Mobile Web Dynpro
Purpose
The SAP Web Application Server allows direct online access to Web Dynpro applications using mobile devices. As part of the SAP Web Application Server, Web Dynpro provides a development and runtime environment with which you can quickly and simply create professional user interfaces for desktop PCs or for mobile devices. An appropriate infrastructure and renderer classes are provided for developing mobile Web Dynpro applications for pocket PCs as well as for BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds and Nokia Series 80 devices.
No additional installations are necessary. You develop using the same development environment – the SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio – that you use to program Web Dynpro applications for a desktop browser. In most cases, you can adjust the user interface to fit the small screen of a mobile device. All other functions that provide support – such as context mapping, connecting a back end using RFC, or data binding – are used in the same way.
For the development of mobile Web Dynpro applications, the application development therefore uses:
- The same metadata model
- The same development environment
- The same functions provided by Web Dynpro – for example, personalization, connecting a back end, user management, and so on.
The individual mobile components are:
Device and Browser Recognition (ClientInfo) in the SAP Web Application Server
- For pocket PCs: The PIE client (Pocket Internet Explorer client), which is made up of a set of renderer classes and is responsible for data and event handling.
- For BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds: The WML client (Wireless Markup Language client), which is made up of a set of renderer classes and is responsible for data and event handling.
- For Nokia Series 80 devices (Nokia Communicator 9500 and 9300): The Nokia S80 Client, which is made up of a set of renderer classes and is responsible for data and event handling.
Web Dynpro applications for pocket PCs, BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds, and Nokia Series 80 devices are always online applications that run on the J2EE Engine and are displayed in the Web browser of these mobile devices.
· Pocket PC users require a suitable network or internet access that enables access to the J2EE Engine. This can be implemented using LAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, GSM, or GPRS, for example. Additional hardware is required as well as a service contract with a telecommunications provider. More information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/.
· Users of BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds will generally already have a service contract that includes internet access via a cellular network. Users of these kinds of devices need only ensure that all network and technical prerequisites for accessing the J2EE Engine are met. For more details, see the manufacturer’s web site at http://www.rim.net/.
· Users of Nokia Series 80 devices require a suitable network or Internet access that enables access to the J2EE Engine. This is done using GPRS, or WLAN in the case of Nokia Communicator 9500 devices.. More information is available at the manufacturer’s web site http://www.forum.nokia.com.
Available UI Elements
A range of user interface elements can be used for developing mobile Web Dynpro applications. These include:
UI Element |
Pocket PC |
BlackBerry Wireless Handheld |
Nokia Series 80 |
Button |
R |
R |
R |
Caption |
R |
R |
R |
CheckBox |
R |
R |
R |
CheckBoxGroup |
R |
R |
R |
DropDownByIndex |
R |
R |
R |
DropDownByKey |
R |
R |
R |
Group |
R |
R |
R |
Image |
R |
R |
R |
InputField |
R |
R |
R |
InvisibleElement |
R |
R |
R |
Label |
R |
R |
R |
LinkToAction |
R |
R |
R |
LinkToURL |
R |
R |
R |
RadioButton |
PPC2003 only |
No |
R |
RadioButtonGroupByIndex |
R |
R |
R |
RadioButtonGroupByKey |
R |
R |
R |
TabStrip |
R |
No |
No |
Table |
R |
R |
R |
TextEdit |
R |
R |
R |
TextView |
R |
R |
R |
TransparentContainer |
R |
R |
R |
Tray |
R |
No |
No |
ViewContainerUIElement |
R |
R |
R |
In addition to the
mobile data entry Web Dynpro offers UI elements from the
Mobile Add-On
Library.
For testing and developing mobile applications, the use of emulators is recommended – for example, the Pocket PC emulator (www.microsoft.com/pocketpc) or the BlackBerry Emulator (http://www.blackberry.com/developers/). These emulators imitate the behavior of mobile devices and can be downloaded from the device manufacturer's web pages. This enables the application development team to monitor and test the results of your development without actually using a mobile device for the development or testing. However, you should always test applications on a real mobile device as well.
You can use a URL parameter to force the rendering for a specific device type. To do this, add the following parameter to the URL for calling the Web Dynpro application:
· For Pocket PC: sap-wd-client=PieClient
· For BlackBerry Wireless Handheld: sap-wd-client=WmlClient
· For Nokia Series 80 devices: sap-wd-client=NokiaS80Client.