Wireless application Protocol
(Review by Bob Viola)
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open, global specification that empowers mobile users with wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services instantly. The WAP Forum is the industry association comprising over 500 members that has developed the de-facto world standard for wireless information and telephony services on digital mobile phones and other wireless terminals. The primary goal of the WAP Forum is to bring together companies from all segments of the wireless industry value chain to ensure product interoperability and growth of wireless market. WAP Forum members represent over 90% of the global handset market, carriers with more than 100 million subscribers, leading infrastructure providers, software developers and other organizations providing solutions to the wireless industry.
WAP’s purpose is to enable easy and fast delivery of relevant information and services to mobile users. The types of devices that will use WAP include handheld digital wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and communicators -- from low-end to high-end. WAP is designed to work with most wireless networks such as CDPD, CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA, FLEX, ReFLEX, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, Mobitex. WAP is a communications protocol and application environment. It can be built on any operating system including PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9, JavaOS etc. It provides service interoperability even between different device families.
Generally speaking, the WAP Forum makes various documents available for public review and comment. At this time, the following classes of documents may be reviewed:
A WAP-approved technical specification which is part of the overall WAP Specification Suite. Before adoption as part of the overall WAP Specification Suite, implementation and/or operational experience must validate the specification. An Approved WAP Specification is considered a mature and viable technical solution to a well-defined and pressing technical or operational problem.
A technical document under consideration for inclusion in the WAP Specification Suite and under active review and validation by the WAP membership. The originating Specification Working Group must consider a Proposed Specification stable and complete. A Proposed Specification has a finite lifetime (generally three months) and will expire if it is not acted upon.
A technical document under consideration for inclusion in the WAP Specification Suite, which has reached a point where the WAP Specification Working Group feels it has reached theoretical completion, but requires public review and/or prototype implementation to validate the contents of the specification. A Prototype specification is not considered complete or stable. A Prototype Specification has a finite lifetime (generally six months) and will expire if it is not acted upon. This document stage is particularly useful for validation of an extremely complex specification.