Java Reference
In-Depth Information
means more demand for new devices that can run the new applications.
More applications also increase the usage of services provided by net-
work operators and hence increase their revenues. MSA satisfies the
requirements of enterprises and IT departments because of the improved
compatibility and manageability of secure applications. Finally, MSA
helps to give consumers, who have more influence on technology than
formerly, an enhanced and consistent user experience and improved
service quality. Everyone benefits!
In broad terms, MSA is a standardization of existing JSRs, which was
seen as both essential and feasible within a short timescale, relative
to the time required for mass-market deployment. With that alignment
came some clarifications and some additional requirements, which were
required but not ground breaking.
To understand JSR-248 MSA well, the usual rule applies: go to
www.jcp.org
, download the specification and read it. Interested readers
may refer to [Knudsen 2007], which is a comprehensive guide to MIDP
application programming and MSA for CLDC that provides practical
examples and coverage of all the APIs that comprise MSA for CLDC.
6.2 What Can I Do with MSA?
In this section, we explore a few example applications that benefit
from an MSA-compliant platform. We also see how we can improve an
existing MIDP application if we assume it runs on an MSA-compliant
Symbian phone.
The principle of how to use MSA is simple yet powerful. MSA provides
you, as a developer, with an aligned and powerful set of standard Java
ME APIs, so that you can focus on the main task of your application,
which is the mobile service that the Java application enables. Your
application lives in its natural mobile habitat of CLDC 1.1 and MIDP
2.1, which determines your application model and how the application
is packaged, discovered and deployed. You throw into the melting pot
some capabilities such as Advanced Multimedia, Location, PIM and File
Connection. Dazzle the user with a 3D or SVGUI. Reach out of the device
by using web services, short-link connectivity or remote connectivity. You
need to make sure that the user can pay for the service, using SATSA.
And, since it is a truly global application, it uses the simple but beneficial
Mobile Internationalization API.
Implementing a real application is obviously not that simple. We might
have added some fake glamour to a design process which obviously
requires work and planning, but this is indeed how MSA looks from
the feature perspective. This is what the power of MSA Component JSRs
enables you to do. So let's zoom in again to the technical perspective
and explore a few examples of applications that enable services with real
value.
