Web Runtime Technology Overview

Standards-based, platform-integrated

Web Runtime (WRT) widgets are developed using standard web technologies that you are familiar with from having created sites for browsing with PC browsers.

However, new features have been designed to allow your widgets to work optimally on S60 devices. These features are:

• Additional JavaScript™ objects to enable tight integration with the S60 platform UI and its services. Access to S60 services is now available on selected S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 and all S60 5th Edition devices from Nokia.
• Support for delivering your widgets in multiple languages.

Components of a WRT widget

A WRT widget must contain the following files:

• info.plist — which defines the widget’s properties and configuration.
• <name>.html — which is a file of standard HTML defining the layout and content of the widget.

All but the most basic widgets will also include some or all of the following files:

• icon.png — which is an S60 UI icon for the widget.
• <name>.css — which is one or more CSS files defining the styles for the widget.
• <name>.js — which is one or more files of JavaScript code providing the widget with dynamic capabilities.
• <name>.jpg/bmp/gif/png — which is one or more image files for static images used within the widget.

Home-screen and full-screen widgets

With the launch of the Nokia N97 mobile computer, it became possible to provide a view-only version of a widget in the S60 home screen. A home-screen view can be added to a widget that has the MiniViewEnabled key set in its info.plist file. The widget then needs to determine the screen on which it is being displayed and provide summary or detailed content accordingly.

For more information, see the Developing home screen widgets section of the Web Developer’s Library.

To enable the testing of home screen widgets, the Nokia N97 SDK provides an emulation of the Nokia N97 home screen.

JavaScript objects specific to the S60 platform

WRT provides several JavaScript objects of two types: those designed to allow a widget to offer a user experience that is similar to that offered by S60 devices and those that provide access to device information and data.

JavaScript objects for UI design

There are three JavaScript objects that facilitate the creation of an S60 UI for a widget:

• Widget object — which provides basic window options, such as setting the display orientation and setting and getting static ‘key’ data.
• Menu object — which allows access to the S60 ‘Options’ menu.
• MenuItem object — which allows items to be added to the menu and cascading submenus within ‘Options’.

JavaScript objects for accessing device information

The JavaScript device device object provides the mechanism by which widgets can access and, in some cases, manipulate information about and on devices. The device object, which is delivered in WRT API 1.1, is now available for selected S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices and all S60 5th Edition devices from Nokia. The device object provides access to a number of service APIs:

• AppManager Service API — which enables obtaining a list of applications on a device as well as the launching of applications and documents.
• Calendar Service API — which enables Calendar application records to be read, added, updated, deleted, exported and imported.
• Contacts Service API — which enables Contacts application entries to be read, added, updated, deleted, exported and imported.
• Landmarks Service API — which enables the landmarks and landmark categories stored on a device to be read, added, updated, deleted, exported, imported, and organised.
• Location Service API — which enables a device’s location to be retrieved.
• Logging Service API — which enables a widget to access, add, update, and deleted information to a device’s call-log record.
• Media Management Service API — which enables the retrieval of information about media on a device.
• Messaging Service API — which enables a widget to send SMS and MMS messages, delete and change the status of messages, and provide notification of incoming messages.
• Sensor Service API — which enables a widget to receive information from a device sensor, such as an accelerometer.
• SystemInfo Service API — which enables retrieval of device information such as language, time, and model.

Now these APIs are even easier to use, with many actions achievable through the addition of only one or two lines of JavaScript code using the Nokia Platform Services 2.0 beta JavaScript API. For example, a new contact can be added to the phone by use of the following code:

contact = { name:{ last:'smith', first: 'john'}};

addContact(contact)

The Platform Services 2.0 beta JavaScript API also offers an API that enables use of a device’s camera.

For more information, visit Nokia Platform Services 2.0 beta page »

Support for multiple languages

The S60 platform supports multiple languages, and the WRT environment provides localisation support as well. If you’re planning to provide widgets to audiences in several countries, you may want to get more information about supporting multiple languages from the Supporting multiple languages section of the Web Developer’s Library.

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