I am starting to realize that blog writing is similar to any other mental or physical exercise: it takes some time to knock the rust off if you take a break. Given how hard that first sentence was to write, I feel like red dust should be falling out of my ears. My robot vacuum cleaner needs to work harder to earn its keep anyway.

I do have a good excuse for my absence (I am not sure that Kinsella would agree). My first blog in a little while now comes to you from the sunny shores of Northern California. I have joined the (relatively) small but extremely dedicated contingent of BlackBerry employees fighting the good fight in the Bay Area. The relocation was no small task, let me tell you. Not the least of which was the four day drive from Toronto. I-80 is brutally efficient at getting you from A to B. But for some large segments, it is just brutal. Our dogs were also very efficient at letting us know when our travel day was (or should be) at its end.

But now I am setup here on the west coast, and fully in the middle of yet another move. If you missed BlackBerry Jam Americas in Orlando last month – nothing less than a cross-continent move will be accepted as excuse – you missed a very important BlackBerry 10 WebWorks roadmap session where we discussed the move of BlackBerry 10 WebWorks to use Apache Cordova at its core.

Fundamentally, the web is cross platform. While it is certainly not write-once/run-everywhere, the web does allow for a lot of reuse of code and assets. As mobile browser vendors continue to evolve and implement the various web technology standards, the amount of work to port an application becomes smaller and smaller. We are seeing web-based mobile applications become a much bigger piece of the total app pie. A large part of that is due to the success of Apache Cordova, which is the open source engine that powers Adobe’s Phonegap.

Our goal with BlackBerry 10 WebWorks is to ensure that we embrace the true philosophy of the open web, and empower our development community with the best tools and frameworks available to create rich web-based mobile applications. Moving BlackBerry 10 WebWorks to be based on Apache Cordova is a huge step in this direction and provides many benefits to our development community.

We are building support for BlackBerry 10 right into the core Apache Cordova project. This will allow Adobe PhoneGap developers to easily target BlackBerry 10 alongside other platforms for their mobile applications. BlackBerry 10 platform specific APIs will also be available as plugins for Apache Cordova (e.g. BBM, invocation, etc.)

As the center of gravity for packaged web applications, Apache Cordova garners a lot of attention from tooling and framework communities that will build their solutions to work with Apache Cordova. Having BlackBerry 10 as a core platform in Apache Cordova will help to ensure BlackBerry 10 WebWorks developers will be able utilize these tools as well.

To be clear, there are some differences in how you work with an Apache Cordova based application, specifically in terms of the command line tools, and some API signatures. All existing BlackBerry 10 WebWorks functionality does still exist, but the API signatures might be slightly different. Full documentation and porting guides will be available. The key thing to understand is that we have full compatibility built in. Applications built with an existing BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK WILL work on all 10.X code lines and new ones moving forward.  Similarly, apps built with the new Apache Cordova approach will ALSO work on all 10.X code lines.

I am really excited about being part of the Apache Cordova community, and about the benefits and opportunities this will bring for our dedicated BlackBerry 10 WebWorks developers. Stay tuned to this blog and the developer portal for news on how the move to Apache Cordova progresses.

We’ll be continuing this video series leading up to BlackBerry Jam Americas in Orlando in order to give some more background surrounding the topics that we’ll be discussing in detail during the conference.

This particular video will give you some information about the upcoming roadmap items that we’re looking at for WebWorks and HTML5 developers. We’re joined by Erik Johnson from the WebWorks R&D team to talk to us about Apache Cordova and the evolution of the BlackBerry 10 Web Platform!

Last call for porting apps starts Jan 18th – Register now for the Last Chance Port-A-Thon!

After staying up for 37.5 hours and working with some amazing developers to submit 15,060 apps, how do I reward myself? Obviously, by planning another port-a-thon this weekend! We’ve also doubled the reward opportunity for developers as we look for some new and exciting apps to add to BlackBerry World.

