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Chapter   1

Introduction


This book describes how to use the J2ME Wireless Toolkit.

The J2ME Wireless Toolkit is a set of tools that makes it possible to create applications for mobile phones and other wireless devices. Although it is based on the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0, the J2ME Wireless Toolkit also supports a handful of optional packages, making it a widely capable development toolkit.

1.1 Quick Start

If you’d like to get started right away, try the demonstration applications that are included with the J2ME Wireless Toolkit.

To run the demonstrations, start KToolbar. On Windows you’ll do this by choosing Start > Programs > J2ME Wireless Toolkit 2.2 > KToolbar.1 You’ll see a window like this:

FIGURE 1  –  The KToolbar window

The KToolbar window

Next, click on the Open Project... button to open a demonstration application. You'll see a list of all the available applications. Pick one of them and click on the Open Project button in the dialog.

Once the application is open, all you need to do is press the Run button. The emulator will pop up running the example application.

Most demonstrations are self-explanatory, but some have additional instructions. See Appendix A, “Application Demonstrations,” for additional details.

All the source code for the demonstration applications is available in the {toolkit}\apps directory. Each demonstration has its own project directory. Inside the project directory, the source files are in the src directory. For example, the source code for the games demonstration is in {toolkit}\apps\games\src directory.

1.2 The Tools in the Toolkit

The J2ME Wireless Toolkit has three main components:

  • KToolbar automates many of the tasks involved in creating MIDP applications.
  • The emulator is a simulated mobile phone. It is useful for testing MIDP applications.
  • A collection of utilities provides other useful functionality, including a text messaging console and cryptographic utilities.
  • KToolbar is the center of the toolkit. You can use it to build applications, launch the emulator, and start the utilities. Alternately, the emulator and utilities can be run by themselves, which is useful in many situations. If you want to demonstrate MIDP applications, for example, it’s useful to run the emulator by itself.

    The only additional tool you need is a text editor for editing source code.

    1.3 Toolkit Features

    The J2ME Wireless Toolkit supports the creation of MIDP applications with the following main features:

  • Building and packaging: You write the source code and the toolkit takes care of the rest. With the push of a button, the toolkit compiles the source code, preverifies the class files, and packages a MIDlet suite.
  • Running and monitoring: You can run a MIDlet suite directly in the emulator or install it using a process that resembles application installation on a real device. A memory monitor, network monitor, and method profiler are provided to analyze the operation of your MIDlets.
  • MIDlet suite signing: The toolkit contains tools for cryptographically signing MIDlet suites. This is useful for testing the operation of MIDlets in different protection domains.
  • 1.4 Supported Technology

    The J2ME Wireless Toolkit supports many standard Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) defined through the Java Community Process (JCP). TABLE 1 shows the APIs and includes links to the specifications.

    TABLE 1  –  Supported JCP APIs in the J2ME Wireless Toolkit
    JSR
      API
    Name
      URL
    JSR 139
      CLDC 1.1
    Connected Limited Device Configuration
    JSR 118
      MIDP 2.0
    Mobile Information Device Profile
    JSR 185
      JTWI 1.0
    Java Technology for the Wireless Industry
    JSR 205
      WMA 2.0
    Wireless Messaging API
    JSR 135
      MMAPI 1.1
    Mobile Media API
    JSR 75
      PIM and File
    PDA Optional Packages for the J2ME Platform
    JSR 82
      Bluetooth and OBEX
    Java APIs for Bluetooth
    JSR 172
      
    J2ME Web Services Specification
    JSR 184
      3D Graphics
    Mobile 3D Graphics API for J2ME

    1Depending on how Windows is configured, you might need to choose Start > All Programs instead of Start > Programs.

     


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    J2ME Wireless Toolkit 2.2