Skip Objective-C and Java to get your app to market faster, using the skills you already have Building Cross-Platform Apps using Titanium, Alloy, and Appcelerator Cloud Services shows you how to build cross-platform iOS and Android apps without learning Objective-C or Java. With detailed guidance given toward using the Titanium Mobile Platform and Appcelerator Cloud Services, you will quickly develop the skills to build real, native apps— not web apps—using existing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript know-how. This guide takes you step-by-step through the creation of a photo-sharing app that leverages the power of Appcelerator's cloud platform, and establishes fundamental concepts before adding advanced techniques. Coverage extends beyond the development process to include expert advice for deployment on the App Store or Google Play, and more. The mobile app market is estimated at over $2.4 billion per year. These apps were traditionally built using Objective-C or Java, which can be complex and daunting to learn. Now you can use JavaScript on the Titanium framework to build amazing apps that run native on iOS and Android devices, and get your app to market faster with this guide. Integrate Cloud Services APIs into the app framework and UI Set up user accounts, and capture and store photos Work with location-based services and share via social media Deploy on the App Store, Google Play, and more When a great idea is in the works, no one wants to put it on hold to learn an entirely new skillset. Now there's an alternative. Get that app to market fast, using existing skills and powerful new tools, and grab a piece of that multi-billion-dollar market. Building Cross-Platform Apps using Titanium, Alloy, and Appcelerator Cloud Services is your ticket to the front of the line.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 Installing and Configuring Appcelerator 3 Setting Up Titanium 3 Installing Titanium on the Mac 4 Installing Titanium Studio IDE 4 Installing Xcode 7 Installing the iOS Simulator 9 Installing the Titanium Command-Line Interface to Use an Alternate IDE 10 Installing the Android SDK 10 Installing Titanium Studio on Windows 11 Installing Titanium Studio 11 Installing Android SDK 13 Summary 14 CHAPTER 2 Introducing Appcelerator Cloud Services 15 Using the Appcelerator Cloud Services Console 17 Using Appcelerator Cloud Services REST API 25 Installing curl on a Device 26 Simple Test with the REST API 26 Integrating Appcelerator Cloud Services 31 Simple Example of Integrating Appcelerator Cloud Services 34 Summary 42 CHAPTER 3 Appcelerator Titanium Alloy Overview 43 Understanding the Model-View-Controller (MVC) Framework 44 Using Appcelerator Alloy with the MVC Framework 47 Backbone.js 50 Backbone.js in Alloy: Models and Collections 50 Using Sync Adapters 54 Basic Sync Adapter Construction 54 Backbone Model Events 55 Model-View Data Binding 56 Demo Project for Model View Binding 56 Creating the Model File 57 Creating the Collection Object 64 Data Binding with Models in Appcelerator Titanium Alloy 69 Updating the cars.js Controller File 69 Creating the New Controller/View for the Detail Display 70 Completing the Controller for the Detail View 71 Creating Widgets 74 Creating a More Complex Widget 78 Summary 80 CHAPTER 4 Building a Cross-Platform Social Photo-Sharing Application 81 Using Balsamiq to Design Mockups 81 Walking Through the Phone-Sharing App 89 User Accounts 90 Camera 90 Photo Uploading 90 Social Integration with Facebook 91 Finding Friends 91 Commenting and Rating of Media 91 Push Notifications 92 Application Flow 92 Summary 92 CHAPTER 5 Development Process for Cross-Platform Apps 93 Creating the Project for This Chapter 93 Preconfiguring Appcelerator Cloud Services 96 Creating the User Interface 99 Creating the Tab Group Files 99 Enabling the Camera Functionality on the Feed Tab 104 Adding a Custom Table Row to TableView 106 Integrating the Camera Functionality into the Application 109 Accessing the Device Camera in Appcelerator 109 Adding Camera API Calls to Feed Controller 110 Revisiting the FeedRow Controller 111 Revisiting the Feed Controller to Add the Rows to the Table 112 Adding Some Style to the Feed Table 112 Using the Android ActionBar for the Camera Button 114 Setting Up the index.xml View to Support the ActionBar 115 Modifying the index.xml View to Support the ActionBar 115 Adding the Alloy Sync Adapter and Appcelerator Cloud Services 116 Creating the User Model 116 Extending Alloy Models 117 Logging the User In 117 Creating Appcelerator Cloud Service Sync Adapter 120 Creating the Photo Model 121 Modifying the ACS Sync Adapter to Support the Photo Model 122 Model and Sync Adapter Working Together 124 Summary 134 CHAPTER 6 Integrating Comments 135 Creating the Comment Table View Layout 135 Rendering the Rows Using a Different View and Controller 136 Styling the Views to Match the Mockups 137 Adding Logic to the Controllers 139 Calling the New Controller from feed.js 139 Coding the comment.js Controller 140 Cross-Platform Support in Comment View 140 Coding the commentRow Controller 142 Adding Models and Collections for Querying Comments 142 Finishing the Comment Controllers 146 The commentRow Controller 147 Connecting the Dots… Showing the Comment List 148 Back to the feed and feedRow Controllers 149 Adding a New Comment to a Photo 152 Creating a New Comment Controller and View 152 Adding Code to the Comment Input Controller 154 Back to the Comment.js Controller 157 Saving the Comment and Updating