WAP - an abbreviation for
Wireless Application Protocal - is an emerging and newest technology used along with the most powerful browsers all over the world in mobile application development. The applications which are supported via the WAP services might range from clean and simple informative pages to the complex of the M-Commerce applications; it depends mostly on the User's requirements and utilization of the particular mobile application or website.
OVERVIEW
The basic building blocks of the
WAP applications are the Wireless Markup Language (WML) pages. The WML provides suitable and classic text and image presentation, navigation support, hyperlinks, and forms - just like HTML (HyperText Markup Language) in case of mobile websites development. Furthermore, the mobile website programmer can use any web technology like PHP, JSP or ASP.NET to develop more featured dynamic web applications.
WORKING
WAP uses WML as basic units to be linked with each other thus ensuring the smooth flow of application; from programming as well as functional point of view. Moreover, WML also includes a unique Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML) for its further creative and more resourceful usage in development of mobile applications and websites. To get you some more details - HDML is very similar to HTML, but for wireless and handheld devices with small displays, like PDAs and other mobile phones. A markup language is basically a way of adding information to the content of the application/website. Differentiating WML from HTML, apart from provision of predefined tags, WML lets you design the programmer's own markup language components. WAP also supports the use of some of the standard internet protocols like IP with XML, thus adding to the arsenal of mobile application developer.
Below are the brief reasons like why wireless internet needs Wireless Application Protocol:
> Navigation movements
> Size and readibility
> Speed of data transfer
Most of the web-enables PDAs and available smart phones have speeds around 15 Kbps or might be less than that. Where as the internet cable modems or DSL connections usually support 56 Kbps. Now, considering the modern day era of graphics - most of the internet pages will be higher than even 56 Kbps and will thus take very long time to get loaded on the screens. Here, the key of using WAP is Wireless internet content is typically text-based in order to solve this problem and get the pages load on time to make the things easier for the users.
WAP PRACTICAL PROCESS:
Here is the step-wise process of like what happens when a User opens up a website using WAP-enabled device:
1. User turns on a Mini-browser in the device
2. The searches the service, by sending an automatic radio signal
3. After the device is found, the connection is established with the service provider
4. User selects a website to be viewed
5. A request is sent to a gateway server using WAP
6. The gateway server then retrieves the necessary information via HTTP (protocol) from the website
7. The HTTP data is encoded as WML by the gateway server
8. The WML (encoded) data is sent/displayed on the device
9. User sees the wireless Internet version of the website/webpage selected
Now a days, the market trend is like the owners of the popular websites have seperate versions of the desktop website and the mobile website. So, the users who are accessing the website from the mobile phones will come accross only the website which is specifically meant for the mobile phones only - thus to add to the class and vision of the user. Here, in case of wireless internet content, a website creates special versions of the webistes for the mobile versions, which are text-only or contains particularly low-graphics. The Web server sends the data to the WAP gateway in HTTP form, and then it gets visible to the User or viewer of the mobile website. And as explained in the 8th step of the above process, the gateway then sends the converted data to the WAP Client and thus, the data becomes visible on the handheld device.
Thus, WAP is taking the world over at a very rapid pace and it is growing over and over with some more upgradations available in the market. Here are some of the unique advantages:
> WAP is more efficient as it enables the Client and Server data exchange using least amount of the data speed.
> Through WAP, one can enable some actions to make the webpages change dynamically on the WAP browser.
> WAP allows the usage of resources with minimum capacity and minimum data transfer rates.
> WAP optimizes use of small displays and the site navigation can be performed with a single operation only. As WAP is based on a layered architecture, it is unique feature of WAP that each layer cna develop independently of others.
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