Developing Java Mobile Applications with JavaME and LWUIT

This session takes the audience through the structure of Java Platform Mobile Edition (JavaME) including the major optional APIs. The session also explores LWUIT describing the main components and functionality. Session was presented at the 4th IndicThreads.com Conference On Java.

Java ME allows us to write applications that are, generally speaking, portable across a wide range of small devices that support the platform. While the basic functionality usually works well on all supported devices, the area that does pose problems for developers is the User Interface. Native implementations of javax.microedition.lcdui — the primary API for UIs in Java ME — differ so widely from one device to another that maintaining a device independent and uniform look-and-feel is virtually impossible. Another problem with the javax.microedition.lcdui package is that it does not support components and capabilities that can fully satisfy present day user expectations. The Lightweight UI Toolkit (LWUIT) is the solution to these problems.

LWUIT offers a wide range of components with a device independent look-and-feel for building UIs. While some of these widgets are also available under lcdui, there are a number of new ones too and these additions enable application developers to design UIs that can come very close to their desktop counterparts in terms of visual sophistication. And LWUIT is not just about new components either. The API supports a whole range of new functionalities (like Theming and Transitions) too.

This session is for developers who want to create applications that work on a wide range of mobile devices using Java ME and LWUIT. The session has been designed with the assumption that the audience is familiar with Java but not necessarily with Java ME. Some degree of familiarity with Swing would be useful.

Speaker – Biswajit Sarkar is an electrical engineer who consults on Industrial Automation and Java ME based applications. He has written extensively for Java.net on Java Native Interface, Java ME and LWUIT, and is the author of “LWUIT 1.1 for Java ME Developers” published by PACKT Publishing. He has taught courses on mathematics and analytical reasoning at a number of leading institutes in India.

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