Code On Time: Application Factory

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Application Factory

Tuesday, May 6, 2014Print Subscribe

Full Screen Mobile Apps, Responsive Grid, etc.

Code On Time release 8.0.5.0 introduces numerous enhancements in Touch UI that brings closer our goal of delivering a new generation of a responsive user interface that works great on both mobile and desktop devices. Your line-of-business web apps will look great, now with an option to display a full screen presentation on mobile devices delivering close-to-native performance.

A responsive grid view is now also available providing a responsive “table” presentation of data on any device. Application intelligently hides and reveals grid columns depending on the available screen width. Developers control the logic of field selection by configuring the list presentation of data.

End users can switch between grid and list presentation by selecting a corresponding option on the sidebar on in the “view menu” item. Open the context menu of grid or list view to select “view menu” item when sidebar is not visible. It will be the first option displaying the name of the data set and number of records.

Note that future releases will also offer a data sheet view. This type of view will allow viewing all fields defined in the application with ability to scroll data horizontally and modify data in-place.

The following features and enhancements were introduces in this release:

Folder “Mobile” has been replace with “touch” in the source code of Web Site Factory, Mobile Factory, Azure Factory, and Web App Factory projects. We recommend deleting “Mobile” folder from the source code of existing apps.
TimeStamp fields support client-side formatting in the client library. For example, setting Data Format String of a TimeStamp field to hh:mm tt will format time as '03:17 PM'. Auto-complete options are also having a matching format.
A label of a checkbox field is displayed in a form when editing data, if a "CheckBox" field is marked as read-only or static. Previously only a value was rendered by Desktop UI.
New colorful themes are now available in Touch UI. The definitions can be found in ~/touch/app-themes.css. End users can select a theme in Settings menu of Touch UI. We are developing additional themes for the next release.
Standard logo and icon are created for Touch UI. Follow instructions to replace the standard logo with your own images.
CSS class app-selected indicates a selected item in list and grid views of Touch UI.
Web apps can be displayed in full screen on mobile devices after being added to a home screen.
Items with lookup style “Checkbox” are rendered as “flip switch” in Touch UI.
Touch UI now supports three display density options: Comfortable, Compact, and Condensed. “Comfortable” display density is selected automatically on mobile devices. “Compact” option is selected automatically on desktop devices. “Condensed” option has been introduced for presentation similar to the current Desktop UI. End users can choose a preferred display density in Settings menu of Touch UI.
Users can activate Touch UI with “_touch=true” URL parameter. This parameter replaces “_mobile” option, which will be phased out in the future. Note that applications automatically switch to Touch UI on mobile devices. Future releases will likely allow configuring a default UI for generated applications. Legacy apps will default to Desktop UI. New apps will default to Touch UI on all types of devices. Only apps created with Unlimited edition will support simultaneously Touch and Desktop user interface.

We are developing brand new tutorials that explain configuration of Touch UI in details. Several tutorials will be published weekly. Please be patient.

The next release is expected to include simultaneous display of multiple data sets in Touch UI on a single screen. Tabbed data views will be supported to replicate functionality available in Desktop UI.

We are also planning to release all-new Advanced Search and Filter for Touch UI. End users will be able to save their own filters for future use. Client-side data caching will be supported shortly after advanced search becomes available. Developers will specify caching conditions for improved performance. A set of filtering options will be reduced when client-side caching of data is activated.

Upload/Download will be enabled in Touch UI in the next few weeks. The feature will also be enhanced to allow signature capturing on touch-enabled devices.

Labels: Application Builder, Application Factory, Features, Mobile, Release Notes, Touch UI, User Interface, Web 2.0, Web Application Generator

Saturday, May 3, 2014Print Subscribe

Full Screen Mobile Web Apps with Native Performance

Web Apps created with Code On Time have a fluid, native-like performance on both desktop and mobile devices. Mobile end users are accessing web apps through a web browser integrated into operating system of their device. Modern mobile browsers allow adding a web app shortcut to home screen of the device. If a web app is started from home screen, then the browser will hide the address bar and navigation controls taking advantage of the entire real estate of the screen.

