J2ME in a Nutshell

Delivery and Installation of MIDlets

The MIDP specification creates the concept of a MIDlet, defines its lifecycle and its execution environment, and specifies the programming interfaces that a MIDlet can expect to be present on any conforming device. However, it currently does not address in any detail how the user should locate MIDlet suites, how MIDlet suites will be installed on a cell phone or a PDA, and what facilities are to be provided to allow the user to select and launch an installed MIDlet or to remove MIDlet suites from the device. These features are not covered in detail in the MIDP specification because they are largely device-specific. Instead, it refers loosely to software that is intended for application delivery and management. The term Application Management Software (AMS) is generally used to describe the software components that take on this responsibility.^[12] The MIDP reference implementation provides an example AMS for the benefit of vendors porting the software to their own devices, and both the Wireless Toolkit and the MIDP for PalmOS product have their own AMS implementations, which allow software to be installed from two different sources:

From a local host computer via a dedicated, relatively high speed connection

This mode of operation is particularly suitable for PDAs, which are typically associated with a desktop or laptop computer with which they periodically synchronize. Synchronizing backs up the user’s data from the handheld onto the larger ...