Howdy People,
I have a Csla app (.NET 4.5 server with SL5 client with a bunch of cool async/await stuff) and I want to do a simplistic front end Android app. I was going to use Xamarin, but I hit a speed bump and can't afford it and my VS Pro trial ran out. I won't be able to use Xamarin for another month or two. In the meantime, is there a way for me to somehow utilize Asp for a mobile front end? If so, are there any examples? I've already read many of the e-books several times over, but I never got the Asp because I never had the need... and now if the answer to these two questions are 'Yes', I'll definitely be getting the book - but I just don't know enough about Asp and how that programming model works with Csla to know how to proceed.
I have read some other posts and things about html5 and jquery and whatnot, but I still am at a loss as to how to proceed. I wish I could use the Xamarin + VS 2012 Pro but I just can't! Argh! So, since I've taught myself most of what I know architecturally in a large part by studying Csla, I was hoping I could learn a little more from you guys if you'd help me out - and I figure other people might want to use Csla + Asp/Html5 for a mobile solution if that's possible, and this could help them out as well. But I know I would definitely appreciate any help anyone can give me on this. 
In .NET 4.5 Microsoft did quite a bit of work in Web Forms and MVC to better support web pages on mobile devices. iirc they even embraced jqueryMobile (?)
In any case, on the server side there's no real difference between a mobile or not mobile web site. The differences are in the user experience design and the web page layouts.
Thanks for your response, Rocky.
So, since there is no real difference on the server side and the differences lay in the user experience design and web page layouts, then I figure the Csla ASP e-book will help and I'm going to go ahead and buy it. Then, with that stuff as a starting point, I'll try to fix it up with any enhancements in the newer versions of ASP - including some of the jquery, which I understand to be somewhat of an optimization from all postbacks to partial refreshes. But for me, this isn't a big deal at the moment, because I just want to have some simple behavior for reviewing translations.
So thanks again for your time Sir!
Bill - to confirm what Rocky said, the "Mobile Application" template in VS 2010/12 does include the jQueryMobile library. You'll probably need to update it via NuGet, though, to make sure you have the latest version. About 6 months ago I used this template to create an app for my company's sales force, and the experience was pretty good. I didn't have many ajax calls nor did I follow some of the examples that are listed on the JQM website for partial postbacks. I kept it pretty simple.
The big thing that JQM provided for me was the iPhone appearance for all the controls. For the most part, the app looked like a mobile app (with the comfort of dealing with ASP.NET and CSLA behind the scenes). And the effort was minimal. The JQM docs should get you up to speed very quickly.
Tim, thanks for the tips. I did go ahead and update JQM, and I'm going to also shoot for that UI look. Much appreciated Sir. Now, I just gotta keep crankin'. ;)
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