Mobilizing .aspx web based desktop app on BlackBerry10 platform over BES10

This blog gives a quick sense to understand the approach of problem statement i.e., mobilizing .aspx web based desktop application on BlackBerry10 and other major platforms significantly. To achieve the result, please verify the system requirements and make sure all setup should be done early before moving ahead.

For .aspx web based app: Visual Studio IDE is needed on your development machine. For creating the fresh project or existing project execution, Please follow following steps:

On Visual Studio IDE- > click on File Menu-> New Project -> Pick the recent template as ‘Visual C#’ and select ‘ASP.NET Web Application’ for executing the project. See below image for ref (Fig1)

                                    Fig1. Running ASP.NET web app on Visual Studio IDE

Click on the ‘Release’ button. App will run and display on default browser with picked port number, like this http://127.0.0.1:48667/Web.UI/EmpLogin.aspx 

Fig2. Running Web Application on Desktop Browser with Port value

Write click on the Solution Explorer -> Publish Website

Fig3. Actual path of the Application

Copy the path C:\PFC\Sample App\PrecompiledWeb\Web.UI

Active the IIS Sever on Desktop platform first. Then go to

Windows -> Start - > ctrl + R -> inetmgr

IIS Manger window will open, then click on Sites - > Default Web Site - > Right-Click and choose ‘Add Application’ option

Provide the application ‘Alias name’ and actual path i.e., same target location which received from Publish Web Site on Visual Studio IDE.

Right-Click on the application Alias -> Manage Application -> Browse

The app will open on the default browser, without port-number, i.e., http://127.0.0.1/PFC/ 

Fig4. Running Web Application on Desktop Browser without Port value

 

In next step, as we know BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES 10) environment is setup on the dev environment.Target platform device has to be enabled with the BES services, such as, currently supports available for BlackBerry 10, iOS and Android.

Open the Workspace (BlackBerry 10)/Secure Workspace browser (iOS and Android), type the URL with the IP address and alias name, i.e., http://127.0.0.1/PFC/ (have been created above as and application alias) . 

App will start showing on the device workspace browser:

Fig5. Running Desktop Web Application on BlackBerry 10 Secure Browser

For launching the same output as an application, there are following ways:

1.     Hybrid approach – create a native app and call the application URL on web associated API in that.
2.     Web app – simply call the URL at respective web view API. That’s it.  

After creation of the app, it has to be pushed on Workspace (BlackBerry 10)/Secure workspace (iOS and Android). 

If the app doesn’t have a target to implement specific features such as (push notification, other api, so on) on respective app on specific platform, then above solution would be the right approach to pick or go forward.

To get to know more about BES 10, please follow: BES

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