Glossary

3GPP

Third Generation Partnership Project. A collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, for the purpose of making a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone system specification.

Access Point

A network-connectivity configuration that is predefined on a device. An access point can represent different network profiles for the same bearer type, such as different cellular network access point names (APN), or for different bearers that may be available on a device, such as WiFi or bluetooth.

AID

Application Identifier. A string used to uniquely identify card applet applications and certain types of files in card file systems. An AID consists of two distinct pieces: a 5-byte RID (resource identifier) and a 0 to 11-byte PIX (proprietary identifier extension).

AMS

Application Management Service. The system functionality that completes tasks such as installing applications, updating applications, and switching foregrounds.

APDU

Application Protocol Data Unit. A communication mechanism used by SIM Cards and smart cards to communicate with card reader software or a card reader device.

API

Application Programming Interface. A set of classes used by programmers to write applications that provide standard methods and interfaces and eliminate the need for programmers to reinvent commonly used code.

Applet

A small program that runs in the APDU application environment.

Application list

The screen that lists all of the installed applications. The user gets to this screen by pressing the Apps soft key on the home screen. The application list uses text color to show which applications are running. It also provides a system menu that enables the user to perform application management tasks on the highlighted application.

ARM

A reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by ARM Holdings.

AXF

ARM Executable Format is an ARM executable image generated by ARM tools.

Background

An application state in which the application does not receive events from its input stream and its display is not rendered to the screen.

BIP

Bearer Independent Protocol. Allows an application on the SIM Card to establish a data channel with a terminal (that is, an Oracle Java Wireless Client-enabled handset), and through the terminal to a remote server in the network.

CDC

Connected Device Configuration. A Java ME platform configuration for devices. It requires a minimum of 2 megabytes of memory and a network connection that is always on.

CDMA

Code Division Multiple Access. A mobile telephone network standard used primarily in the United States and Canada as an alternative to GSM.

CLDC

Connected Limited Device Configuration. A Java ME platform configuration for devices with limited memory and network connectivity. It uses a low-footprint Java virtual machine such as the CLDC HotSpot Implementation, and several minimalist Java platform APIs for application services.

Configuration

Defines the minimum Java runtime environment (for example, the combination of a Java virtual machine and a core set of Java platform APIs) for a family of Java ME platform devices.

ETSI

European Telecommunications Standards Institute. An independent, non-profit standardizations group responsible for the standardization of Information and Communication Technologies (TCI) within Europe. Although based in Europe, it carries worldwide influence in the telecommunications industry.

Foreground

The application state in which the application is rendered to the device display and the input stream is passed to it.

Foreground switching

Changing which application is in the foreground by shifting the focus from one application to another.

GCF

Generic Connection Framework. A part of CLDC, it is a Java ME API consisting of a hierarchy of interfaces and classes to create connections (such as HTTP, datagram, or streams) and perform I/O.

GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications. A 3G mobile telephone network standard used widely in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world.

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol. The most commonly used Internet protocol, based on TCP/IP that is used to fetch documents and other hypertext objects from remote hosts.

HTTPS

Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol. A protocol for transferring encrypted hypertext data using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.

ICCID

Integrated Circuit Card Identification. The unique serial number assigned to an individual SIM Card.

IMP-NG

Information Module Profile Next Generation. A profile for embedded "headless" devices, the specification for JSR 228, is a subset of MIDP 2.0 that leverages the latest security and networking types and APIs of MIDP 2.0 but does not include UI APIs.

IMEI

International Mobile Equipment Identifier. A number unique to every mobile phone. It is used by a GSM or UMTS network to identify valid devices and can be used to stop a stolen or blocked phone from accessing the network. It is usually printed inside the battery compartment of the phone.

IMlet

An application written for IMP-NG. An IMlet does not differ from MIDP 2.0 MIDlet, except by the fact that an IMlet can not refer to MIDP classes that are not part of IMP(-NG). An IMlet can only use the APIs defined by the IMP(-NG) and CLDC specifications.

