IBM Workplace Client Technology Micro Edition Version 5.7.1: Application Development and Case Study

Chapter 1. Introduction to Workplace Client Technologies 9

Figure 1-1 Platform structure

Figure 1-1 shows the generic structure of the runtime stack. You can see the

underlying operating system platform, whether it be Windows®, Linux®, PalmOS

or any cell phone or other device operating system. On top of that run the JVM

and the SMF platform. This enables the application loading and execution

environment. On top of the JVM and SMF platform are the services the

application might need such as DB2e, MQe and other application services or

components. These can be written as high-level services, or even delivered as

bundles themselves. This is the basic execution environment, and it is on this

that the overall application presentation and execution is based. In 1.4, “How the

parts fit together”, you will see how all of the platform components, services, and

applications form the user environment.

1.4 How the parts fit together

When an application is developed for WCTME, it is a Java application, and

currently, this application is a J2ME application. Note: Rich UI applications in this

model are Java applications, but this does not preclude you from writing Web

applications and putting the J2EE artifacts such as beans and JSPs into the

bundles and presenting the application to the user in a browser on the device.

While WCTME was originally designed for small devices such as PDAs and cell

phones, the platform is converging with, and moving to the desktop as well. As

the technology and product set evolves, you will inevitably experience some

growing pains. However, those pains should be limited to the naming and

combinatorics of which parts go where, and not the applications themselves.

Specifically, WCTME, as the name implies, is targeted at small, Micro Edition

devices. However, the same SMF platform and Eclipse RCP technology runs on

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