Differences between Blackberry Webworks and Phonegap

Question

I am building an enterprise application using HTML5 for Blackberry OS 6.0. I am planning on using PhoneGap for developing the application. I found out that Blackberry also has something similar called WebWorks.

What are the differences between WebWorks and PhoneGap?

Feune

Answer 1

PhoneGap-BlackBerry-Widget uses the BlackBerry Widget SDK to support BlackBerry OS 5.0 & 6.0. WebWorks is basically Widget SDK 2.0 and it is intended to support OS 6.0 specific features.

The advantage of using PhoneGap-BlackBerry-Widget over WebWorks is that you can port your application to other platforms that are supported by PhoneGap.

You can still port an application that was written using WebWorks/Widget SDK, but you will need to switch out the BlackBerry-specific JavaScript bindings for the PhoneGap JavaScript bindings (e.g. invoking Geolocation, contacts, or accelerometer).

Guano

Thanks. Does your answer still hold true for the more recent version of Webworks 2.0 developer.blackberry.com/html5 ? – Ropedancer

Answer 2

Looks like WebWorks is specifically for BlackBerry while PhoneGap is attempting to support multiple mobile platforms.

I haven't looked too deeply into WebWorks, it appears to be more tightly integrated with a specific device, a Blackberry

Islamize

Answer 3

WebWorks is a specific development tool managed by RIM for BlackBerry, while PhoneGap is in the MEAP (mobile enterprise application platform) space where they represent the next generation of mobile development. You develop your app with PhoneGap and it helps you to deploy across all major platforms such as iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry. If you're a developer then it opens the doors to more phone models and increased opportunity for app sales.

Tailgate

Answer 4

webwork vs phonegap

both are used for build application .using webwork u get for feature for specially blackberry....using phonegap u can use same code for multipal phone like iphone,android.. but i prefer webwork because phonegap add unwanted code to your applicatio due to application very slow ....phonegap + wework in blackberry 5.0 take too much load...it's min size is around 600 kb......

so for blackberry webwork is better than phonegap

Damnable

bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/html5/documentation/… – Damnable

Answer 5

One issue to consider is testing and compiling applications.

When testing on devices and simulators it is possible to compile/sign once and access/edit your JavaScript and HTML5 from a remote location, such as the SD Card or a local server. While PhoneGap and WebWorks are both using JavaScript to access native functions, I have found the 'compile once' method doesn't seem to pick up and utilise PhoneGap - this is also the case with the Ripple emulator. In my experience, using PhoneGap requires multiple, time-consuming compilations and launches when testing an application. If testing on a Blackberry device, you need to factor in the time it takes to have your app signed prior to each test and the time it takes for the device to reboot. I'm talking 2+ mins on a simulator or 4+ mins on a device, per each change to your code.

Bedfordshire

You must use Ripple for testing and the SDK for build,sign and deploy the appp – Filose

Answer 6

I'm working with webworks for Blackberry and phonegap for iPhone. Not sure whether the problem is with webworks or underpowered handsets but we've had to spend a lot of time ripping features out of the webworks app to get any kind of robustness or performance when running on the device. Static google maps and thumbnail photos had to go.

All webworks apps on a handset share the same pool of memory, about half of the memory available to the BB browser. Webworks also leaks memory. There's a thread a year old on the webworks forum about the memory leaks and no solution forthcoming from Blackberry, just "workarounds". We had to alter the webworks sdk to make the garbage collection more aggressive to stop the app running out of memory all the time. But if other webworks apps are running on the handset and haven't had this GC tweak you will still get grief with memory.

Don't know if phonegap is any better than this but it'd have to go some to be worse than webworks.

If you want to do a webworks app keep the design simple, package all the graphics and assets in the deliverable (we were trying to get icons from an api but have ended up storing them base64 encoded in localStorage) and get it onto a handset asap so you don't waste time adding features that the handset can't cope with.

To sum up, webworks is pretty poor.

Grief

Answer 7

PhoneGap : is an application with a webview control that renders your HTML5 and JS. PhoneGap has diferent versions or say release for different platforms like Android, iOS, BB, WP8 etc.

WebWroks : is conceptually the same thing as PhoneGap just that it is owned and developed by Blackberry (Previously RIM) themselves.

Also one most important thing in the context of the question is that, for Blackberry Phonegap uses WebWorks as its base, that is why while developing PhoneGap Apps for blackberry you need to download WebWorks SDK first, the build process is also the same as WebWorks so the benefit of using Phonegap for balckberry is that the same HTML5 + JS Code that you used for say Android will work on Blackberry as well.

However BB OS 7 and below do not have the best WebView Control, BB 10 and playbook are MUCH MUCH Better.

Forecourse