156 IBM WebSphere Everyplace Access V5, Volume IV: Advanced Topics
5.1 Introduction to Location Aware Services
The increasing use of pervasive devices provides tremendous opportunity for
providing value-added solutions to users. Location Aware Services provide an
opportunity for enhancing existing applications that are extended to mobile
devices (for example, enter the users location automatically in a mapping or
directions application) or for creating totally new applications (for example, find
the closest gas station).
Location Aware Services is middleware that WebSphere Everyplace Access
provides to applications that access the location-based services provided by
many cellular service providers. These location-based services provide the
latitude and longitude of the cellular device to the application. The use of
Location Aware Services can improve the adoption rate of some applications
dramatically by catering to specific needs of the mobile user.
Without Location Aware Services, enabling location awareness in applications
can be complex and time consuming because this involves collaborating with
several vendors and aggregating technologies from various sources. Location
Aware Services in WebSphere Everyplace Access enables rapid development
and deployment of applications that are location aware.
WebSphere Everyplace Access provides a single standards-based API for the
Location Aware Services so that developers can program to services and not to
individual providers. Programming to services avoids being tied to a single
provider and shields the developer from changes in the provider’s location
services implementation.
Location Aware Services provide:
Provider transparency
– Ability to program to a single API for location services. Location Aware
Services provide developers of location-aware applications with a single
API for common location services. The API defines call interfaces, the
types of objects passed in the calls, and error codes. Behind the Location
Aware Services API, a set of service adapters translates the Location
Aware Services API to the API of a particular service provider. As a result,
the application is now independent of the actual provider of a location
service.
– Transparent authentication of the application or user to the service
provider. In general, service providers require an application to
authenticate before invoking a service. Authentication mechanisms differ
from provider to provider, and credentials must be obtained, stored, and
periodically renewed. Location Aware Services and the service adapters
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