[RFC] Include mobile style

[callumacrae]

is it possible use a system automatic switch to mobile style if user come with a phone?

Yep, that's fairly trivial. It can be a pain to keep it up to date, though.

[Danielx64]

I've been trying to make my current theme mobile compatible using bootstrap and I would say it's almost impossible to make a proper mobile theme without javascript. I mean, you can, but what about embed videos? I managed to handle that issue using a library called jquery.fitvids.js but there's no other way to do that without JS unless the bbcode system is completely redone first.

Why don't you all look at the mobile theme that SMF got, one forum that work without javascript on a mobile is http://www.win7vista.com/.

[Erik Frèrejean]

Modern browsers by definition support JavaScript.

Not mobile browsers. They are designed to be as efficient as possible to increase battery life for mobile device. JS is disabled by default in some browsers, including Safari for some iOS devices.

http://jquerymobile.com/gbs/

jQuery Mobile doesn't work without JavaScript. I would say that that list is long enough to warrant using jQuery Mobile.

EDIT: Hangon, it works without JavaScript (mostly).

EDIT2: Just tested it without JavaScript. It's functional, but really really really ugly.

Javascript should only be used to enhance the user experience, I'm -1 on something that doesn't work (properly) without javascript.

[Senky]

Well, using responsive design would remove problems with improper display on mobile phones, however I would rather go in the way of separate style for mobile, because:

• we can send less data, page would be loaded faster
• style authors can invent more styles for mobile phones, so that users can select style that suits them best

In ACP, there would need to be some changes - admins would need to choose default style AND default mobile style, but it is not a big deal, as it brings much more flexibility than using just one fixed style provided to all mobile phones...

[MichaelC]

Well, using responsive design would remove problems with improper display on mobile phones, however I would rather go in the way of separate style for mobile, because:

• we can send less data, page would be loaded faster
• style authors can invent more styles for mobile phones, so that users can select style that suits them best

In ACP, there would need to be some changes - admins would need to choose default style AND default mobile style, but it is not a big deal, as it brings much more flexibility than using just one fixed style provided to all mobile phones...

+1. There would essentially be two sets of styles. Mobile Styles and Normal Styles.

In User Pref's it would have an option for each. In the ACP it would have a list of mobile styles and normal styles, a default for each etc.

However, this is probably something to add in for future. For 3.1 I think we should just have the 1 default mobile style built-in.

[Oleg]

Why does a mobile style require javascript exactly?

[naderman]

Indeed, i would like to see that question answered too. I'm rather convinced a style should be made mobile by using appropriate CSS. Additional UI improvements can be made through JS, but they are non-essential.

[callumacrae]

All the decent mobile libraries and frameworks use it. Developing a mobile style from scratch and testing it fully would take months upon months, while the libraries and frameworks have already been tested.

I seriously don't get what the problem with dropping support for bad browsers is.

[MichaelC]

I agree with callum. The majority of phones's browsers do support JS and it saves a lot of development time & effort.

[Arty]

JavaScript should not be used for design, that's what CSS is for. It should only be used to enhance functionality, but style must work properly without it.