Titanium: Building Native Mobile Apps

• $1,995

Course length

• 2 days

Dates

• May 21 – 22, 2012
• Aug 6 – 7, 2012
• Nov 5 – 6, 2012

Course Outline

Zero to App Recap and Orientation

• The basics of the Titanium mobile platform will be explored for those who may need a quick refresher to the Zero to App series. Titanium architecture, developer resources, and basic development work-flow will be explored.

You’re a Native Application Developer Now

• In this module, we’ll take a 10,000-foot view of the native SDKs for iOS and Android, understanding the basic concepts, vocabulary and tools associated with each. Developers will also begin to understand how the Titanium Developer works with each of these tools – while we won’t peek too far under the hood, having an appreciation of the magic going on will be helpful moving forward. In the lab session, participants will create and deploy “Hello World” applications for each platform, dipping their toe in the waters of native development in Java or Objective-C.

Cross-Platform Mobile Development in Titanium

• In this module, participants will begin to develop an approach for developing cross-platform mobile applications with Titanium. Platform differences will be explored, and we will survey the tools and techniques available to cope for cross-platform differences as well as techniques for leveraging platform-specific functionality for a “best of breed” app experience. We will also explore how to structure your mobile application JavaScript for maximum flexibility and maintainability, by creating an application-specific namespace to make your life easier. In the lab session, developers will create the basic framework for our running example application, TiBountyHunter.

User Interface Fundamentals

• In this module, developers will be briefed on the basic principles of user interface development in Titanium. App structures (tabs versus windows), the view hierarchy, positioning techniques, component styling, and event handling (custom and built-in) will be explored. Trainees will learn how to build custom component constructors to form the “View” and “Controller” tier of their client application. In the lab session, trainees will assemble the view components necessary to power the TiBountyHunter application.

Working with Local Data

• When building connected mobile applications, it is usually necessary to store data on the device. In this module, developers will learn how to persist data on the local device using an SQLite database and the application properties API. Developers will compare and contrast the relative value of using SQL databases versus lightweight property or JavaScript object persistence. Trainees will develop the “Model” tier of the TiBountyHunter application, learning how to store and retrieve data in a database, and how to display and send data between views.

Working with Media and the Filesystem

• Integration with a mobile device’s camera and local filesystem storage are two very common tasks in a mobile application. In this module, developers will learn how to use rich media (audio, video, still images) in their applications. Often these assets, when created on the device, will need to be stored on the filesystem. Developers will learn how to store and retrieve file objects from the filesystem, and the proper use of local storage. In the lab session, developers will allow the users of TiBountyHunter to snap photos of a “fugitive”, assign that photo to a record in the database, and recall that photo from the filesystem for display in the application.

Working with Remote Data

• It’s rare that a mobile application is developed which does not in some way leverage data fetched over a network. Titanium provides an XMLHTTPRequest style interface to an HTTPClient object, which should look familiar to most Ajax-savvy web developers. In this module, developers will learn how to fetch data over HTTP from a remote server, work with that data, and reconcile the data with local copies of the same. In the lab session, developers will synch data from a local version of TiBountyHunter with a remote cache of a hunter’s current and past fugitives.

Using Location Services

• Many compelling mobile applications make use of the user’s location in the world to personalize or otherwise enhance the experience of using the application. In this module, developers will learn how to leverage location APIs in Titanium applications. Additionally, we will explore the native map kits for each platform, and explore how to interact with rich native mapping views in an application. TiBountyHunter will be enhanced to capture data from the device’s GPS to track location data about a fugitive, and then plot that information on a map.

Integrating Address Book and Social APIs

• Another common need for mobile applications is to leverage the social network of the user to communicate information. Titanium exposes address book APIs for this purpose, and the HTTPClient and native libraries can be exploited to add support for Facebook, Twitter, and YQL integration. In this module, developers will be exposed to the use of these APIs. In the lab session, we will leverage social APIs to brag about the capture of a fugitive once they have been brought to justice.

Integrating Web Content

• Frequently mobile applications will need to leverage content best displayed by a browser (HTML, PDF, etc) inside their application. In this module, we will explore the web view component, and how it is best employed by a Titanium Mobile application. In our lab session, we will learn how to load up remote web content in a local web view, and how to use local HTML and JavaScript to create a web-based UI with Sencha Touch, jQuery Mobile, or iUI.

Pro Titanium Tips and Tricks

• Participants will explore several advanced techniques for developing and unit testing Titanium Mobile applications. We will also explore tips for expediting your workflow and working from the command line (without Titanium Developer).

Freestyle!

• Class participants will be challenged to hack the coolest application they can in the remaining time. Participants may finish up previous examples during this time also where the instructor can support your own personal explorations. The instructor will provide several “starter ideas” and low hanging fruit for participants.

To enroll in Titanium: Building Native Mobile Apps with Titanium, simply fill out the form on the contact us page, e-mail us,  or call us at 1-877-885-7044.