Programming Wireless Devices with the Java2 Platform

The market for small devices (cellphones, PDAs, watches,...) with computational ability, but much less so than a standard PC or laptop is potentially vast. No one disputes this. Its allure is enhanced by there being no overly dominant player hoovering up over 50% of the profits, like Microsoft and Intel collectively in PCs.Logically, Sun sees growth here and this book is part of its frenetic rollout. It differs from the first edition because of significant upgrades to the 2 standards its describes. The Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) went from version 1 in 1999 to 1.1 in 2002. It added more features that the book describes in detail. Basically, they give a richer compatibility with standard java (J2SE). The other standard, Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) went from version 1 to 2 in 2002. To developers the key additions were APIs for sound and games. In retrospect, MIDP 1 was indeed primitive, to lack these.Commercially, the MIDP 2 changes in the book may be more important than the CLDC changes. It means that you can now develop games and other applications using sound, at a high enough level of abstraction that they can be run on a broader range of hardware. Well at least that is the idea. I have not done so. But the book's explanation seems logical and thorough enough to make this plausible. Undoubtedly, if you and others follow this path, gaps or insufficiencies will be found, leading to the next increments of the standards.If you are still clutching the first edition of this book, or any other book that only covers CLDC 1 or MIDP 1, then drop it. Obsolete. Upgrade here.

The focus on programming wireless devices is growing these years. New devices arrive every day, having a huge set of functions - you just want to play a game or get some music on these small gadgets. You could really use a pocket database or another type of application.Trouble is that these devices are all different. There are at least two different major operating systems on the PDA's and what the OS-situation is for the mobile phones can be difficult to tell. Even having the same operating system is not enough as the hardware platforms are different. This can certainly complicate the life of a developer. Choose your platform, mate!Unless JAVA is used, of course! The promised land of Code Once, Run Everywhere cannot completely be fullfilled (we know!), but in the world of small devices there now exist a set of standards. These have acronyms such as CLDC and MIDP and are found within the Micro Edition of the JAVA environment (J2ME).This book describes at a good level the J2ME-platform. The focus is placed mostly on the MIDP libraries which is natural as it is here that the most functions are found. The book covers the available API calls in a good way: Not too detailed, but clear and with a lot of example code. The authors remember to include proper warnings against misuse of some of the library routines - do not overdo the vibrator or flashing background, remember to add commands so that the user can navigate: That sort of advice. And trivial as this may seem, it is still needed, because programming an embedded or wireless device is something completely different than coding a PC-based application.Between the release of the first edition of the book and this there has been a rapid development within the J2ME area, especially when it comes to the MIDP-platform. A host of new API's has been added to MIDP and this is clearly marked in the book. This is of course helpfull if you have older books and wants to compare. Or if you want to promote the new stuff - else I find it unnecessary.The book is mostly concerned with the MIDP API and as such does not cover much outside of this scope. You will look in vain for a description of the JSR-82 BlueTooth specifications or the WiFi-protocols. This, I feel, is a weakness because of the growing impact of such network technologies.The book itself is platform-independent: While it shows many examples it does not show how to compile and deploy an application to a specific wireless device, much less discuss existing platforms. It is an introduction to the CLDC and MIDP API's, not to the development process itself. But the book is important for a good introduction to programming in the "small world" and is a must for the developer. The starting chapters also give a good overview of the position of the J2ME environment and its components and should be required reading for any JAVA evangelist and architect.

I read this book as an experienced Java programmer but with no experience of the J2ME platform. Other reviewers here have said that it is not an introduction to J2ME in itself, but my feeling is that with a good knowledge of Java it can provide you with the tools to get started in Java programming for mobile devices. Others may disagree.The positive side of this book is its excellent discussion of the MIDP API's, rigorous without being unreadable, and with many good examples. I would count it the definitive reference for the new MIDP 2.0 API's particularly. This covers such features as;Titles and Tickers,Item Commands and Custom Items,Full screen mode,The entire Game API,A Sound API,Shared Record Stores,Several new network protocols,Secure networking,Event driven application launch,plus much more.All good fun stuff.This is a book you would have sitting on your desk as you work. It's not a fat book - about 350 plus appendices - but it manages to be fairly comprehensive all the same.I do have one or two downers on it though.It reads very much like a book written by a committee. (In fact six authors are listed.) The style changes somewhat from chapter to chapter, and it could be a little more structured. The first six chapters are largely given over the the history and process of standards development which is not strictly relevant to the business of programming. This is not bad in itself, but you might plough through a lot of it just not being sure where the meat was.There is no discussion of software tools at all - this relates to the charge of it not being a beginner's J2ME book. I think it would have benefitted from a few pointers for people new to this area.All in all though, a good buy for an experienced programmer looking for a comprehensive reference to J2ME API's.

Programming Wireless Devices with the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition is an excellent one-stop shop for everything related to the current status of J2ME.If you've read the CLDC and MIDP specifications and want to know more, this is the book for you. This book is suitable for project managers, team leaders and developers. It has a good mix of high-level architectural discussions and low level technical detail to keep all readers interested.Due to the immaturity of the CLDC and MIDP specifications, don't expect this book to be the final word on the subject. I would expect to see more developer-oriented books to appear once J2ME has gained a wider audience.Overall this is a very readable book that comes highly recommended.