I already know quite a few tricks with Android java and I have an application that I need to sync with a web application. What it needs to be doing is connect to a server and sync database and download jpg picture uploaded by user. The web application should also be for more users each with his own phone and Android application in it, so it should probably be accesable via login and password.
My problem is that I have zero experience with web applications. All I know is a little HTML. So my question is, how should I start? What language do I use? And what basic structure or principle should my web application have?
Thank you!
I would recommend a PHP - MySQL solution. PHP and MySQL are open source and I know Java can interface with that kind of database. Both languages are well documented and PHP is similar to Java in that it is C-based, so if you know Java fairly well, PHP should be relatively straightforward for you. I would recommend heading over to Lynda.com and searching for PHP Essential Training with Kevin Skoglund. Lynda is a great online video tutorial site and you can access a good amount of the content for free. But if you're serious about developing this web application, I would make the investment (I was, and I did, and I am glad). That's how I learned PHP / MySQL for the most part.
First off, to do any PHP / MySQL development, you'll need to install a server onto your computer, such as WAMP (Windows Apache MySQL PHP - for windows), MAMP (Mac " " - for mac), or LAMP (Linux " " - for Linux), where you will be able to begin developing your application. This is your "test" server, or "development" server. For instance, I use MAMP since I am on a Mac. MAMP is free, as are the other versions, but you can pay for an upgrade. For your purposes, start with the free version. Essentially, *AMP comes with the Apache Server software, MySQL database installation, and PHP installation pre-packaged and ready to go with minimal configuration. From there, you can start writing PHP and MySQL and get your project rolling.
As a matter of fact, that title at Lynda.com, PHP Essential Training, will walk you through ALL of the steps I just stated, AND, uses an exercise project of setting up a basic Content Management System to include password protection, user login and authentication, as well as all of the essential PHP and MySQL that you'll need to go along with it. Seriously, check out Lynda.com.
Good Luck!
This is a very open question and you might get a huge range of different answers, neither of them perfect. However, I will try to put a simple response.
Have a single server and expose from it web services. This web services will handle the CRUD of the data (I will assume you will use a database and that you have experience with databases).
Web services is a big topic. If you want the simplest web services, and you're planning to use PHP, I will suggest using RESTful with JSON, since it will be very simple.
The web application should be within the same domain/server of the web services, at least for the beginning (if it grows, you can change this architecture), since that way you won't require using JSONP and just stick to standard AJAX (I will now assume you don't know what JSONP is, I will suggest reading: http://remysharp.com/2007/10/08/what-is-jsonp/ which is just the first result I got on Google just now ;)) and it will be easier.
You say you have experience with Android. I will assume you know how to consume web services using Java/Android. In case you don't, here's a sample of how to do it: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/267023/Send-and-receive-json-between-android-and-php
Please note the PHP code there is pretty dirty, but as a "how to", I think it looks great. Only thing to note is: the sample uses HttpClient, while the preferred method is to use HttpURLConnection ( http://android-developers.blogspot.mx/2011/09/androids-http-clients.html)
Having said this, PHP + MySQL is standard. In the web app, you SHOULD USE HTML. Please, don't use Flash or Java Applets (I smiled a bit by even mentioning Java Applets in here). For all the communication purposes between the web service and the HTML client, I recommend using jQuery ( http://jquery.com/ ) with AJAX.
Don't go with a JSONP API unless you want other websites to be able to use your API.
This is only a quick approach created with the little information you have given. The more (and clearer) information you give, a better solution is likely to appear.
Related
Hi all,
i want create mobile app (i use phonegap) that retrieve and insert data in MySQL Database on web server also i will create website that connected to the same Database using (PHP).
I need guidance:
What topics should i know/use ?
What things should be implemented in Web development process ?
Can i use shared host or i will have to rent dedicated server ?
Is phonegap the right choice to accomplish the project ?
.........
Any guidance will be great.