Compare the screen shots of a web app created with Code On Time displayed on iPhone 5. Both screen shots show exactly the same web app. The former was started from the home screen of the phone. The latter was started directly in mobile Safari. Web app “installed” to home screen clearly provides access to more information and has a “native” look and feel. A thin black bar at the top of the screen provides a user with vital device status information when interacting with “installed” web app.

The same benefits are obvious if device orientation is changed to landscape.

It is very easy to install a web app to home screen of a mobile operating system.

Consider the process of installing a web app created with Code On Time on iPad Air.

First, open mobile Safari and navigate to http://demo.codeontime.com.

Tap “Share” button and select “Add to Home Screen” option in the popup window.

Change the name of the link as needed and tap “Add”.

An icon with a chosen title will be added to the home screen. This concludes the installation process.

Note that it is easy to provide a custom application icon and logo for a web app created with Code On Time.

Start your web app to enjoy the full screen experience on iPad Air.

Here is the installation process for Google Nexus 7.

Enter the address of the web app created with Code On Time and tap “menu” button on the browser toolbar. Select “Add to homescreen” option, change the title as necessary, and tap “Add” .

The web app is now installed.

Tap the icon to access the web app for a full screen experience.

Web apps created with Code On Time allow changing various settings such as theme and page transition effects. Note that those settings will not be inherited by installed app. Web apps added to home screen maintain their own settings on the device.

Labels: Application Builder, Application Factory, Mobile, Tips and Tricks, Touch UI, Web App Generator

Wednesday, April 16, 2014Print Subscribe

Touch UI, Firebird Database, Azure SDK 2.3

Code On Time release 8.0.4.0 introduces a new user interface concept Touch UI and support for Firebird Database Server.

Touch UI (former Mobile Client) is the next generation of the client library. Mobile Client has been introduced in December of 2013. The main objective was to offer a close-to-native mobile experience when using web applications created with Code On Time. We have come to realize that intuitive navigation and new presentation style can benefit greatly users working with desktop computers. During the past two months we have reworked the Mobile Client and turned into a universal touch-enabled presentation system.

The purpose of the new UI is to enable development of a single app that displays equally well on end-user devices of any type. The new enterprise computing concept BYOD (bring your own device) becomes a reality with Code On Time. If you are building an app with Code On Time, then you have already accommodated users of smart phones, tablets, and desktop computers.

Try an app with Touch UI right now!

Touch UI uses the same code base and the same set of business rules. If you are a building a line-of-business app for desktop users then you have already created a mobile version of it. If you are only looking forward and trying to please your mobile user base, then you are also offering a first class experience on the desktop (even if you don’t want to).

Firebird database server is now supported by Code On Time app generator. This is another highlight of the release. Download Firebird and build powerful line-of-business applications with a lightweight database server.

The following enhancements are also included in the release:

Touch UI is based on jQuery Mobile 1.4.2.
Client library provides an enhanced progress indicator.
Mandatory input fields display “Required” watermark if a custom watermark is not provided.
Batch Update commands correctly work with modal forms in Desktop UI.
Azure SDK 2.3 support is integrated in the app generator.
App generator uses “All CPU” parameter when building projects with MSBuild.
URL Hashing allows _mobile switch in the browser address bar to enable testing Touch UI on desktop computers.
Method ControllerNodeSet.CreateBusinessRuleFilter correctly works with data controller virtualization rules.
Tools for Excel recognizes Watermark property of data fields.

What’s Next?

Touch UI is not completely replacing the current desktop presentation. We will continue supporting desktop and will enhance the client library with further improvements in SharePoint Factory and DotNetNuke Factory.

The desktop presentation in the other project types will eventually become a secondary “fall-back” option for browsers that do not support HTML 5. We will introduce built-in CMS (Content Management System) in the code base of these project types. This may become an attractive alternative to SharePoint and DNN if your application requires custom user-generated dynamic content.

Touch UI is the user interface of the upcoming http://cloudontime.com hosted service.

See the list of upcoming features that we are working on in the Roadmap 2014.

Labels: Application Builder, Application Factory, BYOD, Data Aquarium Framework, DotNetNuke, Firebird, Mobile, Release Notes, SharePoint, Web Application Generator, Web Form Builder