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We are putting final touches on Cloud On Time for iOS and will bring native apps based on Touch UI to your mobile devices made by Apple. The expected availability is end of June 2018.

Presently you can run your apps created with Code On Time in native mode on Windows 10 and Windows 7. Just install Cloud On Time from Microsoft App Store or from our own web site. Connect and start using your app in native mode right away. Soon you will be able to install Cloud On Time app from Apple App Store.

This screenshot shows Cloud On Time for iOS running in emulator with two apps connected. The frontends of the connected apps are installed on your mobile device and interact with the online backend to read/write data. Apps with Offline Sync Add-On will also download the data of offline pages and work in always disconnected mode. Offline data changes are synchronized with the online backend upon explicit user request.

Responsive nature of Touch UI makes the same app display correctly on a device with any screen size. The same app will run on the phones and tablets without a single change.

Your app created with Code On Time will feel “at home” on a native device from any maker.

Powerful input controls make it very easy to input data with the virtual and physical keyboards.

About Cloud On Time

Cloud On Time is the free app for iOS and Windows that will soon become available on OSX and Android platforms. One app allows connecting multiple custom online applications. The front end of each app runs locally on the device while sending requests to read/write data to its online backend.

Apps with Offline Sync Add-On will download their data as soon as the front end is installed. The front end works with the local data while creating a full log of change requests. Each request is “simulated” locally – the data is inserted, updated, and deleted from the end user prospective. Next synchronization will send the change log to the server and have it committed in the transaction scope to the database.

Use Cloud On Time to test the native mode of your app or run it in production mode to avoid the lengthy and slow approval cycles of app stores. Cloud On Time automatically detects the changes to the custom app front-end and installs the fresh components when the custom app is launched from the start page. Front end of offline/disconnected apps is automatically updated when the end user requests synchronization.

Custom Native Apps

Cloud On Time delivers a consistent native behavior across all major desktop and mobile operating systems on devices with the touch screens and those with the mouse pointers.

In July / August of 2018 the app generator will provide an option to download a custom native app for all major platforms.  App Store option becomes available as soon the app is published to the file system, FTP server, or major hosting provider. Custom Native App is a special version of Cloud On Time app capable of connecting to a single online backend only.

Developer will request a custom native app to be produced by providing the appropriate signing certificate and branding information. App generator will submit the request to our server. The server will generate a custom version of the Cloud On Time source code for the selected native platform and have it compiled. Developer will retrieve the binary package of the native app and submit it to the corresponding app store for approval.

Custom Native App “knows” the URL of the published online version of the app created with Code On Time. In fact, this URL is baked into the app itself.

The app reads and writes data by making requests to the online backend. If Offline Sync Add-On is installed, then the native app will also work in offline/disconnected mode.

Developer can also choose to run their Code On Time application with “Custom App” client to test its behavior. The app generator will invoke the Windows version of the custom app on the development machine.

See our roadmap for details.

Cloud On Time app runs cloud applications created with Code On Time products directly on your device with an optional offline mode. Integrated access to device camera and sensors contributes to enhanced user experience.

This user guide explains how to connect, install, run, and manage the front-ends of the connected cloud applications in Cloud On Time app.

The home screen of Cloud On Time app displays Connect button if there are no connected clouds.

Tap “Connect” to connect to an application running in the cloud. When prompted, enter either the application name or the URL provided by your administrator.

Tap “Save” to connect to the application in the cloud. The name, icon, and description of the compatible application will be displayed. If the information is correct, then tap OK.

Cloud On Time app will redirect to the application in the cloud to confirm your identity. Enter the username and password for your account to authorize access on the device.

After receiving confirmation of user identity, Cloud On Time app will download the files of cloud application front-end and store them on the device. If the cloud application is configured to work in offline mode, then the data matched with the user identity is also downloaded.

The application is launched automatically after successful installation.

If you close the Code On Time app and start it again, then the installed cloud is automatically displayed with the same identity that was confirmed during the front-end installation process.

Cloud On Time app will also perform a brief verification of application files by comparing them with those reported by the application in the cloud. Any changes are automatically downloaded before the front-end is displayed.

File verification with the server is skipped if the app front-end is working with local data in offline mode. The process will be performed when the local data is synchronized and successfully committed to the cloud.

If you need more than one identity to work with the same app, then add another account by choosing “Add Account” option in the user menu.

Confirm the new identity and the Cloud On Time app will install any required unique files on the device.

A local version of the front-end specific to the identity is launched.

Use account manager to switch between identities.

If the Cloud On Time app is restarted, then the last used front-end with the last selected identity is launched automatically.

Choose “Exit” option in the user menu to exit the front-end and return to the home screen of Cloud On Time app.

You will see a tile representing the application front-end on the home screen. Tap the tile to launch the front-end of the cloud application.

Use “more” button on the right side of the toolbar and press “Connect a Cloud” to connect another cloud to the home screen.

Enter the name or URL of the cloud application when prompted. Connect the app and proceed to confirm your identity.

Cloud On Time app will display the front-end of the connected cloud application.

Use “Exit” command in the user menu to return to the home screen of Cloud On Time app.

Each tile on the home screen provides “more” button with options to run the front-end or to delete the connected app.

To prevent unauthorized access to the application, use Logout option in the user menu.

You will return to the home screen of Cloud On Time app. The tile of the cloud application will remain on the home screen.

An attempt to launch the “logged out” cloud application front-end will require confirmation of user identity in the cloud. When confirmed, the required files will be re-installed from the local cache on the device. The front-end will be launched with a minimal delay.

The cloud application can be configured by administrator to always confirm the user identity on the device when the front-end is started and to log the user out when the app is closed.