How to create a simple app using PhoneGap and HTML Editor but without using Eclipse?

Question

I am just starting off with PhoneGap. I have HTML, CSS & JavaScript knowledge.

So far, I have only installed PhoneGap & Android SDK on my Ubuntu machine.

How should I proceed from here? I do not want to use Eclipse. I would like to use text editors like Sublime to edit my HTML/CSS/JS files of the project and then upload it on PhoneGap Build to create the app.

Can someone help me with step by step instructions? I have already tried the PhoneGap's documentations and other resources online. But different websites point to different ways of doing things.

Answer 1

You can use (Command lines)

phonegap create hello com.example.hello HelloWorld

It will generate a project for you. In this project, you will have different folders. The one you're interested in is "www" which contains your index, css and js files and your config.xml.

You can start from here to create your application using any text editor.

To build this app, just zip the www folder and upload it to Phonegap build.

Hope it helps !

Answer 2

You can simply create an index.html, confix.xml, css, js files, zip and upload to PG build. I do this, and while testing I use Ripple emulator to see what the app looks like on device in my browser. The PG Build docs can help you out with your config.xml

Also, you can use a framework like jQuery Mobile to build a quick app. Search "jquery mobile phonegap tutorial" and you can get something up and running pretty quick.

Answer 3

You can use whatever text editor you want. Eclipse is one of the supported IDEs by Google. It is used to build your Android app.

You can use Phonegap Build if you want. Phonegap Build will compile your code for you. You should use this template here for your code to be run through Build.

The easiest way to use Build is to place your code in a Github Repo. Then create/login to your Build account. Then select to create an app. Build will ask you to either input your gitup link (if you added your github account info to your build account there will be a drop down you can select from) or to upload a zip file.

Build will ask what platforms you want to build for ios, android, or windows. You need a ios certificate if you want to build for ios. Android will build without a certificate. You will need to add a certificate if you want to deploy to the market.

Build will also ask if you want to enable debug and hydration. For debug you will need to add the debug plugin to your project. When you run your app on your phone you can click debug and use weinre. Hydration allows you to update your code without re-downloading your app. If you update your code and rebuild the project the next time you open your app on your phone it will ask if you want to update your app.