That’s right: this weekend we will have $2,000,000 available in rewards to developers for submitting their apps. Our last few port-a-thons have been so successful that we’re confident this weekend will yield some amazing apps for BlackBerry 10.

What apps are eligible, you ask? You can build/port apps using any one of the development languages that supports BlackBerry 10. Port from Android, use HTML5, Native C/C++, AIR, jQuery, Marmalade, Qt, PhoneGap, Appcelerator, Sencha and more. Additionally, apps created using BlackBerry App Generator are also eligible. (Note: you need to own the blog content to be eligible)

All apps that are submitted will be reviewed and approved apps will be notified with rewards. You can find answers to any logistical questions here.

These port-a-thons are just part of our dedication to our developers and apps for our new BlackBerry 10 platform. We’re dedicated to building a healthy ecosystem for BlackBerry 10. We’re committed to our Built For BlackBerry initiative and our 10k developer commitment.

Get on board – now’s your chance to get your app ready for the BlackBerry 10 launch.

Two of my twenty #BB10portathon apps appeared in app world in less than 24 hours! Just when I couldn't #bb10believe any more…—
Ross Cheriton (@RossCheriton) January 12, 2013

We submitted 2 apps yesterdays for this weekend's #BB10Portathon are you ready for BlackBerry 10 yet? 16 days till launch!—
techfruits.com (@techfruitscom) January 13, 2013

The #bb10portathon events have been great. I've released one or two apps/games at each one. I've learned skills, and released apps!—
Dale Wick (@hardhatpsp) January 14, 2013

I hope you can join us for the BlackBerry Last Chance Port-A-Thon, as it’s a great experience where you can to meet our team, other developers, learn more about developing for BlackBerry, and get rewarded.

Go forth and port!

The BlackBerry 10 Community Port-A-Thon will start on noon ET January 11, 2013 and run for 36 hours.  This is also going to be a virtual event, so it is up to you to decide where you would like to join us from.

Get Rewarded

The more you port and build the greater your rewards*:

• Port  one (1) – five (5) approved apps – $100 per eligible app –to  a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Port five (5) – ten (10) approved apps – THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED (200) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS receive one (1) BlackBerry Dev Alpha Device plus $100
• Port ten (10) or more approved apps -  THE FIRST TEN (10) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS one (1) paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe to celebrate  the launch of BlackBerry 10 with us plus a Dev Alpha Device as well as $100!!!
• Additionally for those that did not receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha, or Trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe, we will be conducting a random draw for one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alphas and ten (10) trips to BlackBerry Jam Europe.  All those who meet the criteria for a Dev Alpha  Device or the Trip but were not one of the firs 200 or 10 , respectively, to qualify, are eligible for the respective draws.

Get Ready to Port

Take advantage of the tips below to get a head start before you join the event.

Here’s what you need to get prepared ahead of time.

1. Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
2. Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
3. Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
4. Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.

Register

Submit your apps into BlackBerry World before BlackBerry 10 launches. Register for the Community Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 today!

Have Questions? See our FAQ.

* A total of $500,000USD is available for distribution. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/communityportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 11, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 12, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Limit one (1) Dev Alpha Device and one (1) Trip per person. Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor regardless of reward category.    See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details.

I’m stoked to spread the word to all of our developers that as of version 2.2, you can now build apps with PhoneGap that target BlackBerry® 10!

Our very own official Apache Cordova contributor Gord Tanner (@gordtanner) has been hard at work making sure you can build PhoneGap apps for BlackBerry 10 today. What’s got me really excited about this news is that even though BlackBerry 10 is still in beta, a quick test revealed more than half of the APIs are already supported. With monthly updates to PhoneGap being released, this means that developers can start working on their BlackBerry 10 apps right away, and have peace of mind knowing that more and more support will be available in each release.

What is PhoneGap, you say?

