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MIDP 2.0 Style Guide for the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition
- By Cynthia Bloch, Annette Wagner
- Published Jun 10, 2003 Part of the Java Series series.
Book
- Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Description
- Copyright 2003
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-321-19801-8
- ISBN-13: 978-0-321-19801-3
MIDP 2.0 Style Guide for the Java™ 2 Platform, Micro Edition, is the comprehensive reference for designing and creating interactive Java™ applications for consumer-oriented mobile devices. Readers learn how to best exploit MIDP 2.0 features, such as the gaming API, multimedia, and security for user-friendly MIDlets. Readers who create MIDP environments (MIDP implementors) also learn how to best support developers and users.
This book begins by introducing readers to the unique requirements of the consumer market and to the characteristics of MIDs and the MIDP 2.0 environment. Readers have a first look at the process of designing applications for MIDP in general terms before examining the nuts and bolts of creating usable, predictable applications. The authors provide user interface designers, application developers, and MIDP implementers with clearly illustrated standards for working with screen layouts, lists, text boxes, forms, alerts, canvas screens, and game screens. Visual examples demonstrate both what does and what does not work. The book ends with the authors' strategies for improving usability, security, and performance.
Key topic coverage includes:
MIDP 2.0 Style Guide for the Java™ 2 Platform, Micro Edition, is the insider's guide to creating applications and devices that create consumer demand.
0321198018B05302003
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Table of Contents
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
1. Introduction.
Consumer Characteristics.
The Nature of Consumer Products.
Consumer-Product Domains.
Design Considerations for Consumer Products.
2. MIDP Characteristics.
Characteristics of MIDs.
Changes from MIDP 1.0 to MIDP 2.0.
Characteristics of the MIDP Environment.
Implications of the MIDP Environment.
3. Designing Applications for MIDP.
Characterizing the Application.
Describing a Usage Case.
Identifying Tasks.
Sketching Tasks.
Designing Application Flow.
Creating a Mock-Up.
4. Screen Layout.
Tickers and Titles.
Onscreen Indicators.
Full-Screen Mode.
5. Lists.
Working with Lists.
Exclusive-Choice Lists.
Multiple-Choice Lists.
Implicit Lists.
6. Text.
Constraints.
Modifiers.
Input Modes.
Handling Text Boxes.
7. Forms and Form Layout.
Creating and Updating Forms.
Form Layout Policy.
Traversing and Scrolling Forms.
Traversal and Selection Highlighting.
8. Form Items.
Labels.
Item-Specific Abstract Commands.
Images.
Strings.
Buttons and Hyperlinks.
Text Fields.
Dates and Times.
Gauges.
Choice Groups.
Custom Items.
9. Alerts.
Titles for Alert Screens.
Text of Alerts.
Duration of Alerts.
Gauges in Alerts.
Abstract Commands on Alert Screens.
Command Listeners for Alerts.
Alert Types.
10. Canvas Screens.
Title and Ticker 140 10.2 Key Events.
Touch Input.
Colors, Fonts, Shapes, and Images.
Accommodating Different Screen Sizes.
Avoiding Flicker.
11. Game Screens, Layers, and Sprites.
Offscreen Buffer.
Key Latching and Suppression.
Layers.
Layer Manager.
Performance and Resource Usage.
Creating a Game.
12. Abstract Commands.
Types of Abstract Commands.
Labels.
Priority.
Implementing Abstract Commands.
Using Abstract Commands.
13. Application Discovery, Installation, and Management.
Integrating MIDP into the Device.
Discovering MIDlet Suites.
Installing MIDlet Suites.
Launching and Exiting MIDlet Suites.
Getting Information on MIDlet Suites.
Updating MIDlet Suites.
Removing MIDlet Suites.
Handling Application Management Errors.
14. Push Functionality.
Registering to Use Push Functionality.
Use Cases for Push Functionality.
Protocols for Push Functionality.
Alarms.
Designing a MIDlet Suite That Uses Push Functionality.
15. Security.
Determining Trust.
Working with a Security Policy.
Function Groups: Permissions in a Usable Interface.
Installing a MIDlet Suite.
Prompting the User for Permission.
Changing Permission Settings.
Security for Push Functionality.
16. Advanced Topics.
Touch Input.
Performance.
Multithreading.
Bibliography.
Index. 0321198018T06032003
Preface
If someone had told me that our world was going to be taken over by small devices back in 1995, I would have laughed. Then technology started moving in new directions--one of which was into cell phones. Cell phones not only take pictures but let me send those pictures to my mom if I so desire.
The world that opened up was one that enables people in many new, interesting and, sometimes, annoying ways. I'm still not sure I really want to get my email on my phone. After all, that seems to imply I should answer it right away, doesn't it?
At the first meeting of the minds on the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP), in January 2000, the issue of needing a style guide for this new technology was raised. Even then, all of us knew that if MIDP became successful, it would require a concerted effort from all the players: content providers, handset manufacturers, and operators. A style guide would help make that happen.
It took much longer than we expected to get the first version of the style guide out on the web. That's why, once the MIDP 2.0 effort began, we started planning for the second version of the style guide. It still took longer than we thought to get this book out. Murphy's Law works in mysterious ways.
We hope this book will educate our readers about MIDP as well as about user-experience issues. Creating great user interfaces is still as much science as it is art, and vice versa. If this book enables great MIDlets, it will be a success.
The focus here is on giving you as much advice as we can about what works and what doesn't work. Every domain has its idiosyncrasies and consumer user interface design is no different. If my company buys me a laptop and I don't like it, I grumble but use it. If I buy myself a cell phone and don't like it, it goes back to the store and I get my money back. That fundamental difference significantly changes people's motivation for what they will put up with. If you remember nothing else, remember that.
How This Book Is Organized
The MIDP 2.0 Style Guide provides recommendations for designing the user interfaces of MIDlets, applications written in the Java™ programming language (Java applications) for MIDP. It guides user-interface (UI) designers, application developers, and MIDP implementors toward a common set of practices that are based on good UI and software design principles, user studies, and the specific requirements of MIDP. These practices will help designers, developers, and implementors create successful applications and devices.
To get the most out of this book, you should be familiar with the MIDP specifications. Both the MIDP 1.0 Specification 19 and the MIDP 2.0 Specification 19 are available from the Java Community ProcessSM (JCPSM) at: http://jcp.org.
The following list describes the organization of The MIDP 2.0 Style Guide:
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the book's audience and typographical conventions. It also discusses consumer characteristics, consumer markets, and design considerations for consumer devices and applications.
Chapter 2 describes the required device characteristics, as well as MIDP characteristics and their implications.
Chapter 3 describes a design process for MIDP applications.
Chapter 4 covers implementing and using high-level and low-level screens.
Chapter 5 discusses implementing and using list screens.
Chapter 6 covers implementing and using text boxes.
Chapter 7 covers implementing and using forms, as well as form layout.
Chapter 8 discusses implementing and using form items.
Chapter 9 covers implementing and using alerts and alert types.
Chapter 10 describes implementing and using canvases.
Chapter 11 discusses implementing and using the new game package.
Chapter 12 covers implementing and using abstract commands.
Chapter 13 covers integrating MIDP and its applications into a device, and enabling users to download and install MIDlets over a network.
Chapter 14 discusses implementing and using push functionality.
Chapter 15 describes implementing and using the MIDP 2.0 security model.
Chapter 16 covers using touch input, improving performance, and multi-threading.
0321198018P06032003
Index
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