Finally I found the time to update my little lab project called “notabene”. So this version (0.2) actually is a fully functional prototype. But let’s move on and face the facts:
Things we’ve added
- All your stuff is now stored in a database
notabene utilizes the new HTML5 database capabilities of Mobile Safari to store all the data locally on your iPad in an SQL-Database. - Full offline support
This is done through a cache manifest and the database stuff. So now if you leave and revisit the webapp you’ll be right back where you left. Even if you’re not connected to the internet… - You can now add, delete and switch between walls
Give it a test drive
Just point your iPad to the following location and play around with it.
Please keep in mind: This is still a playground!
This app is still a prototype for showcasing the capabilities of web applications. It might not be a good idea to store valuable data with it.
What did we learn?
- Performance is even more important for a touch UI than it is for desktop apps. So if a new feature ruins your overal performance you might consider to just kick it.
- Webfonts don’t work in offline mode on iOs – This is really a downer and Apple should fix these kind of things.
- Storing stuff in the Webkit database feels pretty old school. We need new tools and frameworks for this. For example CouchDB seems like an interesting way out of this mess.
Related stuff going on
- The mobile web community is really pushing the boundaries of mobile browsers right now and people are innovating in that space.
- Sencha Touch, a great framework for mobile touch applications, has been released lately.
- jQuery Mobile is also on its way
Sources available – Feel free to remix
Again, the full source code of this project is available under MIT License. So feel free to remix and drop us a line if you feel inspired …
i guess i should have commented on this post. :)