Most Internet technologies are designed for desktop and large computers running on reliable networks with relatively high bandwidth. Hand-held wireless devices, on the other hand, have a more constrained computing environment. They tend to have less memory, less powerful CPUs, different input devices, and smaller displays. The Wireless Application Protocol (or WAP), which is a specification developed by the WAP Forum, takes advantage of the several data-handling approaches already in use. Developing wireless applications using WAP technologies is similar to developing web pages with a markup language because it is browser based. Another approach to developing wireless applications is to use the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP).
With either WAP or MIDP, the Java programming language plays an important role. In WAP, Java Servlets and Java Server Pages (JSPs) can be used to generate Wireless Markup Language (WML) pages dynamically, and in MIDP, applications (also called MIDlets) are written in Java.
The tutorial will help participants understand the different technologies that can be used to develop wireless applications for hand-held devices.
The list of major topics to be covered in this tutorial includes: