Using Cordova Plugins

This Technote explains how to use the PhoneGap API from App Studio programs. PhoneGap provides some function calls which are not available from App Studio. Here are some of the functions which can be done with PhoneGap. The full list is here.

Depending on platform, these can include:

• Camera
• Compass
• Contacts
• Device Information

Files

The easiest way to compile your app using PhoneGap is to use the Build Native App on the Run menu. For more information on installing and compiling with PhoneGap, see these two tutorials:

• Using PhoneGap to create an iOS App
• Using PhoneGap to create an Android .apk App

In the Technote, we'll look at sample code for 3 of these areas. That should be enough to get you started on the others. You can only do limited testing on the desktop for these API functions, since they are are not available on the deaktop. Use "Start in Desktop Browser" to check the layout of your form, but do not expect any of the PhoneGap API functions to work.

If you are using the PhoneGap, add this line to your project's extraheaders property.

   <script src="phonegap.js"></script>

If you are using PhoneGap API, you also need to download the latest version of PhoneGap, rename phonegap-n.x.x.js to phonegap.js and put it in your project folder.

Device Information

PhoneGap adds a new runtime object called device which holds useful information about the device. The elements of it are:

device.name	The name of the device, i.e. "Bob's iPhone".
device.phonegap	The version of PhoneGap.
device.platform	The type of device, i.e. "iPhone"
device.uuid	The unique number of the device.
device.Version	The version of the OS that is running.

Here is some sample code:

Function butGetInfo_onclick()
  s="Device Name:" & device.name & vbCRLF
  s=s & "PhoneGap Version:" & device.cordova & vbCRLF
  s=s & "Platform:" & device.platform & vbCRLF
  s=s & "UUID:" & device.uuid & vbCRLF
  s=s & "OS Version:" & device.version
  Textarea1.value=s
End Function

PhoneGap has additional documentation here. Be sure to read what quirks each device has.

Camera

The Camera API will return a picture from the camera, the photolibrary, or a saved photo album. It can return the picture as a file URI or as a base64 encoded string. Start by setting the options:

quality	Integer from 0 to 100.
destinationType	0: base64 encoded string, 1: file URI
sourceType	0: Photo Library, 1: camera, 2: Photo Album
allowEdit	Allow simple editing. true or false.

You will also need to define a function to be called when the operation is complete, as well as a function in case the call fails. In the following sample, we set up the options, then call navigator.camera.getPicture. Following that, we have the functions for successful and unsuccessful returns.

Function butTakePicture_onclick()
  options={quality : 75, _
    destinationType : 1, _
    sourceType : 1, _
    allowEdit: true}
  navigator.camera.getPicture(onPictureReturned, onPictureError, options)
End Function

Function onPictureReturned(ImageURI)
  Image1.firstChild.src=ImageURI
End Function

Function onPictureError(message)
  MsgBox "Failed because " & message
End Function

PhoneGap has additional documentation here. Be sure to read what quirks each device has.

Contacts

With PhoneGap, you can find or create contacts. This sample will look up everyone in the Contacts list named "Bob". First, we need to set up our options. We'll create a ContactFindOptions object, then set its filter property to "bob". Next, we specify which fields we want to look for in the fields variable. The list of fields is here.

You will also need to define a function to be called when the operation is complete, as well as a function in case the call fails. We can then call navigator.contacts.find.

The call to .find will return an array with 1 element for each name that matched. You can see how many matches there were in contacts.length. Here is how the code looks:

Function butContacts_onclick()
  options = new ContactFindOptions()
  options.filter="bob"  'nothing will return if you don't have a bob.
  options.multiple=True
  fields = ["displayName", "name"]
  navigator.contacts.find(fields, onContactsFound, onContactsError, options)
End Function

Function onContactsFound(contacts)
  s=""
  For i = 0 To contacts.length -1
    s=s & contacts[i].name.formatted & vbCRLF
  Next
  Textarea1.value=s
End Function

Function onContactsError(message)
  MsgBox "Failed because " & message
End Function

PhoneGap has additional documentation here. Be sure to read what quirks each device has.

Plug Ins

PhoneGap is designed so third party plugins can be added which add additional API functions. These can be called from App Studio. Use Google to find what is available. Let us know which ones work for you so we can make a list of them here.