Question

So, I’ve recently been using phonegap to develop mobile applications across several platforms. I realize that to pull dynamic content, you’ll have to use an AJAX call within JavaScript.

I’m wondering, is this common practice among HTML5 apps? Is it considered poor practice to pull content dynamically from another server? (since it would require the phone to be running on wifi or some sort of data plan).

Just wondering if it’s good/bad practice in app development.

Thanks!

Answer 1

It depends entirely on your app!

Consider two primary examples:

1. Facebook. Worthless without a constant connection.
2. Document Editor. This app should only sync with the cloud when wifi is available, and should not be inoperable when it isn’t

These two simple examples should help frame the question in terms of what makes your app valuable. If the value comes from the network, then it is certainly viable to require and use it. If the value does not (or if the network features are “value add”), then don’t require it. In the latter case, note that network features are becoming an expectation (cloud syncing, etc), but should not be a functional requirement.