PhoneGap is an open source framework that allows developers to quickly build cross-platform apps using HTML5, JavaScript®, and CSS. PhoneGap is powered by Cordova and is compatible with BlackBerry® OS 5+, BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS, and now BlackBerry 10!

Have a PhoneGap app created for another platform? We’ve got 10,000 reasons for you to port it over!

If you already have a PhoneGap app available on other platforms, why not take advantage of the recent BlackBerry 10 support? By porting your app over to BlackBerry 10, and registering for the 10k Developer Commitment, we’re guaranteeing you will make at least $10,000 in 12 months or we’ll pay the difference!

Note: Conditions apply. For complete details, visit the 10k Developer Commitment webpage.

So, are you ready? Get started in 3 steps:

1. Visit the new PhoneGap Getting Started Guide for BlackBerry.
2. Head over to the PhoneGap website and download the SDK.
3. Win!

If you’ve got a success story, have a question, or just want to chat about apps, hit me up on Twitter @chadtatro.

On Thursday, October 18^th user groups around Los Angeles are organizing an event for all to come and learn a little more about this thing we call mobile development – Mobile Camp LA. Regardless of what floats your boat (game development, UI frameworks, cross-platform strategies, etc.) there are sessions for everyone.

In addition to these sessions (including an in-depth look at the Ripple tool by our very own Gord Tanner), we’ll be having another kind of activity that runs throughout the day. Once again we’ll be out in the community providing developers who are serious about getting their apps on BlackBerry® 10, with the opportunity to take home a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing device.

How do I qualify?

I’m glad you asked. First, you’ll need to have an application that you’ve developed using PhoneGap and you’ve already taken to market outside of BlackBerry App World™.

Next, you need to bring your application source (or an already compiled BAR file) and we’ll get it up and running on a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing device. If all goes well, we’ll have a station on hand where you can submit the newly created application to BlackBerry App World, and you get to walk away with the device!

If there are obstacles, well that’s what we are there for and we will do all we can to assist you in overcoming them on site and getting your app submitted. If they cannot be addressed on site, we will take your contact information to provide continued support after the event.

Most importantly, you need to be one of the first ten developers to do so!

What can you do to speed up the process and get your hands on one of these devices and  back to the conference and sessions as quickly as possible?

• Pre-register as a BlackBerry Developer in the BlackBerry App World Vendor Portal. The entire process is free.
• Request your BlackBerry Code Signing Keys in advance.
• Have your laptop, application source, and development tools ready to go.

For those that haven’t heard, obtaining a Blackberry 10 Dev Alpha testing device will be one of the steps to a limited edition BlackBerry 10 smartphone after the launch in Q1 2013 – details to follow. Submissions received will also be eligible for the 10k Developer Commitment!

When the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing devices run out, we will be entering other developers who visit us at the booth in a raffle to win BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets. Remember, if you can get your app working on BlackBerry PlayBook, it can easily be ported to BlackBerry 10.

We’ll be there throughout the conference to assist PhoneGap developers with their porting, so be sure to plan out the sessions you want to see accordingly. To get a better idea of what’s being offered, be sure to visit the Mobile Camp LA event page.

See you on Thursday, fellow devs! Follow me on Twitter for updates at @WaterlooErik.

We found many examples of things we’re doing right (e.g. automatic updates in Ripple). However, as we hoped to find, we also discovered examples of sub-optimal experiences where new developers could possibly be road blocked in their ability to complete their BlackBerry application. It is these latter examples that proved why we ran this exercise, and we are committed to continuing this review and will re-evaluate the platform again on a regular schedule.

