Upgrade Your Mobile Development Tool
Transcript of web chat held on December 7, 2004 9:00am PDT/16:00 UTC
Guests: Martin Brehovsky and Adam Sotona, Software Engineers for the Sun Mobility IDE.
Moderator: Bao Phan
bao
Welcome to the Sun Developer Network Moderated Chat series. Today's topic is "Upgrade Your Mobile Development Tool." My name is Bao Phan and I'm the moderator for this chat. Our speakers today are Martin Brehovsky and Adam Sotona, Software Engineers for the Sun Mobility IDE.
Just a couple of housekeeping notes before we begin:
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When you submit a question to the speakers, your question will not immediately appear in the chat room. It is sent to the speakers and will appear when the speakers post their response to your question.
With that, I'd like to invite you to begin sending your questions to our speakers. To start things off, Martin and Adam, can you give us a quick summary of the top three new features to check out in the upcoming release of Sun's Mobility IDE?
martinbrehovsky
The upcoming release is the NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0. The three main features to check out in this release are simplified coding with templates for MIDlet and MIDlet suites, features to manage device fragmentation, and support for localization.
bao
We have also been joined by Petr Suchomel, Software Engineer, and John Muchow, Product Architect for the Mobility IDE to help answer your questions.
iwaneising
Hi, I'm Iwan, I was wondering if there are any plans to support or experience with the support of Nokia's toolkit in NetBeans 4.0? Currently the Nokia devices don't show up, although they did in NetBeans 3.6.
petrsuchomel
Yes, together with Nokia, we are planning to make the Nokia Development Suite work with NetBeans 4.0.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
When you say "IDE," what IDE are you talking about? What is the best free IDE to develop phone mobility solutions under fedora c3?
martinbrehovsky
We believe NetBeans 4.0 with mobility support is currently the best solution for Linux users.
juli
What does it mean to be "UEI" compliant?
adamsotona
It means Unified Emulator Interface, that's the de facto standard for emulators today.
pivo
What version of applications can I create, MIDP 1 or 2?
johnmuchow
You can create both MIDP 1 and 2 MIDlets.
JuanDG
Are there any Web Services tools like the ones in IBM's WSDD?
petrsuchomel
The current release of the mobility tool -- Sun Java Studio Mobility 6 -- does provide support for web services. The upcoming NetBeans 4.0 does not include web services support, but the NetBeans 4.1 release will add that capability back into the tool. NetBeans 4.1 will provide support for J2EE development, also.
MrWolf
Is there support to test upcoming APIs like JSR 229 (Payment API)?
johnmuchow
The currently supported JSRs in NetBeans Mobility (via the integrated Wireless Toolkit 2.2) are:
- JTWI (JSR 185)
- Wireless Messaging API 2.0 (JSR 205)
- Mobile Media API 1.1 (JSR 135)
- PDA Optional Packages (JSR 75)
- Java APIs for Bluetooth (JSR 82)
- Mobile 3D Graphics (JSR 184)
- J2ME Web Services API (JSR 172)
iwaneising
While developing using NetBeans 4.0 RC1, quite often it happens that no MIDlets are shown in the emulator when debugging. After trying a couple of times of closing and restarting the emulator, it all of a sudden works. Is this still a problem with the RC2 of NetBeans 4.0 and the J2ME support?
petrsuchomel
Please send us more details through the discussion list at nbusers@netbeans.org. Thanks.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
If I use NetBeans 4.0 do I also need WTK2.2 or does NetBeans 4.0 have everything that WTK2.2 has? If not please explain.
martinbrehovsky
The Wireless Toolkit 2.2 is included and preintegrated with the NetBeans Mobility Pack, so you do not need to download it separately.
