AJAX Schizophrenia on iPhone

I have encountered a weird ajax javascript behavior on HTML5/iPhone/safari. It succeeds when the code is included inline in the body of the script tag, but fails to retrieve data when the same code is referenced using src. The failure is in returning empty string in the ajax xhr responseText with OK status.

This is apparently a symptom of cache-manifest sync-ing restrictions along with iPhones inaccurate communication indication. The client never communicated with the server even though the network spinner indicated otherwise. The iPhone client was talking to itself like Norman Bates and reporting responses instead of errors. The faulty wiring was caused by cache-manifest behavior that blocked communication with the server.

App-by-email and images coming soon

I have completed POC on App-by-email and images features. That means users can create an iPhone Appcast by simply sending the contents in an email. Images can also be incorporated (and cached) in appcast designs.

Appcasts including more HTML5 features

I've been doing more development on the appcast engine to include more HTML 5 features. Most recent work include:
- circular gesture for scrolling
- simple sqlite app framework
- backward compatibility with older iOS versions
- offline addition of pages and appcasts

Richer, Faster Appcasts with HTML5

By integrating the current gesture-enabled Appcast code with HTML5 sqlite, offline-cache, and apple hooks, Appcast now offers potential for richer UI and faster load time. The new code is hosted on Google Code Appengine, but it can be easily hosted on very lightweight hosting services like ripplehost. iPhone users click here for Richer, Faster Appcasts

1. Offline cache using cache-manifest allows modern browsers like safari to load the page from the home screen without fetching from the server. The old way was to store everything in the url. With offline cache, styles, code, data, and even images can be stored by the browser and made available offline.

2. Apple hook for icon allows the homescreen icon to be an image file on the server.

3. Sqlite database allows additional custom data to be stored locally on the iPhone. This will allow you to send a URL containing data that will be store in sqlite only by those who receive your email. The data is never stored on any server (other than secure mail servers) or app store and the recipient can have a truly unique custom appcast.

More new types of apps from recent research

The safari browser on the iPhone/iPod is more advanced than the typical IE/FF browser running on most desktops. I've been following these features and experimenting with the ones that will enable different types of "apps" to run on the iPhone/iPod. The appcast is one type, but it doesn't really use the advanced HTML5 features due to security restrictions. Client side sqlite apps are easy to code but the unnecessarily strict requirements on cache-manifest implementation is hindering progress on quick deployment techniques.

This is not another attempt to circumvent Apple's app store. It is just interpretting the implications of new technology and applying it toward common goals and solutions. Of course, it has the advantage of cross-platform deployment because it is based on WC3 specs instead of proprietary OS specs. But that is still just a possiblity becasue we know the industry's track record on actually implementing WC3 specs.

Unicode and Animation

The latest version of the Appcast builder supports unicode and adds some simple animation for gesture navigation. Here is a demo appcast [Unicode Demo appcast]

Happy New Year

Here is a happy new year appcast.
[Happy NY appcast]