The New iPhone SDK includes several (free) tools that are well suited for iPhone microsite development - the iPhone simulator and Dashcode. The iPhone simulator is a desktop application that gives you the ability to test your iPhone microsites on your local machine before deploying your project to a web server. It accurately renders your projects, includes support for JavaScript and provides the same debug console available in Safari.

The next tool provided with the SDK is Dashcode, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) typically used for widget development. For the less IT initiated, an IDE is essentially an application that allows users to create other applications (or in this case, microsites) with little or no knowledge of programming. Dashcode streamlines your workflow by providing tools to facilitate layout, customization, debugging and deployment of your microsite project.

Dashcode is easy to setup and use. During initial testing, we were able to create an iPhone friendly webpage in under 15 minutes! Dashcode comes pre-canned with templates to facilitate the rapid creation and deployment of your microsite project. The IDE also supports multiple views, allowing you to toggle between code/design views to quickly update your projects.

If you are serious about creating microsites and web apps for the iPhone you should check out the iPhone simulator and Dashcode. Visit Apple’s iPhone developer page, register for free and download the new SDK today.

This article has many useful screen shots and highlights the features of these tools. We hope you find this information useful for future microsite development projects.

-Shaun Mackey

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