Page 196 - DCAP512_WAP_AND_WML

WAP & WML

Notes 13.6 Summary

 The Wireless Markup Language is a simple markup language that was designed exclusively
for the purpose of creating applications to be sent over wireless networks to WAP -
enabled mobile devices.
 WML is an open standard and was developed by the WAP forum and the WML specification
forms a part of the broader WAP specification.
 WML is an application of XML. WML has some distinct differences from other markup
languages, for instance HTML.
 HTML was created to serve content to desktop computers, which have a lot of processing
power to spare in parsing and rendering the content.

 When the internet began to expand to mobile phones, it became very apparent that mobile
phones do not have the processing power, screen size, and color range to actually work
with HTML.

 Thus, WML was created as an alternative to HTML in serving web content to mobile
phones.

 WML looks quite like HTML, but there is a significant difference between them.
 HTML is mainly used for creating documents, which in turn are being designed to display
information.

 But WML is being used for creating applications, which are designed for user interaction.
 HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language) – often compared to Wireless Markup
Language (WML) – is a language that allows the text portions of Web pages to be
presented on cellular telephones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) via wireless access.
 The SAML messaging protocol allows push and pull model. It also has the notion of
security zones, which is good for the syndicated/aggregated services.
 While HTML (prior to HTML5) was defined as an application of Standard Generalized
Markup Language (SGML), a very flexible markup language framework, XHTML is an
application of XML, a more restrictive subset of SGML.

13.7 Keywords

ART: AVIDRapidTools
HDML: Handheld Device Markup Language

JAWAP: Java Application Framework
JSOS: Java Servlets Office Suite
PDA: Personal Digital Assistants
SAML: Security Assertions Mark-up Language
XHTML: eXtensible HyperText Markup Language

13.8 Review Questions

1. The main difference between WML and HTML is the target devices that they aim to serve.
Explain.

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