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Java 2 Micro Edition Developer Tools

by bryan morgan

The Java 2 Micro Edition platform from Sun Microsystems has caught the interest of both wireless and Java developers. The platform offers a uniform development model, programming language, and API set for all devices that conform to defined "configurations" and "profiles" (such as the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP)). What's more, Java code written and compiled for J2ME can run unmodified on any J2ME device...without even requiring a recompilation! This ability has led to Java becoming the development language of choice for server applications. Naturally, Sun is hoping that it will also become the platform of choice for mobile/wireless application developers as well. In this article, I'll take a look at several popular development tools for J2ME. For more information on the technology itself, I'd recommend Sun's Java site, JavaWorld, and the MicroJava Network.

Among the toolkits I'll examine are offerings from Sun Microsystems and Borland, the venerable developer tool vendor. However, first I'd like to explain why J2ME-specific toolkits are necessary (as opposed to standard Java development tools). Of utmost importance to J2ME developers is one or more quality device emulators that will support the reliable testing of a J2ME application on prospective devices. J2ME applications also must pass through a preverification process. Preverification allows the desktop compiler to verify that the compiled code can be run with J2ME's K Virtual Machine (KVM). As you might expect, J2ME toolkits include preverification tools that handle this process. Finally, most quality toolkits come complete with J2ME-specific documentation and the developer's best friend: sample applications.

If you're getting started with J2ME, do not pass GO; do not collect $200; instead, head directly to Sun's Java site and download the J2ME Wireless Toolkit product. This useful product is itself written in Java (which also means that you need, at a minimum, the Java 2 Standard Edition Runtime Environment. At its core, the Toolkit consists of a byte-code preverifier and an emulator. The emulator includes several default "skins" such as a color- and grayscale-screen mobile phone and a 2-way pager. The default development environment supported by the Toolkit is known as KToolbar (see Figure 1). KToolbar allows the developer to edit project settings using a graphical user interface as well as select from a range of emulators to test the application in. While KToolbar is a nice first step for J2ME beginners,the Toolkit can also integrate with Sun's Forte development environment in order to provide a full-featured J2ME solution.

Sun's Forte For Java development tool is a full-fledged integrated development environment (IDE) for wireless and enterprise application developers. It currently comes in two flavors: a free "Community Edition" and an "Internet Edition" (which includes support for XML, CORBA, RMI, and JDBC development). The Forte environment supports extensibility and Sun has taken advantage of that capability by allowing the J2ME Wireless Toolkit to be integrated into Forte as a module. Once the setup process is complete, you can use Forte to edit, compile, build, and emulate your J2ME application. It should also be mentioned that the compiler, preverifier, and emulator can all be run as command-line tools which allows the developer to automate the development process through scripts or batch files.

For over a decade, Borland has been a leading vendor of software development tools for the Microsoft platform (including products such as Borland C++ and Delphi). Borland has expanded upon its Microsoft platform roots to offer a leading Java tool (JBuilder) and now a leading Linux development tool, (Kylix). The JBuilder Handheld Express is an extension to JBuilder and can be obtained via free download from Borland. Handheld Express, in combination with the Palm OS Emulator (POSE) currently supports J2ME development for the Palm OS. Hopefully, in the near future, JBuilder Handheld Express will include emulation support for additional devices but the price is right (free!), making it difficult to complain!

The kXML Project is an open source project that seeks to provide an XML parser for J2ME environments. I've developed several prototype applications using kXML and can verify that it works as advertised. As XML is becoming almost ubiquitous across most enterprise application development projects, I'd recommend your downloading and testing out kXML should you require XML support on your mobile client.

While Kada from Kada Systems is not a J2ME development tool, I would be remiss for not mentioning it here. Kada offers a complete Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) environment for the Palm OS, making it the first of its kind. In addition, Kada has announced that they plan to release Windows CE and RIM Blackberry versions of their runtime environment this summer. Obviously, J2SE is a much larger undertaking (and requires much greater resources) than J2ME but, if you're looking to quickly deploy a Java app to mobile devices, Kada might be a good first stop.

J2ME is clearly in its infancy stage but its popularity is set to explode this year with the release of the first compliant devices on the market. As interest increases (and the potential developer market grows in size), look for your favorite vendor to weigh in with J2ME support sometime within the next year. To get started today, however, download any or all of the above and determine for yourself which tool meets your needs.

Bryan Morgan is an independent writer and software developer. He is a columnist with Wireless Internet magazine and was the founder of WirelessDevNet.com in 1999.