WebView is an Android API that allows you to display web content inside of your application. For BlackBerry Dynamics developers, we are pleased to announce a major update to our Dynamics WebView library, which you can find on the BlackBerry Github page. The Dynamics WebView library extends the native Android WebView API by diverting HTTP Requests to BlackBerry Dynamics Secure Communications. Dynamics WebView supports the following features:
· Secure HTTP requests to internal networks (URL loading, XML requests, fetch HTTP requests)
· Page resource and content loading
· DLP cut/copy/paste
· Browsing history
· Secure cookie storage
In most cases, developers will want to use a browser like Chrome or BlackBerry Access to deliver web content. This is because the Android WebView API does not implement the full functionality of a browser. Instead, the WebView API and Dynamics extension are best used when your application needs more control over the UI. This kind of configuration is better managed by having your web content rendered in your activity layout.
In the Dynamics WebView library, requests are intercepted from the native WebView by implementing the shouldInterceptRequest() method found in the native API. The full execution of the HTTP request then happens over BlackBerry Dynamics Secure Communications. The request is sent using the GDHTTPRequest interface found in the BlackBerry Dynamics SDK for Android. A WebResourceResponse object is then built from the returned status code, headers, and data stream.
Thanks for reading! Please check out the Dynamics WebView library and other great BlackBerry Dynamics samples on BlackBerry’s Github page.
