Customer Reviews

WAP Development with WML and WMLScript (With CD-ROM)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

WAP is so similar to HTML that I found that this book, PLUS my knowledge of HTML coding, helped launch my abilities to develop in this language quickly and easily. I liked that the syntax is clearly explained and presented and there's LOTS of example code - which is the main thing I look for when getting a book like this. There's a great section for advanced web programmers which shows you how to integrate WML with ASP/JSP/ColdFusion. It's probably a good idea to learn some HTML before you dive into WAP, but this book did have some good asides to explain things for pure beginners, as well.

I had signed up for this book about a month before it started shipping & finally got it last week. I've read several other titles by Forta--his books are consistently clear & technically advanced, "WAP Dev." is no exception. If you're looking for a book to jumpstart your WAP development or you've tinkered with WAP quite a bit already (as I had) this one is excellent. Several other WAP books seem to be riding on the hype & delivering nothing. Forta stocks this one full of code & application examples--great reading for a hungry geek.

I am not a big fan of programming books in general, as I prefer to learn by doing. But I really liked this book because it gave me the foundation to go off and experiment with stuff on my own. Now I really understand what WAP is and what it can do, and think that this book "speeded up" my learning curve. Rather than spending a few days figuring out the basics, it only took a few hours for me a couple of hours playing before I had created a WAP interface to my personal web site. It's great for beginners, but also had some very useful advanced sections on Security, Push Notifications, and appendices on writing WML in CF, ASP, JSP, Perl, & PHP.

In the computer trade journals that I read, a common topic over the last year or so has been the progress (often lack) of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). The common phrase always seems to be "poised to take off." However, despite the problems with bandwidth, valuable applications and security it does appear that it is the next area of rapid expansion of the Internet. The English speaking North American market is leveling off in the advent of new web users and while the market for the rest of the world continues to expand, it seems likely that will do so at a slow rate for the near future. Therefore, it is a good idea to learn at least the basics of what WAP can and cannot do.
When I received a request from a corporate client to offer a short course in Wireless Markup Language (WML), I looked around for a book with an adequate coverage of the basics of WAP. I chose this book because it was filled with basic examples that demonstrated the fundamental topics and moved on to some more advanced topics that were reasonable uses for WAP. This was of course necessary, as some of the hyped potential uses for WAP are pie in the airwaves. I cannot conceive of any circumstances where a large number of people are going to want their cell phones to constantly broadcast their geophysical position so that they can receive coupons from merchants in the area.
In working through the projects in preparation for the courses, my reaction was one of the best possible. My thinking through the exercises led to additional thoughts and ideas for teaching projects for the course. This is a solid introductory book in the basics of WAP, WML and WMLScript and I recommended it to the students.

This book from Ben Forta is a real guide for beginners as well as a reference book for advanced users. I bought this book and Professional WAP from wrox both of them helped me to come out in flying colours in my bachelor degree thesis.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The examples are clear. Programming experience will help you. If you know JavaScript, WMLScript will be a breeze. Chapters are easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn WML and WMLScripting!!! It is probably the best book on the market.

This book is by far the best!!!The author explains all the important details of WML and WMLScripting. This book is easy to read. Great for the experienced developer. A great reference. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants learn WML andWMLScripting. Knowledge of JavaScript will help the reader termondously. Knowledge of HTML and XML will also help. The authors assume the reader has knowledge of HTML, XML, and JavaScript. A great investment!!!

I had signed up for this book about a month before it started shipping & finally got it last week. I've read several other titles by Forta--his books are consistently clear & technically advanced, "WAP Dev." is no exception. If you're looking for a book to jumpstart your WAP development or you've tinkered with WAP quite a bit already (as I had) this one is excellent. Several other WAP books seem to be riding on the hype & delivering nothing. Forta stocks this one full of code & application examples--great reading for a hungry geek.

Getting into wireless development I went out and got many books finding them filled with jargon and author ego. When I picked up "WAP Development with WML and WMLScript," I was relieved to find clear instruction and knowledge of the technology.

My review of this book is a little mixed. I think that technically the book is quite good. I have always been extremely pleased with Ben Forta's writing and clear approach to the subject matter. There were two things I did not like about the book. First, I purchased this book when it first hit the shelves and it was expensive, for a technical book. Second, I found numerous typos, incorrect references to figures, and other text errors. I am a stickler for these things and it is distracting to me when I find simple errors in a book. Overall, I really do think that the technical aspects of the book are good and it is a great resource that I use frequently. If minor typos and the such bother you, check to see if there is new edition, otherwise, this is a great resource for learning WAP and WML.

PS: Be forewarned, my reviews are not checked for spelling or grammar...I don't have an editor fix them for me. SORRY!