Inside WAP: Programming Applications with WML and WMLScript Book

One way to distinguish a technical book is by the gut feeling it gives its readers. Pekka Niskanen's high-quality Inside WAP makes you feel confident that you can, with study and diligence, make a living developing Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) programs for mobile phones and other wireless devices. The book's explanations of the technologies involved--primarily Wireless Markup Language (WML) and WMLScript--are clear and technically accurate (Niskanen had the support of a technical reviewer from Nokia as well as his own consultancy). You will have absolutely no problem following the author's stepwise approach to his subject languages if you have knowledge of HTML and JavaScript, and very little trouble figuring WAP out if it's the environment for your first effort at application scripting.Niskanen's approach to teaching WML and WMLScript is a popular and proven one. He explains the requirement for a particular language element, shows its general syntax and presents a boiled-down example. Many readers will wish for straight language documentation better suited to alphabetical lookups, but what's here works. You will probably need to acquire--either through education or hired talent--the skills needed to develop the server-side components of your WAP, even though this book does a remarkably good job of introducing Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programming with Java servlets and Perl. The server-side material here should certainly be enough to help you figure out what you need and communicate intelligently with specialists. --David WallTopics covered: The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), particularly its client-side markup language (WML) and scripting language (WMLScript). All interface elements get attention, as well as WMLScript logic, events and communications capabilities. Server-side coverage goes to Perl, Java servlet programming and the Nokia WAP Server (which appears on the companion CD-ROM). Software examples were tested on the Nokia 7110 phone, the Ericsson MC218 palmtop, and a couple of standard simulators.Read More