 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Wireless Application Protocol Major Keary |
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The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) first appeared in 1997 when the WAP
Forum was established. Within two years WAP-enabled phones were on the market, and WAP has become the
subject of much literature and even more hype. Professional WAP from Wrox Press presents a
comprehensive coverage of the technology and its implementation. Thirteen authors contributed -each
responsible for specific chapters -and no less that thirty-three technical reviewers checked their work.
The book does not set out to persuade readers that they must embrace WAP; apart from the depth of
technical content its commentary on what can be expected of WAP is objective, as the following quote
indicates:
"As with all new technologies, the expectations of WAP were very high . [and] . everyone was expecting to
surf the Internet from their [mobile] phones just like from a normal browser, with pixel-perfect content,
images and sound. The reality is quite different.
"WAP is intended to provide a common application environment for mobile devices and its protocols are based
on the Internet protocols. However, this does not mean that WAP was devised with the intent of porting the
entire content of the Internet to mobile devices.
"The average HTML page is now very elaborate, filled with multimedia content, frames, colors, and dynamic
effects. Such pages would lose all their appeal if translated into WAP pages and presented on a display of,
for example, 5 lines of 20 characters .... "
An important feature of WAP is its versatility. It has its own markup language (WML)and scripting facility
(WMLScript), and can be used within ASP, JSP, XML, XSLT, WTA, Push, and VoiceXML. Each of those applications
is discussed in technical detail with example source code and valuable commentary.
Even if you are not going to be the programmer for a WAP project, the text includes much information
that will assist in evaluating WAP in the context of any specific implementation.
The book is in parts:
WAP and the Wireless World, which is a general overview followed by practical information about
currently available tools from the four major vendors (Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Phone.com). A chapter
deals in detail with the WAP gateway.
The Wireless Markup Language, which is defined from ASP, JSP, XML, XSLT, WTA, Push, and VoiceXML. Two
chapters provide a good overview of XML for WML users. WMLScript, which has a similar syntax to JavaScript,
is described with illustrative examples. The final chapter in this part, Usability, should be read by
anyone considering deployment of WAP technology; it addresses, amongst other topics, a range of issues to do
with the limitations of mobile devices.
Generating Dynamic WAP Content examines a number of server-side technologies that can be adapted to
generation of dynamic content for WAP applications. A number of well known technologies are briefly
described, including ASP, and ColdFusion. There is also further discussion of XML and XSLT.
Developing Advanced WAP Applications deals with advanced techniques with emphasis on applications for
commerce. One of the issues discussed is the problem of having to redesign a web site for WAP using
conversion tools, for which the Java source code is provided. Other topics include WAP email and directory
services, and security.
Future WAP and Wireless Technologies looks at technologies that are presently difficult to implement,
but for which solutions may become available. Also discussed are related technologies, such as VoiceXML.
Appendices contain useful data, including WML elements, a WMLScript reference, WMLScript Library
Functions, WTAI libraries, and the WBMP Image Format. A glossary lists all those strange new abbreviations,
and a comprehensive index is provided.
This is probably the most significant coverage of WAP presently available for anyone involved at a
professional level with the task of assessing, planning, managing, or developing a WAP project. The
information is practical and well supported by illustrative code. An appendix contains an extensive listing
of resources, both published literature and URLs. Not a cheap book, but well worth the price for anyone with
a professional interest in WAP implementation.
| Charles Arehart et al.: Professional WAP ISBN 1-861004-04-4 Published by Wrox, 813 pp., RRP $132.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the December 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
