What is the difference between the compact build and standard build of the ArcGIS JavaScript API?

Question

I am creating a JSAPI application using version 3.2/3.3 and have recently gone through the page detailing the difference between the compact build and standard build.

Right now, I am confused about which build I should use. (I know a few people will use iPhone while others will use a PC to access our application.) So what should I use in my application? Since in the compact build, a few tools are not supported, I cannot create all applications in it.

Software platform: ArcGIS Server & Desktop 10.1

Device platform: Windows , iOS & Android

Answer 1

The compact build is designed for mobile browsers where you want to download as little as possible to get the job done. It doesn't require you to download the dijit namespace for using dojo's dijit, if you're not using them. It also has a smaller default library (32 modules in the compact build as opposed to 80 in the normal build). You can read more here for details.

You can still use all the tools that ESRI provides, but you may have to be a little more explicit in calling them. For instance, if you want to use a geometry service on your map, say to buffer a point within 1 mile, you have to add a dojo.require("esri.tasks.geometry"); to your code with the compact build. Standard build already has it loaded.

If you're worried about using up your user's data plan, or if you want to use another javascript library like jQuery, it's recommended that you use the compact build. If you're not worried about either, and plan to use Dojo's dijits and/or UI elements, use the standard build. Probably for the iPhone/Android apps, the compact build would be the way to go.