Our group first started by identifying who our development community was. How did they think? What was important to them? How would their potential backgrounds influence how they flow through the “getting started with BlackBerry” experience? Our focus was on the following 5 personalities:

• “The coder” – Lives in a text editor and can modify their own path variable. Comfortable troubleshooting advanced issues without assistance. Likely have built a mobile app already.
• “The beginner” – Just getting started with mobile development or are evaluating BlackBerry Web dev. May have strong development skills in another language or none at all.
• “The desktop web developer” – Have a very strong understanding of client-server web development. Have successfully built web sites and may have used frameworks like jQuery, Sencha or Dojo.
• “The enterprise developer” – Cross platform is a primary goal. Prefers to use IDEs and typically works under an IT enforced environment.
• “The PhoneGap developer” – Someone who has come to the BlackBerry developer site to learn how to port their PhoneGap application

So what did we find? Lots! In fact, I’m still going through all the feedback. Everything from “would be nice” changes to “this is a gating bug and must be fixed” is being documented, and our intent is to file issues so the public can track them in the developer issue tracker . Here are just some of the results from the group:

• Discovery process: Search engine optimization should be improved. Keywords that each developer persona would expect to search for did not always generate correct search results.
  [Michelle] Search term: “enterprise development for BlackBerry 10” on Google. First result is to register for an outdated/unrelated course; next search results are for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server development.
• Sample applications: A number of BlackBerry WebWorks sample applications are published in Github. We need to refine the flow of navigating a user between blackberry.com and github.com. Also, for new developers, Github is unfamiliar. Some preparation of what to expect and how to use it will be helpful:
  [Kevin]: Sample apps… I am not super familiar with Github. Didn’t like getting dumped into git for samples. I’d prefer to get a zip to download. Managed to figure it out then.
  [Brent] – Click the link for samples on Getting Started – Taken to Github – what is Github? And what are these samples for – what do they do?
• HelloWorld sample: More developers will successfully complete the “Creating HelloWorld for BlackBerry 10” tutorial if we provide a direct link to a ZIP file that contains the sample application assets.
  [Brent] HelloWorld sample – copying and Pasting seems like a waste. Possible to download the helloworld package? – Creating config.xml in notepad and pasting the copied xml text puts it all on one lovely line. #NotImpressed
• Ripple: The Ripple Mobile emulator is currently designed to build and sign a BlackBerry WebWorks application. It also provides an option to deploy to a target device, but only when the app is unsigned. For simulators this is ideal; however, not for live devices where a debug token would be required. Not all developers want / know how to use a debug token.
  [Ed] The build choices are confusing and missing the one option I want. I want “package and sign, or package sign and deploy” to a real device. Package and launch is confusing because I don’t want to package and launch to a simulator, but when I do want to for a real device, I want it to do so signed, not with debug tokens I don’t use. I suggest: “Package”, “Package & Sign”, “Package & Sign & deploy” (to a real device” and “Package and launch” to simulator. the last one, the least likely to use.

Here’s how you can send us feedback -

1. Join the discussion in the BlackBerry Web and BlackBerry WebWorks community forum.
2. Log into the developer issue tracker and file a bug report. Remember to provide as much detail as possible about how to reproduce the problem and what are the expected / actual results.
3. Let’s have a chat via @BlackBerryDev on Twitter® or the BlackBerryDevCommunity on Facebook®.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

• Two runtimes: BlackBerry WebWorks for BlackBerry smartphone OS and the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet
• Corresponding API Documentation for each runtime
• A growing number of Code Samples, including the code for Aura, the BlackBerry WebWorks based demo shown at BlackBerry Developer Day at this year’s Mobile World Congress
• Alice, a micro-library focusing on fancy visual effects using CSS3 2D and 3D facilities – to see it in action, point your modern browser to the demo page
• A community owned repository containing JavaScript Extensions for BlackBerry WebWorks
• Two repositories for our Ripple Emulator: one for the UI, and one for the Framework.

