Web and WebWorks Development

[johnmiya]

Hi , I developed so many apps for BB7 and earlier OS, Now I nees to develop a App for BB10 as well as for plabook also, can you please suggest me which development is better  HTML5 web works  or Sencha. 

help me out which one is best for future reffernce also.. thanks in advance

[mr_subtle]

I, personally, don't want to use Sencha or jQuery Mobile or anyof those javascript touch libraries that implement a UI.

Unless you're not a UI designer and can't (or don't want to) build your own UI.

All HTML apps/webapps I've ever written have been with pure JS (and with jQuery native), coupled with a touch-event library like QUOjs or Hammer.js.

Granted, my projects have been platform-agnostic as I intend to release on all handheld OSes.


This approach forces you to:
a) Come up with your own unique UI design
b) Comply with UI Guidelines for programs like the Buil for BlackBerry certification (although the bbui.js library is good for that as well)

So in closing, neither if you want to release your HTML app on iOS, Android, as well as BB10.

If you're only looking at BB10 - then use WebWorks with bbui.js

[gordonk66]

I'm actually using both.  It really comes down to what you want your app to do.  Sench Touch give you a lot of nice widgets to use out of the box and you have to integrate some webworks in the application if you want to interact with BB specific servies (Push, BBM, IN app payement etc).  

I think the best tactic is to write a base application in Sencha touch then use their platorm specific builds for customizing to a BB look and feel as well and integrating BB services. 

Another thing to consider including cordova/phonegap.  It simplifies the build process for each platform and give you an out if you need to hit device specific services that aren't available/useful in the js layer. While not as necessary in BB10 is will be usefui if you ever port to another platform.  

[interfaSys]

It's not WebWorks vs Sencha. You have to use WebWorks no matter which libraries/framework you're using to build your apps.

You can then decide on whether you have the skills to build an app from scratch or if you need some basic building blocks in order to get started quicker.

Bear in mind that a Framework like Sencha does everything for you (architecture, events, UI, etc.), so if you ever want to switch, you'll have to rewrite a lot of code. The advantage is that their solution is cross-platform, so you can sell your apps on other platforms as well, especially if, as mentioned earlier, you package your app with Cordova. WebWorks is moving in that direction anyway, so it might be a good idea to build your structure accordingly.