Introducing WML and WMLScript

In this column we introduce a special dialect of JavaScript called WMLScript. The WMLScript language is part of the industry-wide standard for wireless applications called Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). The WAP includes one more language besides the WMLScript, the Wireless Macro Language (WML), which is the equivalent of HTML for wireless applications. Cellular phones and other user devices are often referred to as "user agents". The user agents in the cellular world behave like client PCs in the internet world. They interpret and understand both WML and WMLScript, similarly to how your browser interprets HTML and JavaScript. Your average cellular phone does, or will in the near future, run JavaScript!

In this column we introduce you the world of WML and WMLScript. We'll show you how to compile and run WML decks on a simulated Nokia cellular phone. To understand better WMLScript, you need to know how to program in WML. We'll teach you the basics and structure of WML, as well as some fundamentals of WMLScript. We'll educate you how to call WMLScript scripts from WML decks. We'll dedicate our next column to a more thorough coverage of WMLScript's syntax and semantics.

In this column you will learn:

• How to setup the Nokia WAP Toolkit
• How to operate the Nokia WAP Toolkit
• How to program in WML - Part I
• How to program in WML - Part II
• How to program in WML - Part III
• How to program in WMLScript

We also include the listings of Nokia's example which includes a WML deck and a WMLScript script. Their zipped versions are also provided.

Next: How to setup the Nokia WAP Toolkit