Mobile app developers reading path
This page is for app developers who want to know what to read, and in which order, to get from nothing to a shipped app on Exponential content. You do not need every page of the section. Follow the one-hour path first, then the stage you are in.
Contents
- The first hour
- Stage 1: understand
- Stage 2: connect
- Stage 3: build
- Stage 4: ship
- Extra paths
- Who should read what
The first hour
Six pages, about ten minutes each, ending with a list screen that loads real data:
- Mobile app developers: start here
- How Exponential content reaches an app
- Testing against a demo, to find an installation that answers
- Personal API keys for tools, for a development credential
- Your first request
- Listing children and pagination
Stage 1: understand
Stage 2: connect
- Choosing a credential
- OAuth2 authorization code flow
- A back end for your app
- Storing secrets on devices
- The Authorization header and proxies
Stage 3: build
- Reading a node, Response groups and Fields and field values
- Images in REST answers and Image aliases for screen sizes
- Calling expservices from an app and Searching content
- Node ids, remote ids and deep links
- Errors and status codes
- Caching in the app
Stage 4: ship
Extra paths
| Your app | Add |
|---|---|
| writes content (field reports, user submissions) | Creating and removing content, Writing through expservices, Files and uploads |
| works offline | Syncing and offline reading, Caching on the server |
| runs in a browser (PWA, single-page app) | Web apps, CORS and CSP |
| serves several languages | Multilingual content |
| shows articles | Rich text in apps, Rendered XHTML output |
| needs a preview for editors | Drafts, preview and publishing |
Who should read what
| Role | Pages |
|---|---|
| App developer | the whole path above |
| Technical lead | Stage 1, A back end for your app, the checklists |
| Server-side PHP developer | Application creators: start here, then REST API for applications |
| Product owner | Mobile apps, headless use and networks and the launch checklist |
Related pages
- Mobile app developers FAQ
- Mobile app developers glossary
- The application creator's reading path
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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