A review of the Wireless Enterprise
Symposium - Part 3
The last part of what I
wanted to talk about in this much delayed 3rd part focuses on the 3.5
version of the Java SDK. Even though the next version of the BES is also
3.5, they really do not rely on each other. Instead, v 3.5 of the SDK
finally adds all of those BlackBerry APIs we have come to love in the
C++ SDK and then miss in the Java SDK. Yes, I'm talking about Messaging,
and Address Book APIs. Not just those APIs, (though they are the ones
people miss the most) but also a Calendar API and access to the
Backup/Restore engine. Finally, over a year after its initial release,
the Java SDK will have the same capabilities (more or less) as the
traditional C++ SDK.
Adding these APIs to 3.5 is
no small feat. The fact that Java provides, nay requires, application
security, causes inter-application communication and data sharing to be
a very difficult thing to do. The basic fact is that RIM has had to make
ways for an application to "break the rules of Java" in order
to make these features available. I think we will all agree however that
it is a necessity.
As a result however,
security is of this data is now non-existent and this can frighten many
users and IT managers. To combat this fear, RIM will be implementing a
system in which applications will be required to be registered with RIM
in order for them to take advantage of these special features. This
registration process is still largely undefined, but it is supposed to
be free, be done once during the application development phase and be
completely automated.
These new capabilities are
what has me excited about the future of being a BlackBerry developer.
Obviously all of these features are not part of the MIDP specification,
so any application which wants to take advantage of them will be a
BlackBerry specific application. As long as there is a need for
BlackBerry specific applications, there will be a need for developers
who can specialize on BlackBerry.
Combine these new APIs with
the possibilities of communication made possible by MDS and it becomes
very clear that the direction of new software development will be to
extend the enterprise even more to the mobile worker, and this is why
the conference was called the Wireless Enterprise Symposium.
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