JuanDG
What about code and projects from older Mobility IDEs like Sun ONE?
petrsuchomel
You can easily import those projects and code to NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0.
johnmuchow
You can also import projects from the Wireless Toolkit.
dhyu
Is NetBeans also free?
adamsotona
Yes, it is free.
j
Back to J9. As I understand it, J9 is a JRE for PocketPC which doesn't have Java by default. It's not an emulator at all. So I don't think J9 can be UEI compliant. It sounds like I would need
some sort of PPC emulator plugin in order to use Sun Java Studio Mobility 6 for PocketPC development, right?
johnmuchow
There is no PocketPC emulator available in the product.
rfranzoia_br
Is this new Mobility support only for NetBeans 4.0 (and above)?
martinbrehovsky
Yes.
pivo
Is there support for obfuscation?
johnmuchow
Yes, there is built in support for obfuscating your MIDlets. We bundle ProGuard obfuscator and the obfuscation is a part of the build process with full support.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Please explain, if I am not using the free NetBeans 4.0 IDE, is there any other better Sun alternative, even if it costs money?
martinbrehovsky
No. But is there any particular feature that you are missing in the free version?
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Nothing, just wondering.
iwaneising
Is there somewhere a list of currently known supported emulators from the various mobile companies and how to install each of the emulators?
martinbrehovsky
We are working on that and will publish it on the product pages in the future.
JuanDG
In the main features you mentioned "device fragmentation." I'd like to know what this means?
adamsotona
It refers to the problem of different APIs on phones from different vendors (for example different classes to handle sounds). The device fragmentation solution also covers other device differences that require providing several distributions of the same application.
JuanDG
But how exactly will NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0 manage device fragmentation? Will it make different builds of my project depending on the targeted device?
petrsuchomel
Yes, that is exactly what it does. The IDE creates a build for each configuration (device).
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
It would be nice if there was a place on the NetBeans web page where you had links to all available emulators from other vendors...
petrsuchomel
We are working on providing this list. If you encounter any issues with an emulator, please file a bug at http://www.netbeans.org/issues/enter_bug.cgi, category 3-rd party / j2me.
j
Regarding versions again, if I currently use SJSM6 and want to upgrade to the next version, are you saying I download and install NetBeans 4.0 final, when it becomes available, and it will have
all the mobility stuff (JWTK, etc.) that is in SJSM6 now?
martinbrehovsky
Yes, we encourage you to download NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0 to take advantage of all the new features of the next release. You can import your SJSM6 projects into the new version of the tool.
petrsuchomel
The final release is expected next week. Currently Beta 2 is available here.
iwaneising
With NetBeans 4.1, there comes Web Services support. Will it be possible to use the J2ME WS-client support when debugging both the J2ME client and J2EE (WS) server? Just as I debug my WAP backend in NetBeans (Tomcat) and J2ME front-end thru an HTTP connection?
petrsuchomel
Yes.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Is there an official IRC chat for NetBeans for the mobility section of it?
martinbrehovsky
Unfortunately, no.
petrsuchomel
You can post your questions, comments, etc at nbusers@netbeans.org.
bao
The SDN Mobility Program will also continue to host live web chats on a regular basis.
j
There was a question a while back about Bluetooth that I haven't seen answered. Will NetBeans 4.0 support JSR-82 emulation? Will it support Bluetooth using a Bluetooth USB dongle?
petrsuchomel
JSR-82 support primarily depends on the emulator. If you have an emulator with on-device debugging, you can use it on the device.
iwaneising
Is there a document already describing how to add a new emulator? I couldn't find it on NetBeans.org, but I might be looking in the wrong place.
adamsotona
If you install the NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0, you can find those instructions in the Help section.
rfranzoia_br
Will NetBeans 4.0 come with the Mobility support already installed or do we need to download it?
martinbrehovsky
You need to download the Mobility Pack for NetBeans 4.0. It is available from the same download page as NetBeans 4.0 is.
j
Is there an "Installing Emulator XXX for Dummies" document anywhere?
adamsotona
You can find it in the Help section of the NetBeans Mobility Pack IDE. The installation of an emulator into the IDE is fairly simple, you just need to add it within the Java Platform Manager. But you need to download the emulator from the provider's web site and use the original installer first.
