop is supported through Native SDK and the team is working hard to provide HTML5 support as well.