A practical guide for beginners and intermediate persons to learn, install, configure and build applications using the Cordova framework. This framework allows developers to craft applications for mobile and desktop environments. Mobile platforms can be Android, IOS, Windows Phone, Other Windows Mobile, Amazon Fire, FireFox OS, Chrome, Blackberry, etc. Desktop platforms shown here include Linux and Windows but applications will run on MAC as well if the developer desires.

Desktop applications covered can be developed with Visual Studio using UWP but coverage is focused on the Electron Framework for Windows, Linux and MAC and specifically for hybrid web-based applications. A web developer in particular can easily port his or her skills to Cordova and successfully build an application, with a single code-base, on all the platforms listed above.

This book shows the beginner which tools are used, which are the best, how to locate, download and install these tools, how to configure the tools for running and debugging applications on devices and emulators and finally, how to sign and deploy these applications to application stores. A Google Android release, which typically has the most steps, is covered in detail.

In addition to this, developers and prospective developers get a tutorial on the GIT version control system and the SmartGit application as well as a tutorial on Visual Studio Code. Instructions are provided for Windows and Linux with references for MAC. Resources are added so that developers can learn HTML, JAVA, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript and other technologies easily and at their leisure.

We are also providing a fully-functional Lap Timer application as a means of illustrating building a professional application from scratch. Developers learn to design, debug and package applications so they can target all stores. This application fully illustrates the following concepts:

Who is this book for?: Beginners attempting to figure out how to build a mobile application for any of the main platforms, Web Developers that perhaps have not yet taken the step to develop a mobile app, Windows developers that want to port their web apps to Linux, Linux Developers trying to get some desktop apps across platforms, intermediate or advanced developers that may not have used these technologies yet.

What does the book cover?: Cordova (PhoneGap) from zero to one hundred percent for beginning programmers. GIT and SmartGit to help manage versions. Visual Studio Code as your main development environment. Electron in the end to show you how to port from Cordova to Electron.

What does the book not Cover?: I will not be teaching you to program. I have included very good teching references that will teach you the programming languages you do not know like JavaScript or TypeScript. You are not expected to be a programming ace but some minimum knowledge is needed. If you do not have it, you can use my resources to learn and then return to a chapter.

Is there a useful sample app included?: Yes, I took the code out of one of my store apps and revamped it so that it would suit this book. The entire code is included and you can also download it here (title of this page).

How can I click hyperlinks on a printed book?: You cannot! The printed book is for convenience. Use the PDF or Kindle version to access the hyperlinks. The printed book is a companion to the PDF and not viceversa.