PhoneGap is an HTML5 app platform that allows you to author native applications with web technologies and get access to APIs and app stores. PhoneGap on webOS allows cross-platform developers to code for one API for device functions such as accelerometer, compass and geolocation while PhoneGap takes care of calling the webOS specific implementations.

Here is how you can receive a current compass heading with PhoneGap:

function onSuccess(heading) {
  alert('Heading: ' + heading.magneticHeading);
};

function onError(error) {
  alert('CompassError: ' + error.code);
};

navigator.compass.getCurrentHeading(onSuccess, onError);

Check out the source code of compass.js to see how we enabled the functionality.

We also updated the API documentation to not only include the new compass functionality but also specify which other device specific APIs can be used on webOS. The current version of the documentation is on github and will be incorporated into the next release of PhoneGap.

Enda McGrath

I’m excited to be leading our developer relations effort and I want to thank you for being the best developer community in the world, bar none. It has been a privilege working with you over the past several years and I look forward to the next chapter. Time and time again I am amazed at your loyalty, the awesome apps you publish to the catalog, the new widgets being submitted to the Enyo gallery, and the contributions from the open source community (among your many other attributes).

For those of you that I haven’t worked with in a support capacity, I look forward to meeting you and getting as much feedback as my inbox can handle.

I first joined Palm at the end of 2000 when they acquired a startup I was working at, ThinAir Apps. At the time I was an application developer creating 3rd party apps for PalmOS, the most successful of which was for weightwatchers.com. Since then, I’ve filled a few different roles as the company has evolved, and I’ve enjoyed every one of them.

About 6 years ago I found my home in Developer Relations as a Developer Technical Support engineer and eventually rose to become head of DTS. Initially I worked on the Folio project and then the conception and birth of webOS. Here in Developer Relations, the people on the team are amazing; many of the engineers come from the community and are passionate about webOS (as are the marketing folks who do equally great work).

We have started hiring again, too, so check out our current openings if you’re interested in joining the team!

As you can see, I’m excited, the team is excited, and we plan to build on our vibrant and passionate community. Together we will achieve something special… here is to the future and the promise it holds!

The new reporting system provides the ability to compare downloads to updates as well as show developers the number of active devices with their apps installed.

Developers can filter by installed version number and date range. Reports can be grouped by day, week or month. At release, there will be about two weeks worth of data in the new system. These improved reports should make it easier for developers to keep track of their app downloads.

With the new privacy policy option developers whose apps collect personal data can now include a URL that points to their privacy policy. The URL is entered in the Tax/Legal section of the app submission process. Additionally, developers can specify a company privacy policy by editing their account details and including a link to the policy in the Company section. Developers should review the applicable laws to see if a privacy policy is required.

We’re always striving to improve the developer experience on webOS. If you have suggestions you would like to share with us, please visit our forums.

This past weekend (April 20-21) fellow Developer Relations member Roy Sutton and I were proud to represent Enyo at the RVA Hackathon in Richmond, VA. This was a free, 24 hour event for developers of all kinds to come together and work on various projects. The event started on Friday evening and lasted throughout the night and into the next evening.

On Saturday morning, we teamed with Arthur Thornton – a name familiar in the Enyo community and creator of several popular webOS apps – to take on the task of helping him create an audio identification app. The goal for the day was to create an Enyo-based application that would successfully run on the TouchPad and could be easily packaged for multiple platforms.

Things got started as Arthur began setting up the server required to perform the back-end audio fingerprinting/matching, while Roy and I worked on the core functionality. By lunchtime we had the server responding to service calls, local databases created, and much of the core functionality working. After some chicken tacos, we powered on for a few hours: adding missing features, fixing inevitable bugs, and chugging copious amounts of Red Bull. A couple hours before the event was officially over, we had an app that could record audio, match the audio fingerprint, and save that item to your history.

The only real technical issue we experienced was with the free audio-fingerprinting service that was used, which failed to match as many songs as we expected. However, there are other paid audio-fingerprinting services available that promise more success, so this issue could be resolved without too much of a headache.

When it was all said and done, we had a working proof-of-concept that took around eight hours to complete. I’m once again surprised by how quickly an Enyo app can come together. So, what are you doing with your day?

In addition, we are pleased to announce early delivery of the System Manager Bus (which was originally scheduled for July) and a release of three policy components based on our Platform Portability Layer. We’re happy to be ahead of schedule in getting this component of the Open webOS platform into your hands.

Node.js is a JavaScript platform for deploying event-driven applications. It also forms the backbone for writing services in Open webOS. The code available from this release includes the bindings necessary to access the System Manager Bus.

The System Manager Bus, also known as Luna-service2, implements the Inter-Process Communications (IPC) mechanism used by Open webOS. Included with the release are utilities for monitoring and debugging. More information is available here. We were pleased to have this piece ready ahead of schedule so we’re making it available to the community.

The three system policy components included in this release are Powerd, Sleepd, and Storaged. Each is implemented using our Platform Portability Layer and demonstrates how to interface to system devices. More information is available on the Systems Policy Components page.

