| Introduction | | | | to develop are |
| The mobile market is envisioned as the next | | | | 1. A program that takes a name and prints out |
| technological wave by leading industry experts. | | | | “Hello ” (tests the UI API) |
| With approximately 150 million mobile phones | | | | 2. A simple game or a drawing, like the traditional |
| – roughly 3 times the user base as that of | | | | Paddleball game or various geometric shapes |
| desktop computers – it might well be the | | | | moving in the screen (tests the Game API) |
| case. Due to the fragmented nature of the mobile | | | | 3. A program to read an image off a website and |
| market, with various manufacturers competing to | | | | display it on the phone (tests networking) |
| get their share of the pie, Java is once again | | | | 4. A ‘signed’ Hello World! |
| poised to be the best programming language for | | | | Application (tests security) |
| the mobile market with its Write Once, Run | | | | 5. A program that plays a simple tune (tests |
| Anywhere technology. | | | | MMAPI) |
| The specifications around the Java for Wireless | | | | 6. A program that displays a text message (tests |
| Technology initiative have been proposed and | | | | WMA) |
| backed by most of the leading mobile phone | | | | 7. A program that calculates tip for various |
| manufacturers (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Siemens, | | | | pre-defined scenarios (tests RMS) |
| T-Mobile, to name a few) and hence, one can | | | | To understand the concepts of J2ME |
| expect device support and continued innovation. | | | | programming, you can read the official J2ME |
| The Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) offers a | | | | tutorial, which is very comprehensive. Some useful |
| highly optimized virtual machine which can be used | | | | books are also listed in the resources section. |
| to run Java applications on devices ranging from | | | | Most of the questions will be code-based and |
| resource constrained devices like smart cards, | | | | hence, it is very important that you understand |
| pagers, and mobile phones to high end devices like | | | | how the code is structured for various |
| handheld computers and set-top boxes. | | | | specifications. |
| Keeping the limitations of the mobile devices | | | | You might want to consider purchasing the |
| – both in size and in memory – in | | | | SCMAD exam simulator by Whizlabs, which |
| mind, the Java Community Process has developed | | | | contains numerous questions of varying difficulty |
| a series of standards constructed in a modular | | | | levels spread across five mock exams and a quiz |
| fashion to ensure that various features are | | | | and also lots of useful tips for the exam. |
| standardized while keeping the architecture at an | | | | Assuming that you have Whizlabs SCMAD Exam |
| abstract level. | | | | Simulator, {available at you can use the table |
| While the J2ME itself includes a lot of other | | | | below as a starting point for developing your |
| features and is also not limited to mobile phones, | | | | preparation timeline. |
| the certification concentrates on the | | | | Week Objective Notes |
| developer’s ability to create and install | | | | 0 Diagnostic Exam Gives you a feel of what to |
| programs for mobile devices, such as cell phones | | | | expect |
| and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). | | | | 1 CLDC 1.0/1.1 Basics of the VM and its |
| You might want to consider taking this exam | | | | requirements |
| - If you are already into writing J2ME applications | | | | 2 Application Lifecycle/Provisioning Basics of MIPD |
| for mobile devices and want to be recognized for | | | | and its requirements |
| your skills. | | | | 3-4 MIDP UI API Develop and deploy Program 1 |
| - If you are a developer who has already written | | | | after this |
| a few programs for wireless devices, the | | | | 5 Networking Develop and deploy Program 3 |
| preparation will give you in-depth knowledge of | | | | after this |
| various concepts. | | | | 6 MIDP Persistent Storage Develop and deploy |
| - If you are a seasoned J2SE/J2EE developer and | | | | Program 7 after this |
| want to start writing highly optimized Java | | | | 7-8 MIDP Game API Develop and deploy Program |
| applications for mobile devices, this certification is | | | | 2 after this |
| a jump-start for achieving the same. | | | | 9 MMAPI Develop and deploy Program 5 after |
| - If you do not have too much of an idea about | | | | this |
| technologies like Wireless Programming or Game | | | | 10 WMA Develop and deploy Program 6 after this |
| Programming, preparing for this certification will be | | | | 11 Push Registry Small, but complicated, and is |
| a great incentive to get a foothold in this | | | | related to WMA |
| technology. | | | | 11 Security Helps in packaging applications securely |
| - If you want to learn and master the | | | | 12 JTWI Gives an understanding of how the |
| cutting-edge technologies that are round the | | | | technologies are tied together |
| corner. | | | | 12 Mock Exams Test your preparation. Revise |
| This article will provide a basic understanding of | | | | weaker sections. |
| the scope of the certification and will also give | | | | Finally, you can take some mock exams to |
| details about the certification along with the useful | | | | prepare yourself from a certification standpoint. |
| resources to get started. | | | | Tips and pitfalls |
| What you need to know? | | | | - Understand the conceptual difference between a |
| The Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer | | | | J2ME configuration (like CLDC) and a J2ME profile |
| (SCMAD) tests the developer’s | | | | (like MIDP). |
| knowledge in the following five specifications. | | | | - Memorize the software and hardware |
