iOS 5.0 update fixes WebCenter Spaces mobile Safari issues
By: Nick Olmsted
Before the latest iOS 5.0 release the only way to view your WebCenter Spaces application without getting javascript errors was through the
Spaces native iPhone app available on iTunes. This worked great but it didn’t allow you to share that custom Spaces template you have spent so much time on. Apple must have beefed up the javascript engine within the Safari mobile browser with the latest iOS 5.0 update. With the update you should now be able to navigate to your WebCenter Spaces 11g application and be able to view it within the mobile Safari browser without any javascript errors (excluding any
customizations). All of the Spaces functionality should now work within the mobile Safari browser such as your space’s wikis, blogs, announcements,
discussions, and viewing content. Hopefully now that Apple has updated their mobile javascript engine the other major mobile platform browsers will follow
suit.
Now that we have the mobile browser support (at least on iOS devices) the next step we will be doing in our implementation is applying some
changes to our custom template to maximize the viewing experience on an iPad. To accomplish this we will be using CSS3 media queries and adaptive design
techniques. Using CSS3 media queries we will be able to keep a single template and adjust the styles being used based on the end user’s device (i.e. Desktop,
phone, tablet). They will then get a viewing experience that will match that device and allow users to get at the functionality easily within the site independent
of the device used.
Here are some useful links on CSS3 media quires and adaptive design:
http://code.google.com/p/css3-mediaqueries-js/
http://richardshepherd.com/css-media-queries-jquery/
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/
Here is some more information on the WebCenter Spaces 11g iPhone application
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/webcenter/iphone-163241.html