Spaz developer Ed Finkler Gets Interviewed 4

The HTML, CSS, and Javascript that makes up the Mojo SDK all sound like they're accessible to your average web developer, but most people still haven't had a chance to take a close look at it.

Now that the Mojo SDK has been leaked, there is a little less mystery surrounding what can be done with the Palm Pre, however its still nice to have the input of an active developer. Under that guise, Ars Technica recently sat down with Ed Finkler, the developer of the Spaz Twitter client, to discuss what its like developing on the WebOS platform.

While Mr. Finkler wasn't able to delve into detail due to the NDA still being firmly in effect, he was able to offer some insight for would-be developers:

"Anyone who has done some significant rich application work in either the browser or a Web runtime like AIR or Titanium should be fairly comfortable with webOS. I'd say that getting used to the way applications are structured in mobile is more of a challenge, with the separation of functionality into different scenes and passing data back and forth between them."

He went on to further add that,

"...developers who are accustomed to popular JavaScript frameworks such as YUI or Dojo, will have little difficulty adapting to Palm's platform."

It's certainly good news to hear that Palm has lived up to its promise of working with existing methods of development, and should certainly entice web developers to give the platform a shot. Finkler was also able to confirm that it was possible to develop applications on par with the default Palm apps (think Media Player, for example). He was also able to provide reassurances that Palm's current closed-door policy should only be temporary, and they've been extremely cooperative in the development of his app.

Perhaps most importantly, Finkler views the WebOS platform as being superior to the iPhone, saying:

"It's better software, and it's going to change the game in some ways."

 These are all positive developments, and its encouraging to hear that WebOS is shaping up to be a haven for third party developers. We'd love to hear your opinion in the comments, do you think WebOS can catch up, or even best the iPhone? Let us know!