Capabilities

Apache Cordova is an open source framework that enables web developers to use their HTML, CSS, and JavaScript content to create a native application for a variety of mobile platforms. Cordova takes your web application and renders it within a native WebView. A WebView is an application component (like a button or a tab bar) that is used to display web content within a native application. You can think of a WebView as a web browser without any of the standard user interface elements, such as a URL field or status bar. The web application running inside this container is just like any other web application that would run within a mobile browser—it can open additional HTML pages, execute JavaScript code, play media files, and communicate with remote servers. This type of mobile application is often called a hybrid application. Cordova is the open source version of the framework, while PhoneGap is the Adobe-branded version. In the end, there is little difference between the two efforts. There are some slight differences in the command-line interfaces, but the functionality is the same. The only thing you cannot do is mix the two projects in the same application. While not as dangerous as when the Ghostbusters crossed their streams, using both Cordova and PhoneGap in the same project will produce nothing but trouble.