JavaOne Apache Cordova & Java EE 7

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The write-up for the JavaOne 2014 session on Apache Cordova and Java EE 7 doesn’t quite do it justice. The presentation covers the interaction between the EE 7 and Cordova. For those that aren’t aware, Cordova (aka PhoneGap) is a dev environment that enables you to write rich apps for iOS/Android/Windows Phone/BlackBerry/Tizen using JavaScript and HTML5. This is MUCH easier than writing a native app. Most users probably couldn’t tell the difference between a Cordova app and a native app. In fact, most people probably have several HTML5 apps installed and aren’t aware of it. A Cordova app, through JavaScript APIs, gets access to device features such as the compass, camera, video record, GPS (above what’s in HTML5), Contacts, vibrate functionality, etc.

For the presentation I have written a large Apache Cordova application, called N34Sailor. This is an application for organizing a sailing race. It enables a committee boat to select a course, handles registration of sailboats in the course, and finally enables the committee boat to send out updates and track the progress of the race. The N34Sailor application is a Single Page Application (SPA). The UI was created using JQuery Mobile (initially tried Sencha Touch but decided that would have been a 2 hour presentation itself). The content is not served up from the container – it runs locally!

In addition to the basics, this presentation will cover:

  • Token based authentication – username/password ARE NOT cached in the application. This is implemented using JASPIC!
  • GZIP compressing of JSON using JAX-RS 2.0
  • Mixing WebSocket endpoints with Stateful Session Beans and the extended Persistence context.
  • Taking pictures and uploading them using JAX-RS 2.0.
  • IndexDB and LocalStorage for offline support.
  • Testing using:
    • Arquillian and the client-side JAX-RS 2.0 and WebSocket APIs
    • Karma/Jasmine testing – specifically of RESTful calls.
  • Deployment to Android and iOS.
  • Deployment to the cloud – app needs to be load balanced!
  • Initial development using Chrome and how to use JAX-RS to deal with CORS issues.

I am probably forgetting things. Currently the slide deck stands at 128+ slides (some cool animations!).

BTW: I still have QA to do but this app will be making it to the App Store!

Published by rcuprak

Ryan Cuprak is an e-formulation analyst at Enginuity PLM and president of the Connecticut Java Users Group that he has run since 2003. At Enginuity PLM he is focused on developing data integrations to convert clients’ data and also user interface development. Prior to joining Enginuity he worked for a startup distributed-computing company, TurboWorx, and Eastman Kodak’s Molecular Imaging Systems group, now part of Carestream Health. At TurboWorx he was a Java developer and also a technical sales engineer supporting both presales and professional services. Cuprak has earned a BS in computer science and biology from Loyola University Chicago. He is a Sun Certified NetBeans IDE Specialist. He can be contacted at rcuprak@acm.org.