Chapter 1. Overview of J2ME
This book is about wireless Java programming with the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME). Sun Microsystems, Inc. introduced J2ME at the JavaOne conference in June 1999 as the younger sibling of both the Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) and the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE). At the time, distributed programming was taking the Java developer community by storm, so most of the participants at the show were more interested in what J2EE had to offer. However, over the next two years, developers also realized that there was tremendous value in having small components running Java. Two years later, at the 2001 JavaOne conference, Sun devoted an entire track for individuals seeking to master the once arcane J2ME. Luckily, you don’t need to attend JavaOne to learn about J2ME. Instead, this book will help you through the myriad details of understanding J2ME architecture and programming J2ME applications.
In this chapter, we will present an overview of J2ME’s primary components, including virtual machines, configurations, and profiles. We’ll then present a few short examples of J2ME-enabled applications to whet your appetite and to show you how easy it is to get started with J2ME.
What Is J2ME?
J2ME is a version of Sun Microsystems’ Java that is aimed at the consumer and embedded devices market, which includes electronic commodities such as cellular telephones, pagers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), set-top boxes, and other small devices. Since its release, ...