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2011 | Book

Getting Started Read chapter Read first chapter

Advanced BlackBerry 6 Development

Author: Chris King

Publisher: Apress

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

BlackBerry devices and applications are selling by the millions. As a BlackBerry developer, you need an advanced skill set to successfully exploit the most compelling features of the platform. This book will help you develop that skill set and teach you how to create the most sophisticated BlackBerry programs possible.

With Advanced BlackBerry 6 Development, you’ll get a comprehensive look at the new features included with SDK 6, including the web and widgets SDK, the web browser, and more. You’ll also learn how to take advantage of BlackBerry media capabilities such as the camera and video playback. The book also shows you how to send and receive text and multimedia messages, use powerful cryptography libraries, and connect with the user’s personal and business contacts and calendar.

Not only will you be learning how to use these APIs, but you’ll also be building a program that takes full advantage of them: a wireless media-sharing app. Each chapter’s lessons will be applied by enhancing the app from a prototype to a fully polished program. Along the way, you'll learn how to differentiate your product from other downloads by fully integrating with the new BlackBerry 6 operating system. Your app will run in the browser and within device menus, just like software that comes with the phone. You will even learn BlackBerry's new Web browser features, Web standards-based software development kit, and more.

Once you are comfortable with writing apps, this book will show you how to take them to the next level. You’ll learn how to move from running on one phone to running on all phones, and from one country to all countries. You’ll additionally learn how to support your users with updates. No other resource compares for mastering the techniques needed for expert development on this mobile platform.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter

Advanced APIs

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Getting Started
Abstract
Welcome to the wonderful world of BlackBerry app development! Chapter 1 aims to get you up to speed as quickly as possible, so you can get right into the good stuff, and it assumes no previous knowledge other than a basic grasp of Java. This chapter will walk you through downloading software and setting up your environment, and then it will give you a quick tour through the basics of BlackBerry app development. You may linger, skim, or skip ahead as your patience demands.
Chris King
Chapter 2. Media Capture
Abstract
For years, manufacturers have sold phones with promises of increased convenience. They say you shouldn’t carry a phone, a camera, and a tape recorder—instead, buy one device that combines all those functions. This once-exotic bundling now feels standard, and today, even inexpensive phones generally can record media.
Chris King
Chapter 3. Media Playback
Abstract
Modern mobile phones offer the chance to deliver high-quality media experiences. People have founded entire companies to provide personal television delivery, radio station rebroadcast, or similar repackaging of media. In many other applications, you can use media to enhance the features of your app. You might add background music to your game, a tutorial video to a productivity app, or a slideshow mode to a real estate app.
Chris King
Chapter 4. Wireless Messaging
Abstract
Nearly every application written today—whether on the server, desktop, or mobile— includes some form of networking component. If you’ve been programming for any length of time, you probably are familiar with TCP/IP, HTTP, and other standards of network communication already. When it comes to mobile phones, though, the available technologies quickly multiply. You can tap into the unique systems available to wireless devices and achieve features that are impossible to obtain on other platforms.
Chris King
Chapter 5. Cryptography
Abstract
Next to their e-mail capabilities, BlackBerry devices are probably most famous for their security. Corporations love them because data sent over a BlackBerry Enterprise Server is automatically encrypted, because they can remotely wipe stolen devices, and because of their integration with corporate security policies. With this strong legacy, many BlackBerry users naturally pay attention to the strength of security offered by applications.
Chris King

