Now consumers not only request access to resources on the Internet through personal computers, they also need to visit other ways, and the website's designers are very distressed. Their first instinct reflection is to create multiple navigation paths through an existing web site. Many web developers use this mechanism to solve different versions of browser's support for HTML specification (such as some version of browser supports Frame, and some can't support). Although this method is relatively easy, because different devices require different web display mode, the page of the web site will render the growth of an index with the increase of access devices, which will make the website maintenance and management. complex. So web developers have to seek better solution.
XML and XSLT
XML and XSLT have become the most effective way to resolve independent issues of browsing web devices. Web developers can use XML and XSLT to create a static XML document and a website returned from the database. Website designers can create an XSL template that should receive an XML data stream and convert the XML data stream into the HTML that can be identified to browse the web page, the developer design website and send the HTML file that is converted by the corresponding XSL template. Customer browser instead of processing multi-path issues.
From the standpoint of resources, because each webpage only needs an XML file, each device type is very effective as one of the device types can handle the XML file, this way of creating a Web site is very effective. But if you have a standpoint from the system, these pages must be dynamically generated because when the user browses the web, instead of simply reading from the hard disk, the processing efficiency is relatively low.
Unfortunately, to implement the above mechanism, the current designer and developers should have more knowledge and experience in XML and XSLT. It is because of this reason that is now rarely supports mobile devices and web applications in our real life.
Use mmit
Microsoft tries to solve the problem of accessing the website through a variety of mobile devices with .NET Framework and Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (Mmit), and promotes Visual Studio .NET and .NET Framework as a mobile device development. And the primary platform for disconnecting applications. Although the tool that supports the disconnect model is still in beta test, you can get MMIT's tools for creating a connection-based application for a few months. At the same time, these tools will also appear as a standard feature in the next version of Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework.
MMIT allows developers to create a web application that supports mobile devices, and does not have a devices dependencies (because each device requires its own XSL template set). Since MMIT provides an independent controller and a set of equipment adapters, developers can develop non-dependent applications that are independent controllers that do not depend on the device. Mmit plans some controllers about the device in the toolbox of Visual Studio., And also provides some templates for developing fast mobile device applications. Once the developer completes the development of the application, these device controllers can publish the device controller on the server that runs the device adapter so that multiple device terminals can be used.
When a connected mobile device requests a web page developed using the MMIT controller, the ASP.NET runtime engine queries the browsing capabilities of the device and specifies a corresponding device adapter, the device adapter automatically converts the value returned from the controller. The format that can be used in the equipment. The device adapter not only processes the display, but also generates management and returns a markup language code for the input value for the device. For example, developers can create a single page, by using WAP it can be viewed by the pocket computer or mobile phone. The user of the device can use the key to the handwritten pen or mobile phone of the pocket computer to interact with the website, and the ASP.NET can identify the return data of the code generated by the device adapter and processed accordingly.
Advantages and disadvantages of various methods
It is not to say that if developing mobile communications must use MMIT, in fact, using old-fashioned XML and XSLT technology can be used. In fact, the support of the XML specification in the .NET Framework makes it easier to create multi-devices to create multi-devices in the .NET Framework to create a multi-device approach. But to develop a connection-style web application, you may still consider using MMIT. Using the MMIT method, you can design a device accessing it for your application, so when the new device can use, you can use the new device with the additional device adapter to the ASP.NET server. You can also create the device controller supported by the existing or future device adapters by extending the existing MMIT controller. Another key point to use MMIT is the use of ASP.NET's internal status management system. Developers must develop and maintain their status management methods if they create XSLT-based mobile communication applications.
