BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Smartphones

These release notes are for BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Smartphones 2.3.1.

New in this release

Feature Description

support for asynchronous dialogs

You can now use the standardAskAsync and customAskAsync functions with the Dialog API.

general enhancements

This release includes numerous enhancements and fixes over the previous release.

Features

Feature Description

compile and run BlackBerry WebWorks applications

You can compile BlackBerry WebWorks applications from a command prompt and run them using the BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator.

customize applications

You can customize many aspects of your applications by adding foreground and background colors, adding screen transitions, custom icons, and changing the default behavior of the Back button on a BlackBerry device. You can also specify whether the application will run in portrait or landscape orientation.

set application permissions

You can use permissions to enable access to external features and domains, to add functionality to your applications.

produce output for distribution

The BlackBerry WebWorks Packager produces output that you can use to distribute your applications over the wireless network, on a webpage, from the BlackBerry App World storefront, or directly to a BlackBerry device that is attached to a computer.

use JavaScript extensions

You can create JavaScript extensions to enhance your applications by adding them to the application archive before you compile the application source. You can change and distribute these extensions.

remote Web Inspector support for BlackBerry 7.0 devices and simulators

You can debug a WebWorks application using the remote WebKit Web Inspector feature.

You can connect remotely to a WebWorks application on a Wi-Fi connected device.

When you package your application, you can enable access to information about elements in the application. You can display this information by using a desktop browser that uses Web Inspector functionality (such as Google Chrome or Safari) and accessing the application information directly on the BlackBerry smartphone.

open source support

The BlackBerry WebWorks Packager is available on GitHub. You can view and change the BlackBerry WebWorks Packager and contribute to the open source community.

HTTP BASIC/NTLM authentication

When your application uses a BlackBerry Enterprise Server connection, users are prompted for credentials. Basic Authentication is based on NTLM authentication.

support for BlackBerry services

The BlackBerry WebWorks SDK is architected to support BlackBerry Services APIs in future releases.

navigation mode

You can specify navigation mode to use focus-based navigation in your application, and to set the order in which focus is given to each element on the screen.

communication transports

You can override the default order of the communication transports that your application uses.

Auto injection of HTML5 to Gears shim

BlackBerry 5.0 devices will automatically insert JavaScript that maps HTML5 functionality to Google Gears, allowing you to write code that is supported by BlackBerry 5.0 to 7.0.

side by side installation

You can install multiple versions of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK on the same computer.

Mac OS support

You can install the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Mac OS X.

In-App Payment service APIs

You can include in-App payment services as part of your application.

BBM APIs

You can access BlackBerry Messenger functionality from your BlackBerry WebWorks application.

Fixed issues

  • Ajax requests, particularly for larger files, no longer result in a low memory dialog box prompting you to remove the request. (2604470)

  • On devices running BlackBerry Device Software 5.0, the value returned by blackberry.ui.dialog.selectAsync() can now be used as a true JavaScript array. (2515661)

Known issues

Issue

Workaround

On devices running BlackBerry Device Software 5.0, elements that have been disabled using the disabled attribute remain enabled, when Navigation mode is enabled. (2610358)

None

The BlackBerry WebWorks SDK does not support gzip content compression. As a result, remote pages that use gzip compression will load more slowly than intended. (2600227)

None

When Navigation mode is enabled, scrolling through side-by-side frames occurs in the incorrect order. (2529063)

Avoid using multiple frames laid out side-by-side.

On touch screen devices, Navigation mode switches to Cursor mode if you zoom out using touch gestures, and then touch the screen a second time. A pointer appears where you last touched the screen and Navigation mode is no longer enabled. (2496393)

None

Using Navigation mode, if you touch the screen outside of a field, the cursor no longer focuses on textarea or input fields. (2488554)

Touch one of the fields to re-establish its focus.

When Navigation mode is enabled, the onmousedown event does not run when you click the track pad. (2429625)

None

In the BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator for BlackBerry Bold 9930 devices, Google Chrome version 14 is unable to load and display resources in the Web Inspector. (2144088)

Upgrade or downgrade the Google Chrome browser from version 14, or use the Safari browser.

Application signing does not work properly if you are using JDK 1.7. Attempts to sign a package will fail. (2087381)

Roll back your JDK to version 1.6. Alternatively, from the bin folder of the JDK, find the msvcr100.dll file and copy it to the bbwp folder.

n BlackBerry 7, the wipeOut transition effect does not work. When you run the application, it shows the background image without a transition effect. (1912223)

None

In BlackBerry 7, some HTML DOM events are not triggered properly when small page has initial-scale=1.0 in the WebWorks viewport. (1897060)

None

Cannot shutdown 5.0 simulators in Windows 7 64-bit machines. (1492241)

5.0 simulators can be terminated through the Task Manager.

In BlackBerry 6, when navigation is enabled, focus might stop working properly on image links, and you will be unable to change focus from an image to another focusable element. On touch screen devices, you can change the focus. (1124380)

Remove spaces between the anchor (<a>,</a>) tags.