The authors start with a long panegyric to the wonders of WAP before discussing stack models and other arcana--knowledge of which, quite bluntly, will do little to aid you in developing WAP applications.

WAP development requires development software, including WAP phone (or other device) emulators. Unfortunately, in such a new and fast moving area this was out of date before they finished writing it. This is followed by a discussion on WAP gateways. The section on building and installing WapIT's Kannel WAP gateway under Linux is welcome and there's coverage of the trial version of Nokia's software under WinNT. You're then into application development with WML and WMLScript. Perhaps the funniest example here is the development of a car-buying application. Do the authors really believe anyone would ever buy a car via a text based WAP app on their mobile phone? Bizarre. While the technology examples using ASP, Perl and so on with WML show how to code such apps there is a frightening lack of realism in the examples. Have you ever tried writing an e-mail on a WAP phone? This is not realistic.

In fact, the whole book is about to be overtaken by events as WAP 2.0 is released with the lessons learned from the more successful Japanese i-Mode incorporated within it.

If you have to work with WAP today, buy this--you won't find anything more comprehensive. But if you just want to get up to speed on yet another new digital technology wait for the inevitable second version incorporating WAP 2.0. This will address many of the current usage and programmatic issues currently making WAP more joke than hope. --Steve Patient

Book Description
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) provides a universal open standard for bringing Internet content and advanced services to mobile phones and other wireless devices. Designed from the start to take account of the limitations of today's devices - small screen, low power and low bandwidth - WAP is the platform for the new generation of "media phones".

Professional WAP gives a broad overview of WAP and associated technologies - what it is, why it's useful and how to take the best advantage of it. It covers the WAP architecture and protocols, what WAP tools and servers are available for developers today and how to WAP-enable your web server. Practical examples will show you how to make content and services available over WAP using WML Decks and WMLScript. More advanced topics include administration, transactions, security, and integration of telephony with internet services (WTA).

The book is principally aimed at web developers who are experienced in HTML, scripting, probably some server-side technology, and who now want to find out how to apply their skills in the WAP world. It will also appeal to project managers, application architects or other professionals who want to gain an understanding of WAP technologies and how businesses could benefit from them.

See all Product Description