iPhone 数据表单提交最佳实践？

Question

I am starting a new project where we need to make entering web data forms an easy experience on mobile.

Currently our web site data forms cannot be styled and made mobile friendly they also reside behind a company firewall, however we can do POSTS via XML to submit a data form.

I'm currently undecided to which approach would be best.

1. Rebuild the forms natively on the iPhone using iOS components
2. Somehow create a local HTML5 Data form on the mobile, and then have the iPhone parse this and submit via XML.

Has anyone done similar on mobile in the past, it would be great to hear of your experiences, one key piece to this project is that we also need to have the data forms offline, and have them posted when the device is back online.

Answer 1

In my opinion, the better option would be to recreate the forms using the iOS components. It would be much more user friendly, and faster, if done right.

Answer 2

Based on the background information you've given, I believe that the only way to go is with the native UI components. Here's why:

1. You've stated the need for offline form "submission". You will have a much easier time if you have a native form that stores the information somewhere and then submits it when connected.

2. You've stated the desire to provide an easy experience on mobile. For that, I would naturally recommend native UI controls. Your custom "native" web controls are more likely to be confusing and difficult to use. Contrast that with UIKit which presumably has a lot of research behind it (and millions of satisfied users to back it.)

3. In the long run, it will be easier to integrate with the rest of the device if you use native controls.

For making XML requests, I recommend the ASIHTTPRequest library .