the Table 158 Deleting Comments 163 Summary 166 CHAPTER 7 Integrating User Accounts with Appcelerator Cloud Services 167 Adding the Login User Interface 167 Updating the User Model 177 User Create Account Method 178 User Logout Method 179 Additional User Management Methods 180 Updating the Index Controller 181 Set Up the Basics in the Index Controller 181 Creating the Login Controller 184 Logging in the User 185 Creating the User Account 186 Using Facebook for Account Creation 188 Setting Up an Application to Use the Facebook Module 188 Facebook Button in the login.xml File 189 Facebook Method in the User Model 189 Facebook Handler in Login Controller 190 Updating User with Facebook Information 194 Check for Facebook Authentication on Startup 195 Logging Out of Facebook 196 Summary 196 CHAPTER 8 Working with Friends and Followers 197 Creating the CommonJS Library in Alloy 197 Adding the Code 198 Adding the Friends User Interface 200 Finishing Up the ListView with Style 205 Introduction to Appcelerator Cloud Services Friends Object 208 Modifying the ACS Sync Adapter to Support User Queries 209 Modifying the ACS Sync Adapter to Support Friends 210 Creating the Friend Relationship 211 Finding Friend Relationships Based on a User’s ID 212 Removing Friend Relationships from a User 212 Extending the User Model to Support User-Specific Friends Functionality 213 Integrating ListView Data-Binding with Friends Collections 216 Revisiting the friends.xml File 216 Integrating ListView Data-Binding with the Friends Controller 217 Displaying All Users 218 Displaying the Friends List 221 Working with User and Friends Lists 223 Removing a Friend from the Friends List 226 Updating the Application to Be Friend- and Location-Aware 227 Summary 228 CHAPTER 9 Working with Maps and Locations 229 Associating GPS Information When Saving a Photo 229 Modifying the Photo Model 229 Getting GPS Information from a Device 230 Creating a CommonJS Library for Geolocation 230 Updating the Feed Controller to Add Location to a Photo 233 Displaying the Photo Location on a Map 235 Android Support for Google Maps v2 235 Adding the Map Component to MapView XML 238 Displaying a Map of Photos Near Your Location 245 Querying ACS Photo Objects Using Your Current Location 246 Updating the User Interface to Show a Map View 247 Changes in the feed.js Controller 251 Responding to Clicks on Map Annotations 256 Summary 264 CHAPTER 10 Sharing via Facebook, Email, and Twitter 265 Creating the CommonJS Library for Sharing Functions 265 Facebook Permissions and Reauthorization 269 Sharing to the Facebook Wall 271 Sharing to the Facebook Album 273 Revisiting and Refactoring the Progress Window Library 276 Sharing to a Facebook Album 279 Sharing an Image as an Email Attachment 280 Twitter Integration with the social.js Module 284 Setting Up Your Twitter Developer Account 285 Adding social.js to Your Project 285 Adding the shareImage Function 285 Including the social.js Library in the Application 287 Adding Functionality to the sharing.js Library 288 Summary 290 CHAPTER 11 Push Notifications 291 Setting Up Push Notifications on Your Development Platform 292 Apple Push Notifications Configuration 292 Google Push Notifications Configuration 292 Configuring Push Notifications in Appcelerator Cloud Services 292 Creating the Push Notifications Library in an Application 293 Creating the pushNotifications.js Library 295 Getting the iOS Token 295 Getting the Android Token 297 Registering Callbacks 298 Integrating Push in Your Application 300 Registering for Push Notifications When the User Logs In 301 Sending Notifications Using the Appcelerator Cloud Services Console 303 Sending a Push Notification 304 Sending a Notification When Posting a Photo 306 Sending a Notification When Commenting on Photos 308 Sending a Notification When Adding a New Friend 310 Unregistering from Push Notifications When Logging Out 312 Further Integration of Push Notifications in Your Application 313 Summary 314 CHAPTER 12 Settings and User Management 315 Getting Started: View, Style, Controller 315 Editing the View 316 Editing the User Information in the Header Section 316 Editing the User Information Style 317 Handling Logout on Android and iOS 321 Logging the User Out 323 Logging Out of Appcelerator Push Notifications 323 Logging Out from Appcelerator Cloud Services 324 Logging Out from Social Media 324 Returning to the Login Screen 324 Setting the User’s Profile Picture 325 Adding a Few Performance Enhancements 329 Returning to the Feed Controller for Performance and UI Enhancement 333 Additional Information from the User Account 335 Adding Content to the Main View in the Settings Tab 337 Platform-Specific User Interface for Switch Control 338 Handling the Switch Initialization Values 341 Displaying Push Notification Status 344 Changing the Push Notification Status 346 Summary 347 CHAPTER 13 Going to Market: Deploying to the App Store and to Google Play 349 Process Overview 349 Registering for a Developer Account 349 Signing Your Application 349 Creating an App Record and Filling Out Metadata 350 Publishing Your Binary to the Store 350 iOS App Store Submission Process 350 Signing Up for an iOS Developer Account 350 Signing Your iOS Application 350 Creating an iTunes Connect Record 351 Publishing from Titanium Studio 351 Uploading Your Binary to the App Store 355 Google Play Submission Process 356 Signing Up for a Google Play Developer Account 356 Generating a Keystore for Publishing 358 Publishing to Google Play 359 Summary 362 Index 363