The Enyo team has been hard at work. This latest release of Enyo includes a number of new features including the new List widget. Also, the Ares 2 repo is now public. Head over to enyojs.com for more on both Enyo and Ares.

Finally, as with other Open webOS components, you can find all the source online and detailed information at the project Web site. Keep the feedback, pull requests, comments, and ideas coming. Open webOS is already a better platform from the contributions the community has made!

The first change allows developers to see app reviews for their apps within the Developer Center. Developers can view the reviews by version, date, or rating. With this new feature developers will be better able to monitor user sentiment and quickly determine if updates are producing the desired effect.

The second change allows for shorter promo codes. These new ‘printable’ promo codes are easier for users to type than the traditional ‘secure’ promo codes. Developers can now choose the type of promo codes they generate depending upon how the codes will be distributed.

We continue to work on the Developer Center to improve the usefulness for developers. We know how important good tools are for engaging and retaining customers. We look forward to introducing even more features in the future. If you would like to discuss the new features please visit this post in the forum.

The Linux Foundation has completed the Android mainlining, and LSK3.3 will support all Android drivers as well as traditional Linux Drivers. We expect to see other companies adopt this kernel as the standard.

In conjunction with this, we are releasing today our platform portability layer, code-named “Nyx Project” which will work with the new LSK. We are also releasing this week our USB extensions and graphics extensions. Next week, we plan to go public with our LevelDB integration. We’ll have more information on that when it goes out.

In administrative news, we are naming Damian Kowalewski leader of the Project Management Committee for our Core OS project.

And with that,  we will have met our roadmap commitments for March.

We are also excited to announce a new website dedicated to Open webOS, openwebosproject.org. We will soon host a new blog on that site, and you can look for subsequent blog posts from me there.

Sam

This time, I chat with myself. Meet Fred Patton, Head of Developer Relations and Editor-in-Chief of the webOS Developer Center.

Let’s start with what you do on the Developer Relations Team.

Currently I am managing day-to-day operations of the DevRel team. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the webOS Developer Center and run the developer blog there. I also manage the @webosdev and @openwebosdev Twitter feeds in addition to my own personal feed, @MotoFredP.

What brought you to webOS in the first place?

I’ve always been a gadget guy. My first pocket computer was a Radio Shack PC-1, which I bought new in 1980-81. I used it to great effect in high school physics! 1.5k of RAM. Yippee! (Yes, I still have it and the cassette interface module.)

Once I saw webOS in action, I knew I wanted to be involved with it. I wasn’t sure where I’d fit in, but Ben and Dion (former directors of Dev Rel) got their hands on my resume and brought me in to run the developer website. I was thrilled!

What’s your background?

I started off in software, developing command and control software for Air Force and NASA satellites. I discovered that I had a knack for explaining what the Air Force guys wanted to the software folks and vice versa. This led me in to the discipline known as Systems Engineering, which has colored everything I’ve done since.

I’ve also been the Director of Quality and the Director of Engineering at a small industrial robotics company. I started out developing a quality system for them, writing test automation software, doing failure analysis, etc. I also wrote user and developer documentation, and helped customers optimize their setup to take full advantage of the robot’s capabilities. I even learned a bit of machining and fabricated the occasional part!

One of my proudest moments there was the development of a new handheld terminal to drive the robot in manual mode. I took a page from Palm’s early days and made a wood mockup and paper screens. When my relatives could easily figure out how to drive the robot, I knew I had a winner.

I like to think that this broad range of interests has given me the ability to look at problems from everybody’s perspective. I have a real appreciation for the issues facing developers picking up a new API, as well as from the standpoint of the developers creating the API.

How do you see the Developer Relations role maturing as webOS enters the Open Source era?

I’m very excited about the possibilities. We’re opening up webOS to a new group of developers, those who work on much more low-level software than was previously available. They speak a different language, and have different expectations in terms of documentation, access, engagement, etc. I’m really looking forward to getting to know this community better. It’s going to be an exciting journey!

We are publishing this legacy code to provide members of our community around the globe the ability to work with legacy devices using the current platform. One of our core values is that as many components of future and legacy operating systems should be open to the community. We value the contributions the webOS community has made over the past few years, and hope that this additional release will help you better understand the platform and create a constructive environment for moving forward as Open webOS itself is released.

On a scheduling note, we have also been informed that the Linux 3.3 kernel has produced a seventh release candidate. There have been many patches in the area of networking, drivers, management, and memory, and it looks like it may be ready for release by the end of the month. We will stick to our schedule of releasing our abstraction layer and components in the next few days in anticipation of the release of Linux 3.3. You should be able to work with it on any standard Linux kernel (e.g., Ubuntu or Debian-based) for now.

We remain committed to the Open webOS roadmap and are very pleased by the community interest we’ve seen so far. Thanks for your continued support!

Have you signed up yet for the March 4th Enyo Virtual Hackathon? There will be live physical presences in NYC (hosted at Pivotal Labs’ NYC headquarters), Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Oklahoma City, but you can also participate virtually from anywhere! Should be a great time. Big thanks to the NYC webOS Developer/Enthusiast Meetup group for putting it together. Awesome job, guys!