Web Services
Are you interested in developing connected applications and services? With Nokia, Web services technology offers attractive commercial opportunities for increasing revenue.
Web Services
Documents
View Nokia documents that offer valuable information on the implementation of Web services technology.
Code and Examples
Refer to these examples for help in your development work.
Tools and SDKs
Choose from a wide selection of valuable tools that can help you in various aspects of the development phase.
Support and FAQs
Consult discussion boards, the solved-cases database, and FAQs, and obtain fee-based online support.
In the Spotlight
Nokia WSDL-to-C++ Wizard for S60, can be used to generate Symbian C++ proxy code that enables S60 3rd Edition applications to access Web services. Proxy code is generated from Web Services Description Language (WSDL) files. The wizard is implemented as a plug-in to Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003.
Mobile Web Services: Architecture and Implementation, by Frederick Hirsch, John Kemp, and Jani Ilkka, aims to assist and support companies’ development of mobile Web-services applications, explaining the key network elements, software components, and protocols that are required to develop such services.
Web Services Overview
Web services technology provides a mechanism that facilitates the exchange of data by applications over the Internet. Using open protocols and interfaces, Web services technology removes the complexity usually associated with the exchange of data between applications that are running on different devices and using different operating systems. Web services technology lets servers exchange data with other servers, personal computers, and mobile devices.
The technology makes it easy for a smart client on a mobile device to discover and exchange data with any number of servers. For mobile developers, Web services technology can dramatically reduce the complexity involved in creating networked applications.
Nokia has implemented Web services technology in devices based on the S60 and Series 80 platforms. The range of devices supporting the technology opens opportunities to both enterprise- and consumer-application developers.
Enterprise application developers will find that the technology facilitates integration of mobile devices with business applications running on the enterprise intranet and business partners' extranets. Not only does the technology reduce the challenges faced when developing applications that interact with specific core-business applications, it also simplifies the process of combining of data from diverse sources to create greater business intelligence.
Developers of consumer applications will be able to take advantage of new opportunities to leverage existing public Web services - for example, TerraServer, Amazon, eBay, and Google - and create new applications based on hosted Web services.
Nokia's Web-services technology implementation employs a device-to-server framework that is based on open specifications from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Liberty Alliance Project. These specifications allow for the creation of solutions that are interoperable with many Web-services implementations.
The framework provides client applications with such basic services as service invocation and discovery; messaging; message security (including sender authentication, message integrity, and confidentiality); and XML parsing. Authentication, simplified sign-on, service management, and service policy are also supported. HTTP or HTTPS transport protocols may be used.
Development of Web service applications for Nokia devices is undertaken using Java™ technology or Symbian OS C++ on the S60 or Series 80 platform. For more information on the available tools, see the tools and SDKs on the Tools for Web Services Developers page.
Nokia tools for development of Web services applications can be used in conjunction with server-software development tools to provide an end-to-end Web services development environment that supports mobility.
Enterprise Applications
Nokia's Web-services offering provides enterprise developers with an effective mechanism for mobilizing enterprise applications. The first step is to create a Web services server for existing business systems to allow for accessing and updating data. Once this is accomplished, it will be possible to create smart mobile clients that interact with these servers. Data can be kept secure using Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) and Liberty security protocols.
Web services can be used for almost any type of enterprise application — from simple data lookup that can be used with price lists, for example, to fully interactive field-service management and reporting systems.
The Series 80 Platform SDK for Symbian OS, for C++ contains an example that illustrates how an enterprise might use a Web service to share a corporate address book.
Consumer Applications
Nokia's Web-services technology provides opportunities for developers to leverage publicly available Web services for the delivery of innovative applications to mobile customers. Developers can also implement their own Web services to provide users with data on a subscription basis.
A technical example illustrating the type of services that can be delivered via this technology is provided in the Amazon Web service example, which illustrates the process of invoking the Amazon Web services, sending a request, and receiving a response.
