The Wireless Internet Explained
Learn to understand technologies and standards of wireless computing as they relate to the Internet.
TABLE OF CONTENTS The Wireless Internet Explained
5.7: Optimized wireless applications
5.7 Optimized wireless applications
Current applications are not really designed for mobile users. They were developed with desktop users in mind. In order to make them available to wireless devices we needed to find innovative solutions that made their use acceptable.
With most projections estimating that mobile devices will soon outnumber fixed devices this approach needs to be revisited. The task might seem impossible given the wide range of networks and devices that are available. But as the infrastructure migrates to IP-based networks, the effort on the part of the application can concentrate on accommodating the needs of the growing spectrum of mobile devices.
If a solid wireless infrastructure is in place, as suggested previously, then the applications do not need to take "wireless" into consideration. However, it is important for applications to be developed with the new model in mind. This has some specific implications, which should be factored into the approach, as follows:
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Resiliency
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Synchronization
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Dynamic presentation
5.7.1 Resiliency
The application and, in particular, the platform on which it resides, must be supportive of slow and unreliable connections and dynamic reconfiguration. For example, the application should not time out in a high-latency situation. It should also be able to recover from errors in transmission. A more challenging requirement for some platforms may also be the ability to respond to dynamic reconfiguration as the devices switch interfaces or networks and thus receive a new IP address.
5.7.2 Synchronization
One important observation with respect to mobile devices is that they are...
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