Book Image

BlackBerry Java Application Development

Book Image

BlackBerry Java Application Development

Overview of this book

BlackBerry Smartphone was once the domain of jet-setting business users with power suits. Now you can hardly go anywhere without seeing someone using a BlackBerry to check their messages or make a call. It's this kind of explosive growth that makes the BlackBerry ecosystem a great place to develop and market applications through the BlackBerry App World store—this book shows you how to do just that! This step-by-step guide gives you a hands-on experience of developing innovative Java applications for your BlackBerry. With the help of this book, you will learn to build your own applications to illustrate the platform, and the various capabilities that developers can use in their programs. It explores the powers of Blackberry and helps you develop professional and impressive Java applications. The book teaches how to write rich, interactive, and smart BlackBerry applications in Java. It expects the readers to know Java but not Java Mobile or the BlackBerry APIs. We will learn to build rich, interactive, and smart Java applications for the BlackBerry. The book will cover UI programming, data storage, programming network, and internet API apps. As we move on, we will learn more about the BlackBerry's device features, such as messaging, GPS, multimedia, contacts and calendar, and so on.This book also helps you build your own applications to illustrate the platform, and the various capabilities that developers can use in their programs.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
BlackBerry Java Application Development
Credits
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
Preface

Development Environments


The title of this chapter is a little misleading because there isn't just one Integrated Development Environment (IDE), there are in fact two. They are both fully functional and either one can be used to create applications.

The first and original option is called the BlackBerry Java Development Environment or JDE for short. The JDE is a custom development environment created by RIM for the sole purpose of developing applications in Java for BlackBerry handhelds. This customized nature is both good and bad. On the one hand, you have an environment where you can do everything you need to do, and nothing more, which can lead to a concise and simple environment. On the other hand, simplicity also means lack of power, and some users may find this to be frustrating.

The second option is to use the BlackBerry Eclipse plugin. Eclipse is an open source IDE that has become the de facto industry standard for Java development. There is a large maintenance team and new features...