IMSI

International Mobile Subscriber Identity. A unique number associated with all GSM and UMTS network mobile phone users. It is stored on the SIM Card inside a phone and is used to identify itself to the network.

JAD file

Java Application Descriptor file. A file provided in a MIDlet suite that contains attributes used by application management software (AMS) to manage the MIDlet's life cycle, and other application-specific attributes used by the MIDlet suite itself.

JAR file

Java Archive file. A platform-independent file format that aggregates many files into one. Multiple applications written in the Java programming language and their required components (class files, images, sounds, and other resource files) can be bundled in a JAR file and provided as part of a MIDlet suite.

Java ME platform

Java Platform, Micro Edition. A group of specifications and technologies that pertain to running the Java platform on small devices, such as cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and set-top boxes. More specifically, the Java ME platform consists of a configuration (such as CLDC or CDC) and a profile (such as MIDP or Personal Basis Profile) tailored to a specific class of device.

Java Specification Request (JSR)

A proposal for developing new Java platform technology, which is reviewed, developed, and finalized into a formal specification by the JCP program.

Java Virtual Machine

A software “execution engine” that safely and compatibly executes the byte codes in Java class files on a microprocessor.

KVM

A Java virtual machine designed to run in small devices, such as cell phones and pagers. The CLDC configuration was initially designed to run in a KVM.

LCDUI

Liquid Crystal Display User Interface. A user interface toolkit for interacting with Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens in small devices. More generally, a shorthand way of referring to the MIDP user interface APIs.

LWUIT

Lightweight User Interface Toolkit (LWUIT). A versatile and compact API for creating attractive mobile user interfaces. LWUIT provides sophisticated Swing-like capabilities and employs a similar design as Swing, but without the tremendous power and complexity. LWUIT makes it easy to apply consistent look-and-feel's, called themes, across disparate devices using an advanced graphical user interface (GUI) customization tool.

MIDlet

An application written for MIDP.

MIDlet suite

A way of packaging one or more midlets for easy distribution and use. Each MIDlet suite contains a Java application descriptor file (.jad), which lists the class names and files names for each MIDlet, and a Java Archive file (.jar), which contains the class files and resource files for each MIDlet.

MIDP

Mobile Information Device Profile. A specification for a Java ME platform profile, running on top of a CLDC configuration that provides APIs for application life cycle, user interface, networking, and persistent storage in small devices.

MSISDN

Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network. A number uniquely identifying a subscription in a GSM or UMTS mobile network. It is the telephone number to the SIM Card in a mobile phone and used for voice, FAX, SMS, and data services.

Obfuscation

A technique used to complicate code by making it harder to understand when it is decompiled. Obfuscation makes it harder to reverse-engineer applications and therefore, steal them.

Optional Package

A set of Java ME platform APIs that provides additional functionality by extending the runtime capabilities of an existing configuration and profile.

Oracle Java Device Test Suite

A set of Java programming language tests developed specifically for the wireless marketplace, providing targeted, standardized testing for CLDC and MIDP on small and handheld devices.

Preemption

Taking a resource, such as the foreground, from another application.

Preverification

Due to limited memory and processing power on small devices, the process of verifying Java technology classes is split into two parts. The first part is preverification which is done off-device using the preverify tool. The second part, which is verification, occurs on the device at runtime.

Profile

A set of APIs added to a configuration to support specific uses of a mobile device. Along with its underlying configuration, a profile defines a complete and self-contained application environment.

Provisioning

A mechanism for providing services, data, or both to a mobile device over a network.

Push Registry

The list of inbound connections, across which entities can push data, maintained by the Oracle Java Wireless Client software. Each item in the list contains the URL (protocol, host, and port) for the connection, the entity permitted to push data through the connection, and the application that receives the connection.