Open Source is changing how we interact with the BlackBerry WebWorks community in many ways, including:

• The samples are now directly usable, with a clear, well-known (ASL2) license, and in a location we can update easily – our plan is to take all existing useful samples, currently in places like Knowledge Base articles, mail threads, forums, or posts, and post them as Open Source.
• When we wanted to add BlackBerry WebWorks support to Nitobi PhoneGap, Ken and the team travelled to Vancouver and leveraged that both projects are open source. This is especially useful to us now that Nitobi is contributing PhoneGap to start incubating Apache CallBack.
• When Laurent and Jim want to add new features to Alice, they can change the repository directly… and the demos are available right then. And all the GitHub features are available from Fork-me to Watchers.
• Tim, Ken and the team can make new experimental features available via the BlackBerry WebWorks Community APIs
• And we can have a continuous release for both the runtimes and the tools. You can even check our Roadmap.

Year two is just beginning and we will continue our commitment to providing more source code to the community, contributing to other OSS projects as well as a focus on performing our daily development in the open.

Do you believe that support for open source projects is important? Share your thoughts in the comments.

COM12 – PhoneGap and BlackBerry WebWorks SDK: Two Allies that helped Simplify Development of Nursing App
Find out what it takes to successfully build and deploy a BlackBerry® app with the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ Platform and the PhoneGap open source development framework.

Michael Brooks, Software Barista with Nitobi Software Inc.

Register for BlackBerry DevCon Americas now!

For the past decade, Nitobi’s developers have made it clear that they’re not only interested in developing excellent mobile and web applications, but also in changing the way rich internet applications are built. Nitobi created the popular PhoneGap, an open source development tool used to build cross-platform applications that are designed to take advantage of core features of BlackBerry® SDKs. On top of application design and development, the Vancouver, Canada-based company offers its clients consulting services, training, and on-going technical support.

Nitobi CEO Andre Charland and software developer Michael Brooks tell us about the PhoneGap project, the importance of working with the Research In Motion Limited (RIM®) development team and how the BlackBerry WebWorks platform has embraced where the future of development is heading.

Tell us about the functionality of the PhoneGap tool.
Andre: PhoneGap acts as a bridge between web applications and mobile devices, and is similar to BlackBerry WebWorks in that it allows users to create native applications using web applications. The difference is that PhoneGap can be used across all platforms. It leverages HTML and JavaScript® and fits our web mentality of creating a unique user experience by creating applications that can function on any device.

What sort of similarities do you see between BlackBerry WebWorks and the PhoneGap development tools?
Michael: We think that with BlackBerry WebWorks, RIM is really embracing what the future is. While we constantly have to add PhoneGap support for the other platforms, BlackBerry WebWorks is directly aligned with the PhoneGap mentality. With BlackBerry WebWorks, you develop using web technology like HTML, CSS3, and JavaScript, and it allows you to access tools that invoke the native functionality of the BlackBerry® smartphone. iOS and Android™ both have their own languages, and it makes it a lot more difficult to make JavaScript reach into the native side to invoke functionality and return the responses. BlackBerry WebWorks is really paying off and will continue to do so with the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and BlackBerry® 7.

How involved has RIM been throughout the PhoneGap project?
Andre: RIM has been quite involved with PhoneGap. The RIM development team recently signed a contributor agreement to the project and provided most of the PhoneGap tools for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which we’re working to get into the PhoneGap repository for BlackBerry. In terms of tools, the Ripple Emulator by RIM is specifically for HTML5 mobile app testing, and it was one of the earliest tools to have PhoneGap’s work built into it.

What level of support have you received from the RIM development team?
Andre: We’ve had great support from all the team members at RIM. We keep in contact with a lot of them through Twitter® and email. If we’re having issues or if a PhoneGap user on the BlackBerry side has a question, we CC the RIM team and the support rolls out really quickly. RIM also has a seeding program for future BlackBerry smartphones that is hugely beneficial, since it allows us to test all of the devices and operating systems before they come to market. We don’t have that kind of relationship with any other vendor or manufacturer out there. Nitobi has also filled out a contributor agreement for the BlackBerry repository.

Thanks for this interview, Andre and Michael! Developer community – do you have any feedback on Nitobi’s BlackBerry development tools? Let us know in the comments.