Web Development for iPhone?

[stevento]

I have a question about the iPhone's web browser.

in web pages, when a phone number appears, the iphone recognizes it and places a button there to call that number.
but how does the iPhone recognize a phone number? i am taking a web development class and i want the iPhone to recognize this number. is that done in html?
what i want to do is put a phone number in tags such that when viewed through the iphone browser, there is a call button there.
any insight into this?

 

[Jonnyfive]

I don't think it's in the web code. I believe that it's in the iphone code how it interprets and specific string of numbers.

 

[Witty lama]

yes, it's automatic and part of the iPhone software - not the website.

For example, when I'm looking up books in my university library catalogue using iPhone's safari, it thinks that the call numbers of the books are phone numbers. When I click on the number (which often look like this: "S 123.345/78") the phone asks if I want to call the number.

There is no way that apple would have required that every website that wants this functionality have to embed special "phone number" html tags. The phone justs looks for a string of numbers and guesses that they might be for a phone.

 

[fishkorp]

You can also for the browser to display a string as a phone number like this:

<a tel:5555551212>call me</a>

At least you used to be able to do that with the 1.0 software, not sure if that's changed over the last 16 months as I've never bothered trying it. When the original iPhone was announced and Jobs said you could only do webapps they had a list of how you can get your page to call maps, make calls, etc.