MrWolf
I know this one is slightly off topic, but maybe you know an answer anyway. I noticed that MMAPI does not have support for digital playback from a byte-array. And most real world MIDP devices don't support mixing, e.g. it is not possible to play music and effects at the same time (softwaremixing and adding a wav header is not a choice, the method overheads are too long). Are there any plans to add such playback to MMAPI?
martinbrehovsky
This question should be targeted rather at the device developers and J2ME JCP members. You can look through the mobility JSRs at www.jcp.org to see if there are any plans for this.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
With NetBeans 4.0 what is the best way to debug a J2ME client and J2EE server?
adamsotona
For a J2ME client you can debug easily now, but for debugging J2EE server you need to wait for J2EE support in the next version of NetBeans.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Can you please elaborate on memory management in general in J2ME? That is, if I have an app that is to download, say ... a known amount of video data, how can I know if the device I am targeting has the available memory for it?
martinbrehovsky
This suggestion should be given rather to device developers and J2ME JCP members. In any case, if you know the devices you are targeting, you can at least workaround it by using the device fragmentation feature of the Mobility IDE.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Is there a timeframe for the next version of NetBeans in order to have J2EE debugging?
adamsotona
Early Access of NetBeans 4.1 with J2EE support is already available for download.
j
It sounds like I'm rather SOL for using Sun Java Studio Mobility or NetBeans Mobility Pack for PocketPC development. What about Palm? Is the only option there WSDD also?
martinbrehovsky
:-(. We take your comment seriously - so please file an RFE for mobility support.
iwaneising
Will it be possible to profile J2ME projects using JFluid?
martinbrehovsky
Unfortunately not, but WTK and many other emulators already contain a profiler, so you can use this to profile your applications.
iwaneising
I tried to use the signing feature in NetBeans 4.0, and it all seemed to work fine until I wanted to use the OTA provisioning feature to start the application. I got an error saying it could not read the default keystore. I am using Windows XP. Should I use another certificate provider? Does Sun provide one, or should the default have worked?
adamsotona
it looks like a bug in signing. Please report it to Issuezilla at the NetBeans site, category 3rd-party/j2me. It should be working independently of the execution method used.
iwaneising
Is there any way to view the contents of the RecordStore of the emulator but thru the emulator? I've seen and used the great feature of emptying it, but there seems no way to check its contents.
petrsuchomel
There is no such feature in the emulator. RMS is only a set of bytes - if you want to see that, you can use an external tool to see the emulator files and their contents.
MrWolf
Is it actually possible to profile a MIDlet? I have often noticed that a lot of graphics related methods execute at different speeds on the development PC and handset (and these low level methods usually require the most time), e.g. some methods run faster on the PC, others on the handset.
adamsotona
The Wireless Toolkit, which is included in the Mobility IDE, contains a Profiler tool. You can enable it for the execution and see the special window during application execution. The Wireless Toolkit can even emulate screen refresh rates and other things.
j
Just where do I file a mobility RFE?
martinbrehovsky
Go to http://www.netbeans.org/community/issues.html. Enter a new issue here and use category "3rd-party" and subcategory "j2me."
iwaneising
Are there any plans to release a WYSIWYG Gui editor for J2ME? Similar to what Nokia has, but integrated with NetBeans?
martinbrehovsky
We are currently working on this. A preview of this should be available soon on netbeans.org.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
When will the next chat with you guys be, it's been great? And when will we get an irc mobility channel?
bao
We plan to host another live chat early in 2005. Be sure to subscribe to the SDN Mobility Program newsletter to receive notices of upcoming chat dates.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
What is the release time frame for NetBeans 4.0?
petrsuchomel
For NetBeans 4.0, it is expected next week.
pivo
Do you have a debugger for MIDlets in the IDE?
johnmuchow
There is a full-featured debugger which will allow you to debug your MIDlets within the NetBeans IDE.
j
Is device installation an emulator responsibility or an IDE responsibility? For example, the standalone Nokia Development Suite can do Bluetooth installation to a Bluetooth phone. Will that work in NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0?
martinbrehovsky
There is no standard for this, so some emulators have such a functionality, some do not.
