Java ME Luminary - Hinkmond Wong of Sun Microsystems Ventures "Beyond Google Maps"

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Hinkmond Wong is a senior staff engineer with the Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) group at Sun Microsystems, Inc. Long active in the Java Community Process (JCP), he was the specification lead for the four Java Specification Requests that have defined the Connected Device Configuration (CDC) and the Foundation Profile, JSRs 36, 46, 218, and 219, and he remains the tech lead of the CDC and Foundation Profile libraries. He is the author of the book Developing Jini Applications Using J2ME Technology. Recent projects include investigating the porting of a subset of Java SE's Swing package to Java ME as an optional package, the Advanced Graphical User Interface (AGUI).

At present, Hinkmond's chief interests include performance tuning in CDC, and using web services and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to network Java ME technology-enabled devices - which brought him down the road to his JavaOne 2006 presentation, with the ungainly title Code Examples Using Java ME Technology and New Web 2.0 Services (Beyond Google Maps).

"I'm working on next-generation Java technology for today's ever-expanding market of small devices like cell phones, TV set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, and RFID devices." He's clearly excited by present trends in devices and the Java ME platform. "Now, even smaller devices can run powerful Java code like the CDC technology stack."

"At JavaOne I'll be talking about how to use the Ajax style of programming for small devices." Short for "Asychronous JavaScript and XML," Ajax is commonly associated with using JavaScript in a web browser to request XML content - but Hinkmond has a completely different technology in mind: Java ME. "Don't get caught up in the notion that you need JavaScript to do Ajax," he advises. He argues that Web Services 2.0 style programming is more about making use of HttpURL Requests, XML, and asynchronous programming than about working within a browser specifically. "You don't need a Web browser and you don't need JavaScript."

"A MIDlet running on a cell phone can automatically check a Web 2.0 back-end service and integrate with it using common protocols like REST and XML" He envisions users searching for products on Amazon, or grabbing the latest traffic report continuously, without hitting buttons to keep refreshing the data. "Together, the cell phone and Java ME technology break free of all that."

He cites many advantages Java ME offers to Ajax developers. "It's object-oriented so it's easier to use than a scripting language like JavaScript. There is type checking so there are fewer errors." He also likes the range of tools available, such as NetBeans. "Using NetBeans Matisse to create my GUI prototypes was a lot easier than programming GridBagLayout manually in a text editor."

Another advantage to Java ME is that the market for applications is enormous. Hinkmond points out that phones that support the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and version 2.0 of the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) can take advantage of the programming model he describes - about a billion devices. "And all next-generation CDC devices can as well."

Hinkmond submitted a session to JavaOne for multiple reasons. He saw lots of interest in Ajax-style programming but didn't see anyone using Java ME within that model. "This fact is changing since Sun is helping to drive the new application development paradigm through efforts like JSR 290, Java API Bindings to the Compound Document Format (CDF)." He wanted to demonstrate that developers can program mobile devices more efficiently than they have, and to encourage them to think beyond games when considering new projects. "There's a wide range of services that cell phones can use. Once developers learn how to use Java ME in the Ajax model, they'll want to develop fun services they can share with other cell phone programmers."

He predicts that Java ME technology on cell phones will continue to grow. "There are lots of unexplored projects waiting out there. Web 2.0 services are only the tip of the iceberg. Once they're fully available for cell phones and other small wireless devices, you'll see a lot more sharing of data and information processing, not just from web browsers on your desktop, but from your personal electronic devices as you walk down the street."

If you want to know more about Ajax-style programming for small devices, attend Hinkmond's session at JavaOne 2006 and participate in the discussions.