J2ME Programming Guide

Welcome to Eric Giguere’s J2ME programming guide. Technically, I should say “Java ME programming” instead of “J2ME programming”, but I still have a soft spot for the term J2ME. Let me explain and give you some idea of what I plan to do with this site.

What Does J2ME Stand For?

J2ME is an acronym for Java 2 Micro Edition, known more formally as Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition. When Java 2 was introduced in 1999 as the formal name for the Java programming environment (renaming what until then had been known simply as “Java 1.2″), the Java platform was split into three variants:

• Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE), aka “desktop Java” — the Java we all knew and loved
• Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME), aka “wireless Java” — Java for mobile phones, handheld devices, and other constrained environments
• Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), aka “server-side Java” — Java for server-side, database- and message-centric computing

Of course, if a name changes once, there’s nothing to prevent it from changing twice…

What does Java ME Stand For?

In 2005, Sun decided that the “2″ in “Java 2″ no longer made any sense as a platform designation, given that Java 5 (aka Java 1.5) was now the standard and that Java 6 was in development. Henceforth, the three variants of the Java platform would be known as:

• Java Standard Edition (Java SE)
• Java Micro Edition (Java ME)
• Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE)

So J2ME officially became Java ME. Sun sucked it in and went and renamed all references to these technologies on its websites and documents.

J2ME Just Sounds Better

So given that Java ME is the official shorthand term for wireless Java, why do I still refer to J2ME?

Call it force of habit… I’ve been writing about J2ME since 1999, when I first started writing Java 2 Micro Edition: Professional Developer’s Guide. This continued with the publication of my J2ME Tech Tips and various articles on Sun’s developer site. And of course the second book. In short, the term is ingrained.

But I also find that “J2ME” rolls off the tongue much more easily, at least in English. “Java ME” is longer, and “JME” sounds like someone’s name. So that’s another reason to stick with J2ME. I suspect many of the old-timers (hello everyone on the KVM-INTEREST mailing list) feel the same way, though I’ve never asked anyone else.

What To Expect From This Guide

The Java ME Programming Guide J2ME Programming Guide is my new site for J2ME-related material, a replacement of sort for Eric’s J2ME Pages, which I never really fleshed out. Rather than refashion those pages, I’ve decided to start anew.

What you can expect here is the occasional post with tips, tutorials and news about J2ME programming. I’ll be updating some of my older material, announcing the publication of new material, and posting the occasional comment or essay about J2ME.

It’s my new window into the world of Java ME programming, and I hope you’ll ride along with me.

Technorati Tags: J2ME, Java ME, Java, wireless, J2SE, J2EE