http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2004/02/06/mobile_browsing.html
by Robert Jones
http://asp2.readspeaker.net/cgi-bin/oreillyrsone?lang=us&voice=Paul&customerid=171&url=http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/4598
02/06/2004
WAP, WML, and XHTML MP
WML it has been
superceded
XHTML MP (Mobile Profile).
WAP 2.0, an evolution of the delivery mechanism.
First
You must use double quotes around each attribute in a tag (such as align="center") and you must match each tag with a closing tag (such as
...
). That is, except for the tags that don't follow that rule, most notably
and . You have to write perfectly clean code or it will not be displayed on your phone. Trust me, this gets very frustrating very quickly.
Secondly,
you should install a WAP browser simulator on your PC. Simulators are essential tools for anyone developing content for phones. Running on your PC over a regular Internet connection, they load pages much faster than your phone, they avoid the frustrations of using the phone keypad, and they can provide information that helps debug problems. In fact, they are so useful that I recommend you install two of them!
The first, and easiest to install, is from Openwave and can be found at developer.openwave.com. It is available for Windows only and is free of charge, but you do need to register with Openwave. The equivalent software from Nokia is available from
forum.nokia.com. Drill down through Tools and SDKs until you find the page for Nokia Mobile Internet Toolkit 4.0. Again, the software is free, but you will need to register. You should download the entire toolkit, which includes a Mobile Browser Simulator (NMB), a WAP Gateway Simulator, and the toolkit itself (NMIT), which is an application containing editors for the markup languages, images, and multimedia messages. The simulators look like this :
The real benefit of installing the Nokia software is the NMIT, which provides "language-aware" editors for WML and XHTML MP. This is extremely useful in troubleshooting pages that do not display on your phone. Chances are the problem is XML-related, such as a failure to properly quote an attribute. This screenshot shows an example of that:
Robert Jones runs Craic Computing, a small bioinformatics company in Seattle that provides advanced software and data analysis services to the biotechnology industry. He was a bench molecular biologist for many years before programming got the better of him.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
asp2.readspeaker.net
wap
O'Reilly-Rober-Jones
MP (Mobile Profile).
Wireless Markup Language (WML) as a first crack at the problem.
WML content is served by a regular HTTP server like Apache, but its delivery mechanism involves a gateway device that sits between the phone and the server. This mechanism is referred to as the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and specifically, as WAP 1.0.
First of all, both WML and XHTML MP are XML-based languages
In Part 1, I will describe the basic features of the two main markup languages,
WML and XHTML MP, and will show how you serve them from a web server. In Part 2, I will show how you can identify the phone that has requested a page and deliver content that is tailored for that device.
Users in the UK alone downloaded 8 billion pages to their phones in 2003. A huge audience; but bear in mind that most of them are viewing sports scores or downloading custom ring tones, and not a lot else. The opportunity for developers like us to serve up imaginative and useful content to their phones is tremendous.
Read more On "wap"!
hockniyzer-bighugelabs
Well, a cool tool I just heard about for Flickr didn’t make it into my Flickr how-to. It’s the Hockniyzer from BigHugeLabs. I used the Hockeniyzer to make the goofy image. That’s a bonus Flickr clue that you won’t find in the eHow article.
make-your-site-mobile-friendly-comments
Comments worth noticing on make-your-site-mobile-friendly
1
Robert Nagle says (on June 2nd, 2007 at 3:14 pm )
This is an excellent article (definitely bookmarkable). However, one thing worth remembering is that ebooks and mobile RSS readers are also solving the platform-independence problem.
with ebooks, the mobipocket platform allows for lots of features and optimization for various mobile devices. Mobipocket even allows for RSS feeds to be wrapped up in a single binary file.
RSS readers remove design considerations altogether. My guess is that RSS readers, not webpages will be the reading method of choice on mobile devices.
Reply
Virginia says (on June 2nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm )
Robert,
Excellent points. Thanks for adding this information to the comments.
Virginia
2
Stefan says (on May 15th, 2007 at 6:14 pm )
Sometimes it is really crucial to create separate site for mobile browsers, not just applying different style sheet to an existing one. User experience on a mobile is different than on the desktop. Thus it is better to create mobile site from scratch and optimize design for it.
Reply
Virginia says (on May 15th, 2007 at 6:28 pm )
Stefan, You are right. I did mention something like that in the Tips for Bloggers section, but there is no reason why the idea should only apply to blogs.
3
Webmirer says
Very nice article indeed. I have since long been creating the mobile version of websites. Very well said by one of the visitors that if you are careful with the XTML, you are pretty much done. Also on the bit of testing, these days there are mobiles such as N80, N91, N95, E65 or for that matter any mobile which connect the internet using wlan is a good candidate for testing as well.
The only thing is that they probably will not understand the localhost on your local network, you have to host you website somewhere on the internet to access the actual website. Apart from that my pda works well for testing purposes for mobile css results. And it is better, as it can test anything on the network using wlan or bluetooth connection or active sync connection on the localhost.
4
Chandra says
Thinkvitamin rocks and one more good article from you guys.
just to add if you strictly follow content out approach and write your XHTML markup before touching your CSS, you are almost done with important primary things.
make-your-site-mobile-friendly
10/31/07
My comment on thinkvitamin.com
http://www.thinkvitamin.com/features/css/make-your-site-mobile-friendly
Hello Virginia,
Today, first thing in the morning I searched Google for how to make mobile website.
Immediately I landed here.
I find the article useful.
I find the comments by
Robert Nagle (on June 2nd, 2007 at 3:14 pm ) and
Stefan (on May 15th, 2007 at 6:14 pm )
specially relevant to me.
I have already bookmarked this page and www.webteacher.ws
I offer medical expertise in my specialty as free community service. Hence, I wish to make a mobile friendly web site with the idea that maximum people can benefit.
Compliments and thanks,
Dr. Ashok Koparday
Medical Director
[omitted -> Samadhan Sexual Science and Aesthetics
omitted>]
to Virginia De Bolt
The following is the comment I left for Virginia De Bolt at
http://www.webteacher.ws/2007/10/30/ehow-articles-for-october/#respond
----------------007-----------
Hello Virginia,
Compliments!
I am reading your article
"Make your site mobile friendly," dated Monday, May 14th, 2007 at
http://www.thinkvitamin.com/features/css/make-your-site-mobile-friendly
I find it useful.
Purpose
I offer free expert medical opinion on line. I wish to make it available on mobile too.
What I seek
I am learning to make a website that is mobile friendly.
I invite any web knowledge/skill input to enable people to benefit.
What I know
I have now learned most of the basics of xhtml and constantly refer to w3school.
What I think I need to know
I see the need to learn css and php.
I welcome
I respect your knowledge. Candid suggestions are welcome.
I will appreciate help from any source, preferably, someone who shares the spirit of dedication that goes in rendering free community service.
With regards and best wishes,
Dr. Ashok Koparday
http://mysexdoctor.blogspot.com
-----------------007------------------
SEXUAL HEALTH EDUCATION
Free Ask Sexologist
