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Programming WebLogic Server for Wireless Services

# Using i-Mode with WebLogic Server

The following sections describe how to provide content suitable for the i-Mode application environment and how to configure and use WebLogic Server with an i-Mode gateway:

- Overview
- i-Mode Markup Language
- i-Mode Gateway
- Additional Resources

# Overview

i-Mode is currently a proprietary, closed specification, developed and deployed by NTT DoCoMo of Japan, that allows for the development of Internet and Web-based services for mobile phones and other wireless digital devices. The only i-Mode implementation is DoCoMo's mobile internet access system, although several telecommunication companies in Europe and the United States have expressed an interest in i-Mode.

Note: i-Mode is a trademark and/or service mark owned by NTT DoCoMo.

The i-Mode specification addresses the limitations of wireless networks (low bandwidth, high latency, and unpredictable availability and stability) and wireless devices (limited CPU, memory, and battery life, and a simple user interface). It specifies two essential elements of wireless communication: an over-the-air wireless protocol and a markup language.

i-Mode gateways form the connection between clients on the wireless network and applications hosted on application servers on the Internet. The i-Mode gateway builds a bridge between the telecommunication and computer networks by routing requests from wireless clients to the application servers.

# i-Mode Markup Language

i-Mode applications use the compact Hypertext Markup Language (cHTML), which is specifically designed to interface with the microbrowsers in i-Mode-enabled devices. cHTML is a subset of HTML, with a number of extensions for the mobile phone environment. The NTT DoCoMo (English) Supported Tags and Specs defines the tags and structure of a cHTML document.

# i-Mode Gateway

As shown in the following figure, the i-Mode gateway acts as the bridge between the wireless network containing wireless clients and the computer network containing application servers.

Figure 3-1 i-Mode Application Architecture

An i-Mode gateway typically includes a protocol gateway, which translates requests from the i-Mode protocol stack to the WWW protocol stack (HTTP and TCP/IP).

When a wireless client sends a request to an i-Mode application running on WebLogic Server, the request is first routed through the i-Mode gateway and then forwarded to the appropriate URL. The response is then re-routed back through the gateway, translated to i-Mode, and forward to the wireless client. This proxy architecture allows application developers to build services that are network and terminal independent.

# Additional Resources

Here are some Web sites (organized by category) to visit for additional information about WebLogic Server programming, i-Mode, and cHTML.

#### Related WebLogic Technologies

Programming WebLogic JSP

Programming WebLogic HTTP Servlets

Programming WebLogic XML

Web Applications Basics