Speedware's MobileDev 2.0
Although the current generation of wireless tools often lags in wizard support, MobileDev bucks this trend. In testing, the project and deck wizards proved to be especially useful. First, the project wizard supports creating a default WML application in both Microsoft ASP and Perl/CGI, as well as static pages. This support for server-side scripts means that as you design your WML, it will be live on the server using either of these options.
We found the deck wizard here to be another indispensable tool. We used it to create a simple interface featuring several list and input fields for a sample restaurant-finder application. Not only did this wizard let us define option lists for each field (restaurant rating, cost, and so forth), but it also supports simple data validation for input fields. This tool generated a useful WML deck in our server script automatically.
For editing WML, we appreciated the pop-up windows that list available tags and attributes. The auto-complete feature alone makes the tool worthwhile for simplifying common markup-language chores. (This feature also will let beginners master WML more quickly.) Once you've created a deck, you can edit it nongraphically through source code, though previewing the current deck through the built-in emulator is easier.
There are several other noteworthy features. The Application Map window shows the application logic between cards and decks. (Although you will definitely still write code with this product, you can add and edit links between decks using this handy visual interface.) A database viewer lets you examine any OLE DB or OBDC database to add live data to your scripts. (The actual database code still needs to be written by hand, but this tool can help by letting you paste field names into your script code.) Together, these features help make this a product programming environment. Although it's not visual programming, MobileDev makes writing code and WML/HDML a lot more manageable.
For testing your application, the product bundles with an integrated Yospace 1.0 phone emulator and a working Web server from Xitami, so you can preview and run decks easily. The reference platform here is the UP.Browser from Openwave, on both the older HDML and WML standards. We had no trouble launching the UP.SDK browser from within MobileDev. While there's no debugger in the product, you can view log files, as well as the generated WML inside your emulator to spot and solve problems. To promote team development, MobileDev has hooks into the Microsoft Visual SourceSafe version control package.
MobileDev makes creating wireless applications a good deal easier. This appealing package will be welcomed by any designer or developer who doesn't want to code everything by hand. MobileDev's wizard-based focus and capable programming environment help put it in the front-ranks of today's wireless development tools.
Speedware Corporation, 9999 Cavendish, Saint-Laurent, PQ H4M 2X5. Tel: 514-747-7007; Fax: 514-747-3320.