J2ME

MIDP3 to nix pauseApp

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:59:56 -0400

The MIDP3 expert group is planning to deprecate the pauseApp() and, according to Sean Sheedy, they want your input "especially if you're negatively affected." (via Enrique's blog)

Creating Web Services for mobile

Tue, 29 May 2007 06:59:56 -0400

NetBeans.org has posted a tutorial that shows how to create a mobile application that queries a Web Service and manipulates the result. Naturally, the tutorial requires NetBeans 5.5.

SavaJe lives on in JavaFX Mobile

Tue, 15 May 2007 06:59:59 -0400

SavaJe lives on in JavaFX Mobile
Sun is still making headlines with its announcement last week of JavaFX, a new family of Java-based products aimed at content creators complete with a slick, iPhone-like demo. Sun is pushing the new technology as an alternative to cross-platform scripting languages like Flash, Apollo, Silverlight and, to some degree, AJAX.

The initial launch is comprised of two products: The JavaFX Script, which is the core language for JavaFX, and JavaFX Mobile, the mobile runtime environment.

JavaFX Script has actually been discussed in public for several months now under the codename F3. Sun's Chris Oliver has F3 examples of 2D graphics and "Flash-like" effects as well as further technical details on his blog.

JavaFX Mobile is more than just a scripting language--thanks to technology acquired form SavaJe it is essentially an entire Java- and Linux-based open-source operating system. The CDC Java runtime targets high-end phones, though Sun plans to eventually release a version of JavaFX for CLDC phones as well. JavaFX Mobile runs J2ME apps and adds many standard Java APIs as well.

GUI development tools are still under construction, but JavaFX's simple, declarative language structure should make it pretty easy. The JavaFX scripting language also has some other nice features for developers, like the ability to directly embed HTML in a string and the dynamic execution of code (see Getting Started for more).

Learn More:

OpenJFX - the JavaFX scripting language
JavaFX FAQ
Commentary: JavaFX in perspective, JavaFX: the missed opportunity, Is JavaFX the end of AJAX?, The JavaFX disaster,

- Eli

New JP-7 phones from Sony Ericsson

Tue, 15 May 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Sony Ericsson has announced two new Java Platform 7 (JP-7) phones: the S500 (shown far right) and T650. JP-7 is a Sony Ericsson standard that incorporates a variety of useful APIs like the Mobile 3D Graphics API for Java ME (JSR 184) and the advanced camera features of JSR 234.

The S500 will be available during Q2 2007 and T650 during Q3 2007.

JavaOne for mobile developers

Tue, 08 May 2007 06:59:59 -0400

JavaOne for mobile developers
I'm holding out for good news from Sun regarding the SavaJe Mobile Platform. I've written about the SavaJe saga before, but this week we should finally learn what Sun has in store for the breakthrough mobile Java platform. There's some speculation a relaunched SavaJe Jasper S20 will again be Device of the Show, though I'd imagine it will have a new name.

Sun's Terrence Barr posted a semi-official J2ME guide for JavaOne, but I'd also like to draw special attention to two presentations:

Akhil Arora and Vincent Hardy are talking about AJAX and Java ME on Wednesday at 6:35 pm (see the Sun interview for more).
Pia Niemela, Stephen Lewontin and Jean-Yves Bitterlich are presenting "Web Services to Go: Mobile Access to Web Services with JSRs 279 and 280" today, Tuesday, at 4:40 pm.

- Eli

Tira Jump 2007

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Tira Wireless this morning announced the latest version of its Jump platform for content development. Jump 2007's aims to make developers lives easier by focusing on code re-use and collaboration. Jump 2007 lets developers package common fixes for device incompatibilities and other patterns into Jumplets, tiny components that can be resused again and again.

Jump 2007 will ship by mid-May and is available as a yearly subscription service or with a transaction fee. Jump has traditionally been popular with large media companies, but Tira is trying to draw in smaller content creators with hosted options and more flexible licensing.

Networking with MIDlets

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Qusay Mahmoud has a post on his java.net blog about MIDlets that access networking (and how to handle blocking calls). It's a quick read, but addresses a common problem: long running tasks that block the user interface.

MSA defines Next-gen J2ME

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

J2ME's Mobile Services Architecture

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Sony Ericsson Z750, which is apparently the first mass market device to fully support the Mobile Services Architecture (MSA) standard. But what is MSA?

MSA is an attempt to define a standard platform of APIs developers can rely upon. MSA for CLDC phones is defined in JSR 248, which states, "There is a need to have a single expert group select the relevant technologies for a single specification for the purposes of defining primarily CLDC based mobile handset platform for the wireless industry. In addition, this specification will provide continual architectural consistency, focus, and direction to this collection of efforts for J2ME." In other words, MSA is aimed at one of the J2ME developers' biggest headaches: API fragmentation and inconsistencies.

Current mobile devices generally abide by the Java Technology for the Wireless Industry (JTWI, or JSR 185) to define the baseline of Java support. Unfortunately, JTWI doesn't leave much to work with; the standard only requires three technologies: CLDC 1.0, MIDP 2.0 and WMA 1.1.

MSA, on the other hand, requires nearly two dozen JSRs ranging from CLDC 1.1 to Mobile 3D Graphics API 1.1. Sun has more details on MSA's requirements in this introduction and this datasheet (.pdf).

So far Sony Ericsson's HSDPA Z750 is the only public device to support MSA that I'm aware of, but it is only a matter of time: the expert group that defined the standard included members from Nokia, BenQ, RIM, T-Mobile, Cingular, Motorola, Vodafone and more.

P.S. Continue to send your feedback on the new newsletter layout--it's still a work in progress. -Eli

JavaME unit testing frameworks

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:01:36 -0400

The Empty Way blog posted a comparison of the three big unit testing frameworks for JavaME developers: J2MEUnit, JMUnit and Sony Ericsson's Mobile JUnit. All three are based on the popular desktop JUnit framework and provide similar assertions and helper methods to make tests easy to write. Overall, JMUnit appears to have the best feature set while Sony Ericsson's offering provides the best JUnit emulation.

BlackBerry adds new Java APIs

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

RIM has announced a selection of new Java APIs for BlackBerry developers. New features include better multimedia and graphics support (JSR 135, 184 and 226), XML and Web Services support and proprietary BlackBerry camera and mapping APIs.