1 Overview of Oracle ADF Mobile Browser

This chapter provides an overview of Oracle Application Development Framework Mobile (ADF Mobile) browser.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Section 1.1, "About ADF Mobile Browser"
Section 1.2, "Supported Mobile Browser Features"

1.1 About ADF Mobile Browser

Oracle Application Development Framework Mobile (ADF Mobile) browser enables you to create browser-based, enterprise mobile applications that adapt to the requirements of the mobile browsers used on different types of smartphones and feature phones. Using ADF Mobile's standards-based framework, you can, for example, create web applications that enable users to approve expense reports, or search corporate contact information using a smartphone. Because ADF Mobile browser provides automatic detection and delivery of content based on both the form factor of the mobile phone itself and the capabilities of its mobile browser, you need only build the application once before you deploy it. In other words, because ADF Mobile browser applications are compatible with many mobile browsers, you do not have to focus on the limitations of any particular mobile browser.

Note:

To learn more about ADF Mobile browser and Oracle's mobile strategy, see the Oracle ADF Mobile browser page on Oracle Technology Network (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/index.html).

The ADF Mobile browser renderer ensures that contents can be consumed correctly by the target browser. It not only handles variations in browser-specific implementations of HTML, JavaScript, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), DOM (Document Object Model), and the XMLHttpRequest (XHR) API, but variations in system performance as well. If, for example, a browser does not support the XMLHttpRequest interface and is incapable of posting a partial-page request to a server, ADF Mobile browser enables the application to revert automatically to a full-page submit so that the page functions properly.

1.1.1 How ADF Mobile Browser Improves Application Performance

The ADF Mobile browser renderer is optimized to improve performance by minimizing the payload of the web page that is sent over the wireless network to the mobile phone. In mobile environments with high-latency and low-bandwidth wireless networks, Partial Page Rendering (PPR) is essential in providing an optimal end user experience. For mobile browsers that support AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), ADF Mobile browser supports PPR for certain components, which minimizes the amount of data requested from the server and improves application responsiveness. See also Section 3.1.2, "Partial Page Rendering."

Note:

Although ADF Mobile leverages AJAX features in smartphone browsers, it also degrades gracefully to support plain HTML browsers.

1.1.2 About Java Server Faces and the Application Development Framework

Java Server Faces (JSF) is a standard specified by JSR-127 that enables you to create applications using pre-built components that define functionality and behavior. As illustrated in Figure 1-1, JSF provides a Model-View-Controller (MVC) mechanism that simplifies the development of web applications. Its renderkit converts components both to, and from, a specific markup language. The kit's renderers generate markup that represents components and how they interpret browser requests.

JSF development focuses on components, not markup. Using JSF, you create a JSP page containing JSF component tags. When a user visits this page (through the FacesServlet), JSF uses the renderkit specified by the user's device to encode the markup to the appropriate output. For example, if the user's device specifies HTML for a desktop browser, then the renderkit's markup encoding results in an HTML page. In addition to rendering appropriate content, JSF supports user interaction.

Figure 1-1 ADF Mobile Architecture

This image is described in the surrounding text

Application Development Framework (ADF) is built on the standard JSF technology and provides the following:

A large component set (because JSF provides only basic components).
Renderers that support these components in HTML browsers, including a rich renderkit for applications using AJAX technologies.
Converters, validators, and events.

1.1.3 Developing Mobile Applications Using ADF Mobile Browser

Because ADF Mobile browser is built upon the component model of Java Server Faces (JSF), you can quickly develop applications for mobile browsers. Its mobile-specific extensions to JSF enable you to develop mobile applications using the same methodologies for developing JSF applications for the desktop (or tablet), as described in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developing Web User Interfaces with Oracle ADF Faces.

Note:

ADF Mobile browser applications are intended to run on the mobile browsers used by smartphones or feature phones. They are not intended to run on desktop browsers.

ADF Mobile browser application development is almost identical to ADF web application development, except that you construct the application's JSF pages from Apache MyFaces Trinidad components^Foot 1. ADF Mobile provides a rich component set by supporting more than 60 Apache MyFaces Trinidad components.

Note:

You cannot use ADF Faces Rich Client components to develop an ADF Mobile browser application. You must use Apache MyFaces Trinidad components.

The mobile-optimized style sheets that are automatically included in the ADF Mobile browser project ensure that each of the components render appropriately to the device's browser. You can extend a desktop browser application to run on a smartphone or feature phone by reusing its model and controller layers and assembling a new view layer using the Apache MyFaces Trinidad counterparts to the ADF Faces components. For more information, see Section 2.2, "Configuring the ADF Mobile Browser Development Environment" and Section 4.2, "Implementing ADF Mobile Browser Skinning."

1.2 Supported Mobile Browser Features

ADF Mobile supports different types of touch-screen user interfaces, such as those used on Android- and iOS-powered smartphones. For the latter, ADF Mobile's support of Apple standards provides a native iOS user experience. Table 1-1 lists the mobile browsers and features that ADF Mobile supports.

Note:

ADF Mobile browser requires HTML and JavaScript support. See Chapter 5, "Supporting Basic HTML Mobile Browsers."

Table 1-1 Supported Browsers and Supported Mobile Features

Browser	JavaScript Support	CSS Support	PPR Support
Android Webkit	Yes	Yes	Yes
Apple iPhone Safari	Yes	Yes	Yes
Blackberry versions 4.2 through 4.5	No	Yes	No
BlackBerry version 4.6 and later	Yes	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5	Yes	Yes	Yes (with nuances)
Microsoft Windows Mobile 6	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nokia s60 series	Yes	Yes	No
Plain HTML (such as Opera Mini, Opera Mobile and Skyfire)	No	Yes	No

Footnote Legend

Footnote 1: The Apache MyFaces Trinidad component set is the first-generation set of ADF Faces components that were donated to the Apache Software Foundation.