| - Java Technology for the Wireless Industry | | | | requirements of the various specifications. |
| (JTWI 1.0) JSR-185 | | | | - Memorize the class hierarchies of important APIs |
| - Connected, Limited, Device Configuration (CLDC | | | | like Generic Connection Framework, High level and |
| 1.0/1.1) JSR-030/JSR-139 | | | | low level UI API, Media classes of MIDP 2.0 and |
| - Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP 2.0) | | | | MMAPI 1.1. |
| JSR-118 | | | | - The exam tests the understanding of the |
| - Wireless Messaging API (WMA 1.1) JSR-120 | | | | features and differences between low level and |
| - Mobile Media API (MMAPI 1.1) JSR-135 | | | | high-level API for UI programming. So, learn them |
| Exam Information | | | | well. |
| Prerequisites | | | | - Understand that differences between the media |
| You should have passed the Sun Certified Java | | | | support of MIDP 2.0 and the MMAPI 1.1. |
| Programmer (SCJP) – any version – | | | | - Apart from the knowledge of writing proper |
| to appear for this exam. | | | | J2ME code, the exam also tests the ability to |
| Objectives | | | | write valid Java Application Descriptor (JAD) and |
| Details of the certification objectives can be found | | | | manifest files that are used to markup the |
| at the Sun website. The major objectives are | | | | deployment details of an application. So, practice |
| 1. JTWI (JSR 185) and Overview / | | | | writing the descriptors well and deploy the |
| JTWI-compliant Wireless Applications | | | | application in the toolkit to understand the |
| 2. CLDC 1.0/1.1 | | | | behavior of various deployment tags. |
| 3. Security (both CLDC and MIDP) | | | | - Remember that the exam is a vendor neutral |
| 4. Networking | | | | exam. So, you can safely ignore learning the |
| 5. Application Model/ Delivery/Lifecycle | | | | vendor APIs (like the APIs provided by Nokia, |
| Provisioning | | | | Sony Ericsson, and so on). |
| 6. MIDP Persistent Storage | | | | - The best reading material for this exam is the |
| 7. Push Registry | | | | specification document. So, allot enough time to |
| 8. MIDP UI API | | | | go through these documents and learn the |
| 9. MIDP Game API | | | | concepts and API well. |
| 10. Media using MIDP 2.0 and the Mobile Media API | | | | - Make sure what you read is relevant to the |
| 1.1 (MMAPI) | | | | exam objectives. A common pitfall is reading and |
| 11. Wireless Messaging API 1.1 (WMA) | | | | spending time on things that you may not require |
| Passing Score & Time | | | | for the exam. |
| The exam consists of 68 questions, and the pass | | | | - As mentioned earlier, try to develop a practical |
| percentage is 55%. The time allotted for the | | | | example for each concept as this will help in a |
| exam is 150 minutes. The fee for the exam is | | | | better understanding of the concepts. |
| $150 for U.S. candidates and might vary for other | | | | Conclusion |
| countries. Please visit the Sun certification website | | | | With a huge customer base and vast popularity, |
| for more details. | | | | wireless devices are here to stay. As the wireless |
| What you need to do? | | | | technology improves and as the next generation |
| This exam might be slightly tougher than the | | | | devices come into the market with increased |
| other exams since the technology is fairly new | | | | bandwidth, the demand for interactive and |
| and the community support is limited. | | | | feature-rich wireless applications will greatly |
| Since the API set is relatively small, you can | | | | increase. Having a know-how of wireless |
| cover the topics quickly. On an average, it should | | | | programming will give you a competitive edge and |
| take you around a week to cover each topic if | | | | will prepare you for the future. |
| you are familiar with Java and have written or | | | | Resources |
| attempted to write a few programs using J2ME. | | | | - J2ME tutorial by Sun Microsystems, Inc. |
| If you are new to wireless programming, you | | | | - provides a comprehensive list of preparatory |
| might want to allocate around 2-3 months (2 | | | | resources for the certification exam. |
| hours a day at least) for preparation. | | | | - Exam notes by Sathya Srinivasan, to get you |
| To prepare for the exam, it we recommend that | | | | started on the certification |
| you do the following: | | | | Forums |
| 1. Download the Java Wireless Toolkit (2.0 or | | | | - Whizlabs SCMAD Certification Forum |
| above). | | | | - SCMAD trail at JavaRanch (You might also want |
| 2. If you have a J2ME enabled cell phone, | | | | to visit the J2MEtrail) |
| download the toolkit from that vendor. For | | | | Books |
| example, Nokia and Sony provide free toolkits | | | | - Wireless Java: Developing with J2ME by Jonathan |
| and emulators that will help you program in those | | | | Knudsen |
| devices. | | | | - Wireless J2ME Platform Programming by Vartan |
| 3. Download the PDF versions of the specifications | | | | Piroumian |
| mentioned above. | | | | - J2ME: The Complete Reference by James |
| The best way to get an idea about wireless | | | | Keogh |
| programming is to actually write some programs | | | | - Enterprise J2ME: Developing Mobile Java |
| and deploy them to a cell phone. This will go a | | | | Applications by Michael Juntao Yuan |
| long way in your preparation, since the creation | | | | Exam Simulators |
| and delivery of wireless applications is quite | | | | There are many ways to prepare for certification |
| different from that of the standard or enterprise | | | | exams, one of them being through the use of |
| applications. You should develop at least one | | | | exam simulators. With these you cannot just |
| program for each specification to get a feel of | | | | identify your weak areas, but also get a feel of |
| the API. Some of the programs you might want | | | | the test environment. |