Web Services Support
Web services capabilities are supported in Nokia platforms as follows:
| C++ APIs | Java API (J2ME™ Web Services Specification [JSR-172] support) | |
| S60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 1 | ||
| S60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 2 | ||
| S60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3 |  |
|
| S60 3rd Edition | |
|
| S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1 | |
|
| Series 80 2nd Edition | |
Java™ Application Developers
On the S60 platform, Java™ developers can take advantage of Web services using J2ME™ Web Services Specification (JSR-172). Available in S60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3, this API includes functionality to parse XML files (with support for SAX 2.0, XML namespaces, UTF-8 and UTF-16 character encoding, and document type definition [DTD] validation) and the ability to use Web services (with JAX-RPC limited to client-side functionality).
To find out more about developing Web services applications with JSR-172, refer to the MIDP Web Services API Developers Guide, which includes a guide to the APIs and an example application. The example application illustrates all the basic features of a Web services client with a simple Web service that when supplied with the name of a country, provides the name of its capital city.
For developers who wish to work with the Series 80 platform, an add-on package for connected device configuration (CDC) and a WSDL converter tool are available. Forum Nokia PRO developers can download the package and tools from the Forum Nokia PRO Web site.
Symbian OS C++ Developers
Symbian OS C++ developers can create Web services applications for devices based on S60 2nd Edition, S60 3rd Edition, and Series 80 2nd Edition.
The S60 platform provides a Web Services Framework (WSF) API that abstracts the details of connecting to and communicating with a Web service. It provides helper classes for sending requests to and handling the responses from Web services. The API uses a framework concept to support the sending of correct messages to a server, using either the basic Web services framework or the Liberty Identity Based Web Services Framework (ID-WSF). Security is provided by support for Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) Web Services Security 1.0 (WS-Security 2004) and Liberty ID-WSF Security Mechanisms Specification. The API can be used by any S60 application, including end-user and system applications.
The WSF API is resident in devices based on S60 3rd Edition, and it is available as an add-on for S60 2nd Edition devices and SDKs.
The Series 80 platform contains similar APIs that allow Web services to be invoked and queried, and responses to be received and processed.
Books
Mobile Web Services: Architecture and Implementation
Frederick Hirsch, John Kemp, and Jani Ilkka
This book, which aims to assist and support companies' development of mobile Web-services applications, explains the key network elements, software components, and protocols that are required to develop such services.
Recent Documents
Read these recent documents to find out how Nokia is making it easier for Java™ Platform, Micro Edition (Java™ ME) and C++ developers to support mobile Web services.
S60 5th Edition: What’s New for Developers
This document provides developers with a summary of the new features in the initial release of S60 5th Edition. The document describes the changes to the UI and the new features available to developers using Symbian C++, Open C/C++, Java™ technology, Web Runtime (WRT), and Flash Lite from Adobe. It also covers support for additional content formats.
S60 Platform: Developers’ Introductory Guide
This version of S60 Platform: Developers’ Introductory Guide provides information about the platform through the initial release of S60 5th Edition. It describes the architecture of the S60 platform, provides an overview of the available runtime and content technologies, outlines the tools available for developers, and offers a guide to the support services provided by Forum Nokia.
How and why to synchronize and mobilize data with desktop PIM, CRM and web services
This white paper describes the reasons for synchronizing personal information — such as contacts, calendar events, notes and memos, tasks, email and messages — between various applications, devices, desktop and servers; how synchronization is done; and the best approaches for different scenarios.
Introduction to Mobilising Line of Business (LOB) Applications
This white paper focuses on mobileware usage scenarios, application types and technologies that speed the building of wireless business applications.
MIDP: Web Services API Developer's Guide (with Example) v2.0
This document describes the XML and Web Services API defined in JSR-172. An example MIDlet using the Web Services API is also included in the package.
Tool Chains For End-To-End Enterprise Applications
This document describes complete tool chains, from server to mobile client, for browser, Web services, and database architectures.
Web Services APIs for J2ME - Remote service invocation API
The JSR 172 specification provides support for remote service invocation and XML parsing at the device level -- this means that developers don't have to embed such functionality into each application.
Introduction To Web Services In Nokia Devices
This article describes a new software-development architecture, the Nokia Web services architecture, whose platform implementation will greatly facilitate the creation of such Web services for mobile device applications.
A Brief Introduction to XML Parsing in MIDlets
This document offers an introduction to parsing of XML documents in MIDlets.
