Press releases

Palm webOS--New from O'Reilly: The Insider's Guide to Developing Applications in JavaScript using the Palm Mojo Framework

Press release: August 11, 2009

Sebastopol, CA—Palm webOS is Palm's next generation operating system. Designed around a fast and beautiful user experience and optimized for the multitasking user, webOS integrates the power of a window-based operating system with the simplicity of a browser. Its applications are built using standard web technologies and languages, but have access to device-based services and data.

Written by Mitch Allen, Palm's software chief technology officer, along with the Palm webOS development team, Palm webOS (O'Reilly, US $44.99) is the official guide to building native JavaScript applications for Palm webOS. The book provides a complete tutorial on the design principles, architecture, UI, tools, and services necessary to develop webOS applications—including the Mojo JavaScript framework and Palm's SDK.

"We're at a significant moment in the evolution of computing," says Allen. "We are seeing the next generation web emerge as the mobile web and a key driver of the mobile web will be the new applications that can be built on webOS and other web-enabled platforms like it. These applications are ‘smart’ applications that can access data anytime and anywhere, and interpret that data by the user’s personal information and preferences. This new generation will provide a whole new way of interacting with computers, the Internet and our communities."

According to Allen, the webOS SDK was released just over three weeks ago and tens of thousands of developers have downloaded the SDK and are already building applications for it. "With any new platform, it’s always difficult to get started," says Allen. "This book will help any developer get the basics about webOS and learn what they need to be productive writing applications in a very short time."

If you're familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you're ready to build applications for any webOS-based device, including the Palm Pre. Palm webOS will help you gain expertise, chapter by chapter, as you build a working mobile application through the course of the book. You'll also learn how to extend existing web apps to work with the new generation of mobile phones.

  • Get a thorough overview of the webOS platform and architecture
  • Understand the critical concepts for application design: what separates webOS from other web and mobile platforms
  • Learn the details of Mojo's development tools and SDK for building and testing mobile applications
  • Examine best practices, important considerations, and guiding principles for developing with webOS and the Mojo framework

Mitch Allen has been the driving force for webOS, and he realizes that developers want more than an assortment of simple 'Hello World' examples. Get this book, get the SDK, and start writing webOS applications.
– Greg Stevenson, Sierra Blanco Systems, preDevCamp Global Organizer

For a review copy or more information please email kathrynb@oreilly.com Please include your delivery address and contact information.

Mitch Allen is CTO of Software at Palm, Inc. where he has worked in various positions for 8 years starting with building and leading the software team at Handspring which conceived and developed the Treo smartphone. From webOS's conception to implementation, Mitch designed the early architecture of the webOS platform and led the development team through the initial design stage and as a result is intimately familiar with the capabilities of the platform and tools.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596155254

Palm webOS
Mitch Allen
ISBN: 9780596155254, 456 pages,
Book Price: $44.99 USD, £34.50 GBP
Ebook Price: $27.99 USD

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