Mobile Web
This is the second posting in the series exploring mobile technology platforms. For introduction to the series please refer to: "What technology platform to choose for development of mobile applications?"
Other postings in the series:
Mobile Messaging
Mobile Web
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open standard defining how mobile devices can interact with the Internet. There are two variants of the protocol – WAP 1.x and newer WAP 2.0. WAP 2.0 embraces Internet standards such as TCP, HTTP and XHTML.
WAP enables “Internet like” browsing user experience. It supports textual and graphical content, color, links, forms, menus and buttons. Phones supporting WAP come with pre-installed WAP browser such as the Openwave Mobile Browser.
Applications are developed in a markup language similar to HTML. Three markup languages are available: Wireless Markup Language (WML), Compact HTML (cHTML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML). WML is the only choice for devices running WAP 1.x browser. WAP 2.0 browsers support both XHTML and WML. XHTML is a refinement of the HTML standard, incorporating the stronger XML set of rules which results in a cleaner and better structured content. XHTML is recommended for use with WAP 2.0 clients. XHTML documents work in conjunction with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) which provide separation of presentation from content and simplify support for a variety of mobile devices.
Unfortunately the universe of standards is not that simple. There are competing mobile extensions of XHTML such as WML 2.0 and XHTML Mobile Platform (XHTML MP), as well as competing mobile subsets of CSS such as Wireless CSS (WCSS) and CSS Mobile Profile. XHTML without extensions is also referred to as XHTML Basic. Extensions have been designed to address specific constraints of mobile devices such as small screen size and resolution. Different extensions however are supported by different manufacturers.
WAP applications are deployed on web servers similarly to regular web sites. To access an application user opens mobile browser and types in a URL. Carriers typically deploy mobile portals with a pre-selected set of WAP applications accessible through the carrier defined menu structure. Mobile users can bookmark mobile web sites as well as configure portal menus to simplify access to their favorite sites.
To develop mobile sites you need an authoring tool and a phone emulator. An authoring tool may be as simple as a text editor. Many HTML authoring tools support XHTML nowadays. A phone emulator, such as the Openwave Emulator, simplify testing of the sites across many devices.
Other postings in the series:
Mobile Messaging
Mobile Web
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open standard defining how mobile devices can interact with the Internet. There are two variants of the protocol – WAP 1.x and newer WAP 2.0. WAP 2.0 embraces Internet standards such as TCP, HTTP and XHTML.
WAP enables “Internet like” browsing user experience. It supports textual and graphical content, color, links, forms, menus and buttons. Phones supporting WAP come with pre-installed WAP browser such as the Openwave Mobile Browser.
Applications are developed in a markup language similar to HTML. Three markup languages are available: Wireless Markup Language (WML), Compact HTML (cHTML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML). WML is the only choice for devices running WAP 1.x browser. WAP 2.0 browsers support both XHTML and WML. XHTML is a refinement of the HTML standard, incorporating the stronger XML set of rules which results in a cleaner and better structured content. XHTML is recommended for use with WAP 2.0 clients. XHTML documents work in conjunction with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) which provide separation of presentation from content and simplify support for a variety of mobile devices.
Unfortunately the universe of standards is not that simple. There are competing mobile extensions of XHTML such as WML 2.0 and XHTML Mobile Platform (XHTML MP), as well as competing mobile subsets of CSS such as Wireless CSS (WCSS) and CSS Mobile Profile. XHTML without extensions is also referred to as XHTML Basic. Extensions have been designed to address specific constraints of mobile devices such as small screen size and resolution. Different extensions however are supported by different manufacturers.
WAP applications are deployed on web servers similarly to regular web sites. To access an application user opens mobile browser and types in a URL. Carriers typically deploy mobile portals with a pre-selected set of WAP applications accessible through the carrier defined menu structure. Mobile users can bookmark mobile web sites as well as configure portal menus to simplify access to their favorite sites.
To develop mobile sites you need an authoring tool and a phone emulator. An authoring tool may be as simple as a text editor. Many HTML authoring tools support XHTML nowadays. A phone emulator, such as the Openwave Emulator, simplify testing of the sites across many devices.
posted by rtekie at 10:07 PM
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