Mobile app development framework PhoneGap announced today that it is releasing a plugin that will allow developers to easily connect their apps to Facebook. PhoneGap is bypassing the normal Facebook software developer kit and using Facebook’s Javascript SDK to connect apps to the social giant.
Nitobi, which created PhoneGap, said that the normal channel for Facebook Connect that uses OAuth 2.0 created challenges for developers because it did not transfer well to mobile. Hence, PhoneGap is working around the Facebook SDK with its JavaScript framework.
The PhoneGap Facebook plugin works for mobile much the same way that Facebook Connect works on the browser. Instead of using the OAuth 2.0 pop up login window, it accesses the credentials of the user through the native Facebook app already on the phone. Since users are often always logged in to Facebook through their mobile devices, it bypasses the OAuth 2.0 validation entirely.
“We got working on a Facebook plugin because we’re user experience advocates,” said Dave Johnson, CTO at Nitobi in a press release. “The OAuth authentication workflow for a mobile app isn’t ideal so we created the PhoneGap Facebook Connect plugin as a way to streamline that process and improve the experience for the end user.”
Nitobi senior vice president for software and developer relations said that the PhoneGap community has an affinity for plugins and drove the Facebook Connect plugin project. The plugin is aimed at creating a better user experience but also to ease the headaches of developers looking for easy Facebook functionality in their apps.
The PhoneGap plugin can be found at GitHub here.
What do you think, development community? Is OAuth 2.0 really that difficult to deal with for mobile? Are you planning on using the PhoneGap plugin or is another extraneous item in your developer toolbox that you would prefer not to deal with? Let us know in the comments.