Thank you All.
Your lack of familiarity with the technologies involved leads me to believe you are making a mole hill out of a mountain. All the skills involved need time/effort and no one answer here will cover your question.
There are various methods to achieve what you ask... I suggest starting with learning how to write some HTML5, then move on to doing a bit of Javascript and then follow it with a bit on jQuery. These skills are what you will use to place text on your web page or app.
After that, learn how to install MySQL, Apache, MySQL and PHP on your laptop. These skills will help you save data on to a server.
Then you need to learn how to combine them so that the data sent from your web app gets checked prior to saving on the server.
Then follow with how to read the data from the server and prepare it for re-display back on your web page or web app.
Once that is done - learn how to use the PhoneGap build service so you can package your app and try it on your device.
I suspect if you start now, and do 10-20 hours a week, you might get something buggy working by Christmas.
Best of luck!
My Employer would like me to take a web application written entirely in PHP to be accessible while offline. (it has to be accessible by an ipad without internet connection.)
I have tried the following things:
http://solesignal.com/draftcode/
http://blog.smartbear.com/codereviewer/15-code-editors-for-the-ipad-for-free-or-very-cheap/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/offline-pages-save-complete/id364859644?mt=8
Before I'm going to spend any money i have to be 100% positive it works.
Does anyone know how i can achieve this?
What do you mean by offline?
If you're looking to embed the server within your app, you're out of luck, it's not possible nor allowed. However if you want to run a local environment in your computer, take a look at MAMP
Knowing more about Mike's question, He's trying to run a website/webapp made in PHP offline/stand-alone on iOS devices.
As PHP is a pre-processor, this is not possible without a seperate server doing the magic. Depending on what this application has to do, I suggest you try to re-make the webapp so it does not use PHP. A lot of the things done with PHP can also be done client-side with JavaScript.
If you require more sophisticated things, try looking into the Meteor Framework. It supports PhoneGap exportation natively so the applications can run stand-alone on mobile devices as apps.
EDIT: If you can use an android device, you CAN run a PHP server on the same device as the pages are displayed because android is simply more open then iOS. If you're not willing to re-write the PHP code to JS, grab an android tab and use a PHP server package for android like this or another one that does include a MySQL server like this one
I'm looking to build a dummy CardDav server that allows me to do the following:
- add a CardDav source on an iOS device
- the source will show up as a group on the native Contacts app
- no syncing actually takes takes place with the server (no contacts should be stored on the server or deleted from the device)
The purpose for all of this is that I'm looking to manage the source from an iOS app.
I deployed a Baikal CardDav server successfully and I tried to sniff out the requests that take place when registering a new source, unfortunately I'm quite stuck.
At the moment I have a php file that responds to a PROPFIND request and allow for the source to be validated, but it doesn't show up in the Contacts application.
Any tips would be appreciated in either writing a dummy CardDav server or crippling a functioning one in order to only provide the auth functionalities?
Not sure if i understood your question.
You may try Calendarserver at http://trac.calendarserver.org/wiki/docs-trunk . It is simple to install and setup and works without any quirks.
If you need the server to behave a certain way might be best to use a Carddav framework like SabreDav (for PHP) or milton.io (for java, my project). Then you can do all sorts of weird backend stuff
Milton actually comes with really simple example projects with in-memory data thats perfect for mucking about with
I recently built a web application for my company, and now they want it to support an offline mode. To complicate things, my company is very concerned about security and does not want me to use Xampp or Mamp. The application handles sensitive data and they think these programs will somehow make the data visible to the outside world (although I'm entirely sure this would be the case).
Anyways, I'm looking for a way to allow my application to run offline, and to also support the following technologies: PHP, MySQL, jQuery. The most difficult part of this is I need to execute PHP code outside of the typical server environment.
Can anyone please give me some advice on how I could implement such a system, and any associated vulnerabilities that I may face in terms of security and data storage?
