What is a mobile application?

Before writing our first mobile application, perhaps we should define what one is. Wikipedia says that a mobile application is a software application designed to run on smartphones, tablets, computers, and other mobile devices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_app). While it's true that jQuery Mobile apps are written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, this doesn't prevent them from being sophisticated pieces of software. They can certainly be developed with mobile devices in mind.

Some critics might note that it can't really be software unless it's installed. As you'll see later in the book, jQuery Mobile applications can actually be installed on a wide array of devices (including iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile) when coupled with the open source library, Cordova (http://cordova.apache.org/). This means that you'll be able to have your cake and eat it too. You might be asking yourself if the code written using jQuery Mobile can...