[jsword-devel] iPhone WebApp Take 2

[Jonathan Morgan]

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 7:52 PM, Greg Hellings <greg.hellings at gmail.com> wrote:
> I've cleaned up some of the problems with my iPhone webapp page and it
>  seems to be coming along nicely (in my opinion).  It's becoming less
>  and less happy-looking on the desktop and more and more good looking
>  in the browser.  Next I'll get in a HistoryListener and then be able
>  to do away with my pesky "Back" button that doesn't seem to show up
>  happily in the version of Safari on the iPhone Simulator.  Again, it's
>  available still, for the time being, at
>  http://hellings.is-a-geek.com:8080/jsword-gwtweb/WebInterface.html -
>  let me know what you guys think.  Transformation is still being done
>  on the server side, as I'm afraid to overload a mobile browser with
>  the XSLT transformation.  I can give client-side XSL a try, if it
>  proves too much of a strain on the server to do all the transforming,
>  but I don't think it'll be a problem.  The site is currently
>  incompatible with the version of IE that comes with Windows Mobile 5,
>  and I have no idea about other mobile browsers.  However, FF, Safari
>  (desktop and mobile) and IE7 all seem to work fine in my tests.
>
>  I'd be happy to share the source code (Java/GWT) if anyone would like
>  it, and once I get this version ironed out I'll see about permanent
>  hosting for the tool itself as well as for the source code.

Some comments on the interface (though I can't guarantee they will all
be right):
1. A lot of the names of modules aren't very useful to the average
user.  I personally would tend to run away from any page that claim to
be related to the Bible and starts with a button "Back" (I've only
just arrived - why do I want to go back?), followed by the strings
"ALT" and "Byz" in green (which have little or no meaning to most
users - though this problem isn't unique to your application).
2. I think that having a text box to enter a reference would be better
than a button "Enter Manually", which leaves users guessing what to
enter manually.  Having this then say "Enter desired key" isn't very
useful either (do I need to unlock the module?).  I would suggest
using the terms "reference" or "verse" rather than "key".
3. Even on a desktop it takes a comparatively long time to get to any
of the NT books, which tend to be used more than the OT books.  I
imagine that a user using NT books exclusively from the iPhone and not
using the "enter reference manually" could get very frustrated very
quickly.  Similarly, scrolling down chapters in Isaiah or Psalms takes
a long time (though I'm not sure how this can be improved) and even
the gospels and Acts have quite a few chapters.

Jon