Assuming you're installing this for an individual user on their machine - your best bet is to install apache/php/mysql, and configure apache to reject connections from any remote IP address.
The environment should be basically identical to your current application, but with only 1 user in the system.
There are some strange points in your question
now they want it to support an offline mode
Well, that's easy enough - get familiar with html5's offline features
To complicate things, my company is very concerned about security and does not want me to use Xampp or Mamp
Have you deployed your web app on a desktop machine? Or do you mean you are forbidden to use a webserver?? Xampp/Mamp are development tools - your public facing applications should be on a machine configured specifically for that purpose with a webserver running apache/nginx/iis/PHP5.4-builtin/whatever you like.
The most difficult part of this is I need to execute PHP code outside of the typical server environment.
How is your environment none-typical? Mike mentions php-gtk - but IMO you shouldn't go down that route unless you're requirements are "desktop app" + "absolutely must be written in php" - which is unclear from your question.
any associated vulnerabilities that I may face in terms of security and data storage
Well, anything you put in local-storage on a client (browser) the user can access - just bear that in mind. Don't send sensitive data to what is, from your perspective, an insecure and pseudo-public location i.e. some user's browser cache.
If you want to run html/javascript, you will probably need to run this in a server/client environment because a browser isn't capable of running the php and the php app as a stand alone app needs something to parse the html/css/javascript ( it needs the browser for it's presentation view ).
Best course of action is to put the application onto a server that you control access to. Set the access controls to specific IP addresses only, or even better if you can run it off an intranet behind a firewall where no one outside the network would be able to get to it.
PHP can run on a desktop environment, but they key here is that it won't run the javascript/html you use to display. You could use php with a third party library like php-gtk to make a desktop app that doesn't need a server or browser, but php-gtk doesn't have the best support.
If the application needs to store data for other computers/users to access, then it needs to be on a network. If it doesn't need to do this you might consider using a different programming language geared toward desktop applications so you can keep it entirely offline ( such a java or .NET ).
Here's a tricky one.
I'm developing a web app for iPads that will be installed as kiosks. The app is essentially a quiz. Wont need to store data in a database, but will need to process data from 1 page to another page (from questions page to results page).
Original solution was simple PHP. I have now been informed that wi-fi/3g will be unavailable to the kiosks, so they wont have access to the webserver w/ php that has been working like a charm. App needs to be browser-based.
Looked around for solutions for installing PHP on iPad, like PHPPOD from Cydia, but unsure if that is even an option for iPad...and we wont be jailbreaking them. Can this even be done w/o php?
If you won't be jailbreaking them, trying to get a working PHP interpreter on them might not be impossible, but it'll probably be at the very least annoyingly difficult (and it's unlikely Apple would approve random PHP interpreters in their app store).
I'd suggest trying to port the app to Javascript instead. If it's just a simple questions -> results flow, writing a basic Javascript web app with jQuery to help out if need be shouldn't be too painful.
If you're not jailbreaking them, then you will NOT be able to get any un-approved apps onto them. Apple does NOT want you to bypass the app store, because they want their 30% cut. Installing a PHP interpreter on an iphone/ipad would allow you to build apps outside of Apple's control - this is THE main reason why Flash will never been on an iphone - it's not just for playing movies, it's actually a pretty full runtime environment.
You could try using HTML5 local storage, or use the native SQLlite database in iOS.
Without wifi/3G you would need local storage won't you? For this you need not jailbreak your iPad & force it to work through PHP. You could do that following -
Jailbreak the app & maybe try to get your PHP solution working on iPad.
Build a native app with local storage (using sqlite or core data) & handle the display through UIWebView.
Build a HTML5 app with local storage is easy to do nowadays, again UIWebView would be used.
As Amber suggests, you could build all your quizzing logic in javascript, but I am concerned here as to where you'll store data. You need to refer to point 3.
Hope this helps...