RIM Java SDK
The RIM Java SDK is made available by Research In Motion, makers of the popular Blackberry line of pagers and PDAs. Of the three products mentioned in this article, the RIM SDK definitely provides the most capabilities and custom functionality for developers building apps specifically for RIM devices. In addition to the standard CLDC and MIDP libraries, RIM has also provided the net.rim.device.api package, which includes a host of capabilities specific to RIM hardware. Within this package are classes for monitoring the COM port, radio, keypad, and thumb wheel, as well as a suite of classes (in the net.rim.device.api.util package) that include useful constructs such as a sorted vector, a clone-able vector, and a data buffer. Also of interest to many will be the net.rim.device.api.system.mobitex library—used to retrieve information on the Mobitex network connection (the network used by the Blackberry devices). In addition to these useful classes, the RIM Java SDK also includes an IDE that supports debugging on 950/957 device emulators (see Figure 4).
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The RIM 957 emulator.
The RIM Java SDK also includes a basic IDE that supports debugging, watch windows, and a graphical compilation environment. Because of the fine IDE, I would rate its development environment as the best of the three tested here.