Ebook: Programming the Mobile Web

The purpose of this book is to identify best practices when creating web applications that will be consumed by mobile web browsers. It not only does an excellent job outlining those best practices, but it's incredibly up to date in its content. Not only is there information related to "retina display" available in iPhone 4, but there is also a brief discussion about how Palm has been purchased by HP (both events occurred only a few months ago).

The book begins by providing the most comprehensive discussion of mobile browsers that I've ever seen. The author furthers this discussion throughout the book by providing some of the most detailed information on the compatibility between these various mobile browsers and the standards that each one supports. The book warrants a purchase simply for this information alone.

The author continues by providing examples of supported doctypes, coding markup, and CSS. The author demonstrates CSS differences between the major mobile browsers, and demonstrates some libraries to make web applications look more like native applications.

There is a lot of attention given to Safari, and rightly so, since it is one of the most popular mobile browsers available. However, the reader should be prepared for this fact.

All in all, I found this to be a terrific reference to the state of mobile browsers and a great reference to assist in maximizing compatibility among mobile browsers. I'd highly recommend this for any developer who is creating mobile web applications. By following the guidelines outlined in this book, your applications will be able to effectively reach the largest mobile population possible.