Product Description

This book introduces WML and WAP as wireless application development tools and teaches the reader how to develop WML applications. The reader will learn about mainstream topics such as security over wireless networks, working with image files for handheld displays, and interacting with wireless users. Readers will also learn about some of the more obscure items that could be needed in their use of WML/WAP, such as dealing with a variety of micro-browser hardware and integrating WAP/WML into standard Web server technologies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #971302 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 586 pages

Amazon.com Review
Very few people come to the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) with no relevant experience at all. Most often, developers attempting to put together a solution with Wireless Markup Language (WML) and WMLScript have markup-language experience with HTML and scripting-language experience with JavaScript or one of its competitors. In WAP Development with WML and WMLScript, Ben Forta and his merry band of collaborators do a great job of leveraging background knowledge of Web development as they teach their readers about wireless application technologies. Some readers may wish for more coverage of specific WAP application servers' characteristics, but the wealth of examples here--combined with the fine WML and WMLScript references that conclude this text--will get most developers into experiment-and-create mode very quickly.

Fans of Forta's other books--he's best known for his work with ColdFusion, and indeed this book includes a section on integrating ColdFusion into a WAP application--will recognize the tutorial style. It relies heavily on example code, usually in the form of independently functional programs rather than disembodied snippets. It's helpful to be able to run a program that does nothing but show how, for instance, a selection list works. Commentary is similarly handy: it makes frequent reference to other languages, pointing out ways in which WML and WMLScript are similar to and different from Web development languages. --David Wall

Topics covered: The application development languages--wireless markup language (WML) and WMLScript--associated with the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) 1.2 specification. The basics of syntax and structure are covered, followed by detailed exploration of images, user input mechanisms, and electronic mail integration. The authors give their opinions on "best practices," and present several complete applications. WML and WMLScript references appear, too.

From the Back Cover
This book introduces WML and WAP as wireless application development tools and teaches the reader how to develop WML applications. The reader will learn about mainstream topics such as security over wireless networks, working with image files for handheld displays, and interacting with wireless users. Readers will also learn about some of the more obscure items that could be needed in their use of WML/WAP, such as dealing with a variety of micro-browser hardware and integrating WAP/WML into standard Web server technologies.

Customer Reviews

If you know some HTML already, this book is the one to get.
WAP is so similar to HTML that I found that this book, PLUS my knowledge of HTML coding, helped launch my abilities to develop in this language quickly and easily. I liked that the syntax is clearly explained and presented and there's LOTS of example code - which is the main thing I look for when getting a book like this. There's a great section for advanced web programmers which shows you how to integrate WML with ASP/JSP/ColdFusion. It's probably a good idea to learn some HTML before you dive into WAP, but this book did have some good asides to explain things for pure beginners, as well.

Informative, another Top Notch Forta title
I had signed up for this book about a month before it started shipping & finally got it last week. I've read several other titles by Forta--his books are consistently clear & technically advanced, "WAP Dev." is no exception. If you're looking for a book to jumpstart your WAP development or you've tinkered with WAP quite a bit already (as I had) this one is excellent. Several other WAP books seem to be riding on the hype & delivering nothing. Forta stocks this one full of code & application examples--great reading for a hungry geek.

Good Kick-Start to WAP
I am not a big fan of programming books in general, as I prefer to learn by doing. But I really liked this book because it gave me the foundation to go off and experiment with stuff on my own. Now I really understand what WAP is and what it can do, and think that this book "speeded up" my learning curve. Rather than spending a few days figuring out the basics, it only took a few hours for me a couple of hours playing before I had created a WAP interface to my personal web site. It's great for beginners, but also had some very useful advanced sections on Security, Push Notifications, and appendices on writing WML in CF, ASP, JSP, Perl, & PHP.