Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) released its BlackBerry WebWorks SDK, supplying web and mobile web developers a framework, APIs and tooling to build applications optimized for the device maker's PlayBook tablet. "If your background and skills are in using web technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript, then this is the platform for you," RIM product manager Adam Abramski writes on the BlackBerry Developer's Blog. "The platform extends some of the native device capabilities like system utilities, dialogs, and invoking other apps on the device and makes them available for you to use in your applications."
According to Abramski, RIM built the BlackBerry WebWorks platform for the PlayBook leveraging design and architectural principles first introduced in its WebWorks platform for BlackBerry smartphones, meaning apps written for one will work on the other. "Some modification might be needed depending on the underlying device capabilities," he adds. "For example the tablet may have characteristics like bringing up a native dialog box including various options like the size and appearance of the dialog on the PlayBook's screen that aren't on the smartphones. However, all of your HTML5, CSS and JavaScript code should all be compatible."
In related news, RIM released version 1.3 of its BlackBerry Java Plug-In for Eclipse, promising new features and enhancements like Eclipse 3.6 (Helios) support, new application wizards, a Getting Started Welcome Page, improved debugger performance and Mac OS X Java Plug-In for Eclipse feature parity. RIM adds that version 1.3 unifies the feature set between the Mac OS X and Windows versions of the plug-in, with one exception: The Mac OS X does not yet include a simulator.
For more:
- read this BlackBerry Developer's Blog entry
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