RL-ARM

Refers to the Real-Time Library that is a group of tightly coupled libraries designed to solve the real-time and communication challenges of embedded systems based on ARM processor-based microcontroller devices.

RMI

Remote Method Invocation. A feature of Java SE technology that enables Java technology objects running in one virtual machine to seamlessly invoke objects running in another virtual machine.

RMS

Record Management System. A simple record-oriented database that enables a MIDlet to persistently store information and retrieve it later. MIDlets can also use the RMS to share data.

RTSP

Real Time Streaming Protocol. A network control protocol designed to control streaming media servers and media sessions.

SCWS

Smart Card Web Server. A web server embedded in a smart card (such as a SIM Card) that allows HTTP transactions with the card.

SIM

Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module. An integrated circuit embedded into a removable SIM card that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices such as mobile phones and computers.

Smart Card

A card that stores and processes information through the electronic circuits embedded in silicon in the substrate of its body. Smart cards carry both processing power and information. A SIM Card is a special kind of smart card for use in a mobile device.

SMS

Short Message Service. A protocol allowing transmission of short text-based messages over a wireless network. SMS messaging is the most widely-used data application in the world.

SMSC

Short Message Service Center. The SMSC routes messages and regulates SMS traffic. When an SMS message is sent, it goes to an SMS center first, then gets forwarded to the destination. If the destination is unavailable (for example, the recipient's handset is turned off), the message is stored in the SMSC until the recipient becomes available.

SOAP

Simple Object Access Protocol. An XML-based protocol that enables objects of any type to communicate in a distributed environment, it is most commonly used to develop web services.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer. A protocol for transmitting data over the Internet using encryption and authentication, including the use of digital certificates and both public and private keys.

SVM

Single Virtual Machine. A software mode that can run only one MIDlet or IMlet at a time.

Task

At the platform level, each separate application that runs within a single Java virtual machine is called a task. The API used to instantiate each task is a stripped-down version of the Isolate API defined in JSR 121.

TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A fundamental Internet protocol that provides for reliable delivery of streams of data from one host to another.

Terminal Profile

Device characteristics of a handset (terminal) passed from the handset to the SIM Card along with the IMEI at SIM Card initialization. The terminal profile tells the SIM Card what values are supported by the device.

UICC

Universal Integrated Circuit Card. The smart card used in mobile terminals in GSM and UMTS networks. The UICC ensures the integrity and security of personal data on the card.

UMTS

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. A third-generation (3G) mobile communications technology. It utilizes the radio spectrum in a fundamentally different way than GSM.

URI

Uniform Resource Identifier. A compact string of characters used to identify or name an abstract or physical resource. A URI can be further classified as a uniform resource locator (URL), a uniform resource name (URN), or both.

USAT

Universal SIM Application Toolkit. A software development kit intended for 3G networks. It enables USIM to initiate actions that can be used for various value-added services, such as those required for banking and other privacy related applications. USAT is defined in standard 3GPP 31.111 for 3G.

USIM

Universal Subscriber Identity Module. An updated version of a SIM designed for use over 3G networks. USIM is able to process small applications securely using better cryptographic authentication and stronger keys. Larger memory on USIM enables the addition of thousands of contact details including subscriber information, contact details, and other custom settings.

WAE

Wireless Application Environment. It provides an application framework for small devices, by leveraging other technologies such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Wireless Transaction Protocol (WTP), and Wireless Session Protocol (WSP).

WAP

Wireless Application Protocol. A protocol for transmitting data between a server and a client (such as a cell phone) over a wireless network. WAP in the wireless world is analogous to HTTP in the World Wide Web.

WCDMA

Wideband Code Division Multiple Access. A detailed protocol that defines how a mobile phone communicates with the tower, how its signals are modulated, how datagrams are structured, and how system interfaces are specified.

WMA

Wireless Messaging API. A set of classes for sending and receiving Short Message Service (SMS) messages.

XML Schema

A set of rules to which an XML document must conform to be considered valid.