Abstract
It is widely acknowledged that mobile commerce is a field of enormous potential. However, it is also commonly admitted that the development in this field is constrained. There are still considerable barriers waiting to be overcome. One of the barriers is most software engineers are not familiar with handheld programming, which is the programming for handheld devices such as smart cellular phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). This chapter gives a study of handheld computing to help software engineers better understand this subject.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Mobile commerce: It is defined as the exchange or buying and selling of commodities, services, or information on the Internet through the use of mobile handheld devices.
Server-Side Handheld Computing: It is used by handheld devices to perform wireless, mobile, handheld operations, which need the supports from server-side computing. Some of its applications are (a) instant messages, (b) mobile Web contents, (c) online video games, and (d) wireless telephony.
Handheld Computing: It is used by handheld devices such as smart cellular phones and PDAs (personal digital assistants) to perform wireless, mobile, handheld operations such as personal data management and making phone calls.
Palm OS Developer Suite: It is the official development environment and tool chain from PalmSource Inc. and is intended for software developers at all levels. It is a complete IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for (1) Protein applications (all ARM-native code) for Palm OS Cobalt and (2) 68K applications for all shipping versions of the Palm OS.
Client-Side Handheld Computing: It is used by handheld devices to perform mobile, handheld operations, which do not need the supports from server-side computing. Some of its applications are (a) address books, (b) video games, (c) note pads, and (d) to-dolist.
Mobile Handheld Devices: They are small generalpurpose, programmable, battery-powered computers, but they are different from desk- or lap- top computers mainly due to the following special features
Palm OS: Palm OS, developed by PalmSource Inc., is a fully ARM-native, 32-bit operating system running on handheld devices. Two major versions of Palm OS are currently under development