W3C Issues Mobile Device Spec

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3299821' target='_blank'>http://www.internetnews.com/dev-new...cle.php/3299821</a><br /><br /></div>"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) today recommended a standard to help handheld computers and smartphones communicate with Web servers about displaying content. The schema, the Composite Capability/Preference Profiles (CC/PP): Structure and Vocabularies 1.0 (CC/PP 1.0), is a system for expressing device features and user preferences using the Resource Description Framework (RDF), a spec that makes Web applications work with Web servers. <br /><br />CC//PP is being shepherded by a W3C working group that includes Ericsson, Nokia and Sun Microsystems. While many rich applications using XML or XHTML run on a host of devices from different vendors, they don't all provide access to Web content because there was, until now, no standard language to communicate that data, W3C spokeswoman Janet Daly said."<br /><br />This is great news for mobile devices! I'm not a Web developer, so I don't fully grasp the depth of this announcement, but it sure sounds like a step in the right direction. Now it remains to be seen how widely adopted this becomes...

[dangerwit]

Very cool. I'm having this exact issue at work as I redesign 2/3 of our architecture. I keep telling folks that having web-based apps that support drastically different screen sizes is tough for large applications. It's usually easier to use some kind of XML or whatever to only send the data across, maybe screen descriptions too so the client can build the screen on-the-fly.

I'm with you Jason, though, wondering if it'll be adopted, and how long it would take to hit our hands.

*Phil

[Mike Temporale]

Ya, it's nice and all, but those of us using .NET already have this functionality. Mobile Web Forms will automatically determine the best possible formatting for the requesting device.

[Jonathan1]

Ya, it's nice and all, but those of us using .NET already have this functionality. Mobile Web Forms will automatically determine the best possible formatting for the requesting device.


Ya a proprietary functionality. :|

[SeanH]

I think the best solution is to use 4" 480x640 displays on mobile devices. Most web pages look ok at VGA resolution.

Sean

[Mike Temporale]

Ya, it's nice and all, but those of us using .NET already have this functionality. Mobile Web Forms will automatically determine the best possible formatting for the requesting device.


Ya a proprietary functionality. :|

Proprietary? Ya, I guess the 250+ supported devices listed here (http://www.asp.net/mobile/testeddevices.aspx?tabindex=6) are all Microsoft based. :roll:

[dangerwit]

Ya a proprietary functionality. :|

Proprietary? Ya, I guess the 250+ supported devices listed here (http://www.asp.net/mobile/testeddevices.aspx?tabindex=6) are all Microsoft based. :roll:[/quote]

Good list, I should spend more time exploring that site. :)

I guess the problem I have is lack of user interaction on a web-based form. I didn't see any scanning devices (e.g. barcodes) on that list. And, PPC devices seem to have a watered-down javascript engine (using MS's IE anyway) that limits what I can do for my users. Thus, the need for a richer-than-normal client: I have a greater degree of control over the user's experience with the software.

So when my managers asks me to code something quickly, it's always been quicker to code the screens natively, then use the web services for the data. This way I have access to native controls that otherwise aren't available in mobile web apps.

I love the idea of mobile web apps, and I'll likely use it as much as possible in my future projects. But with life-critical situations where the customer absolutely needs as close-to-100% uptime as possible, mobile web forms don't cut the mustard.

*Phil

[Mike Temporale]

dangerwit,

Just a couple thoughts...

First, the device list is pretty nice, but could always be better. And it looks like they are working hard at this. I noticed something about a 4th update to the device list when I was scanning the site earlier. They also have a way to profile your own device if it's not already on the list.

Second, in regards to development. The mobile form is by no means 100%. It's extremely limited compared to the full features of the web and .NET. However, you can easily sniff out and redirect the users to a mobile form if needed. This would allow you to still offer the full expereince to those that can handle it, and a scalled down version for the others.

Anyway, it's nice that W3C has come up with a standard. But to the mobile developers using .NET, this news is nothing special.

[jsimotas]

Take it from a mobile web developer that has lived and breathed this issue for the past year. This spec is useless. Internet Browsers in phones/pda’s are going most likely come from Opera, Microsoft or maybe Access.

The Access Browser Powers the i-mode service in Japan &amp; some Palm OS5

Opera is coming with some nokia phones now.

Opera has an interesting way to doing this with their media tag.

&lt;!-- This style sheet will be used by devices -->
&lt; link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="mymobile.css" media="handheld">

http://www.opera.com/products/smartphone/ - link

Our Evmo service is using .NET, MS Mobile controls are a little buggy but a great technology.

www.evmo.com – link

Jason