dobr_pan4ev
My MIDlet tries to connect using secure connection to a website. I imported this site certificate using J2ME Certificate Manager, but still get javax.microedition.pki.CertificateException: Root CA's public key is expired. Do I need to import all the certificates in the chain or is there another workaround?
petrsuchomel
It may work so, but I am not an expert in this area.
iwaneising
Are there more tutorials planned for J2ME development using NetBeans? Currently most are detailing features (eg OTA) using WTK2.2.
martinbrehovsky
We will work on this. Also many well documented examples are bundled with the IDE itself.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Does NetBeans 4.0 officially support a Win version?
petrsuchomel
Yes, NetBeans Mobility Pack 4.0 is officially supported on Windows and Linux.
ironcraft
After NetBeans 4.0 is used you will get lots of feedback...will the next chat be timely to handle this?
petrsuchomel
Our primary recommendation is to use the mailing list nbusers@netbeans.org, http://www.netbeans.org/community/issues.html for reporting issues. We are planning the next chat for the end of January.
zeroeffort
So I really like the mobility stuff you guys provide but when will you improve the editor so that I can use NetBeans for the whole dev cycle - including editing that is :)
martinbrehovsky
Actually have you checked our device fragmentation feature integrated with the editor? I think it might quite surprise you how capable it is.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Again, any comments on the process of getting apps certified?
adamsotona
We support signing of the MIDlets, do you mean something more to get the app certified?
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Well in some other platforms, say brew, there is an official certification program. Is there something similar here?
adamsotona
There is the Java Verified project powered by Sun.
bao
www.javaverified.com
j
Is there an archive of the nbusers list?
martinbrehovsky
Yes - available at http://www.netbeans.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=nbusers. You can also use usenet news server "news.gmane.org."
iwaneising
Does my SDN membership also cover SDN Mobility Program or do I need to re-register?
bao
Your SDN membership is valid for the SDN Mobility Program, just be sure to subscribe to the Mobility newsletter.
zeroeffort
I would like to have a concise list of emulators that are supported - is there anything like that on the net?
martinbrehovsky
We are working on this. It will be available on the product's web pages.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
I would appreciate if Linux install instructions for NetBeans 4.0 and WTK2.2 were done in a much better examplified step by step way, just a suggestion...
martinbrehovsky
Thanks for the feedback, I'll pass it to the guys responsible for the installation.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Is there an API in J2ME to get cell gps position?
martinbrehovsky
Yes - there is a Location API (JSR 179).
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Does info on JSR 179 need to be offered by the carrier in order to use it?
martinbrehovsky
In the case that it uses GSM location yes, in the case of using GPS, usually not.
WM
Could you address where at Sun we can have more info about new MIDP/CLDC features, like speech recognition? This is a key matter for us.
johnmuchow
A good place to start is to see if there is a JSR that supports the technology you are interested in: http://www.jcp.org/en/jsr/all
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Is there any place on marketing info of mobility apps developed under J2ME vs. Brew?
johnmuchow
http://java.com has an abundance of information that may be helpful.
bao
Okay, we are coming to the end of our hour. Speakers, do you have any last thoughts for our guests?
While the speakers are composing their final thoughts, here are instructions to get to the Mobility newsletter:
- Go to developers.sun.com
- Click on the Profile and Registration link at the top right corner of the page.
- Login, and then choose the Update Your Subscriptions option.
johnmuchow
We appreciate all your feedback, please keep the comments coming. Post to netbeans.org, nbusers@netbeans.org and issuezilla. You can download NetBeans and the mobility tools here.
bao
Great, thank you. This wraps up our chat for today. I'd like to thank you all for your active participation, and our speakers for doing a great job in answering your questions. I hope you found this information helpful, and this live chat valuable.
On behalf of the team here are Sun, thank you and goodbye!
j
BTW, thanks to all of you.
fractal@fractalgrafics.com.mx
Thanks a lot for your input and see you in the next one!!!!
dobr_pan4ev
Keep developing standards for the mobile world and the IDE - it's great. Goodbye!
WM
Bye and don't forget the speech recognition stuff...this is a key factor for J2ME, IMHO
bao
I will get this question addressed in the transcript. Thank you for your participation.