Device Integration

Frontmatter
Chapter 6. Personal Information
Abstract
If you work for a large company, your boss probably has a large Rolodex with all his business contacts’ information in it. The boss may have a secretary who manages scheduling and appointment reminders. If you’re like most programmers, you likely don’t have either of those. What you do have is a computer in your pocket with the capability of storing all sorts of personal information: your friends’ names, their phone numbers and email addresses, your plans for the weekend, a grocery list, and more. Our mobile phones have become intensely personal devices, one of the few things that we bring with us almost all day long. We trust the phone with a great deal of information, and, if users are willing to share that information, your apps can become far more useful, immediate, and personal.
Chris King
Chapter 7. Browser with Web Apps
Abstract
BlackBerry devices have long offered the benefit of placing the Internet in your pocket. With strong data features, access to corporate intranets, a relatively large screen and high-quality keyboard, it’s little surprise that the browser gets so much use. As we continue our tour through ways to integrate more deeply with BlackBerry devices, we will look at how to effectively tap the browser as a portal to rich content on the Web and construct lightweight web apps of your own.
Chris King
Chapter 8. Integrating with the BlackBerry OS
Abstract
This chapter completes the tour of device integration by looking at various ways to tie into the device at a deeper level. These range from simple tasks, such as assigning attractive icons to your app, to more complex ones, such as providing a programming interface that other developers can use to invoke your app. When complete, you will have mastered most of the significant interfaces available for advanced BlackBerry development.
Chris King

Going Pro

Frontmatter
Chapter 9. RIM Security
Abstract
Few topics trip up BlackBerry developers more than the RIM security model. Developers often take an app that works perfectly in the simulator and find that it won’t even start on a handset; or, worse, it that passes all internal testing, but exhibits strange behavior in the field. Such problems often result from arcane security rules. Some of them you can bend, some you can break, and others you must live with: in all cases, though, just understanding them will allow you to make better decisions. This chapter examines the most important features of BlackBerry device security and how they affect your applications.
Chris King
Chapter 10. Porting Your App
Abstract
Developers tend to make assumptions when they start programming for BlackBerry. You probably have a single device for initial development, and any time you have questions about how BlackBerry devices handle something, you can simply check to see what the device does. The picture grows far more complicated after you have written your app and start making it available to other BlackBerry devices. Suddenly, you must deal with different keyboards, varying screen sizes, unavailable APIs, different carrier Internet settings, and more. Navigating this can become a nightmare. Or it can feel exhilarating.
Chris King
Chapter 11. Advanced Build Techniques
Abstract
Whether you run a one-person programming shop or work for a multinational corporation, your BlackBerry experience will depend on building and maintaining software. In Chapter 10 you saw how applications can grow more complicated as you increase the number and variety of users you target. This chapter looks at the other side of the problem: how to manage your project and run it efficiently.
Chris King

The New Frontier

Frontmatter
Chapter 12. Push Services
Abstract
Much of this book focused on making apps as indispensible as possible. You’ve seen how to make powerful apps that tie in with the operating system at a low level and display as options throughout the phone. Apps can become fully indispensible by adding push, which allows them to automatically present themselves to the user when something interesting happens. Push technology proactively does something useful to benefit the user, rather than passively waiting for them to initiate an action. In other words, rather than wait for the user to open your app, you tell them what they need to know now.
Chris King
Chapter 13. BlackBerry 6 UI
Abstract
Throughout this book, I have primarily focused on the underlying APIs and features of BlackBerry devices, sticking to simple user interfaces that just exercise the features you’re using. In commercial applications, though, user interfaces matter critically. No matter how elegant your software, if the app looks horrible, people will not want to use it.
Chris King
Chapter 14. Cross-Platform Libraries
Abstract
Each major revision of the BlackBerry OS has added a slew of interesting features. This chapter explores several of the new additions to the SDK in OS versions 5 and 6. RIM has incorporated several powerful and useful standardized libraries that can provide impressive benefits to your application. You will learn how to turn a BlackBerry into a portable handheld scanner that can read barcodes and connect users to associated information. You will also learn about SQLite, which offers a powerful mobile-optimized relational database, and the advanced graphics packages OpenGL and OpenVG. These various APIs will let your app offer the latest, most modern features to your users.
Chris King
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Advanced BlackBerry 6 Development
Author
Chris King
Copyright Year
2011
Publisher
Apress
Electronic ISBN
978-1-4302-3211-7
Print ISBN
978-1-4302-3210-0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4302-3211-7

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