Acess asp.net web application via Mobile Device

Question

User1697307199 posted

Hi,

I'm new to asp.net (normally only use asp for my web application development), now thinking of moving to asp.net and I'm new to mobile web as well. Below are the my doubt.

 1.) Can we access the asp.net or asp web application via mobile device (e.g, PDA and mobile handphone)?

2.) Do we require to create two "copies" of an application, one for computer based and one for mobile device based? I get this statement from wikipedia-> Mobile internet sites, or WAP sites, are websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser.

 

Pls advise....

 

Liang Wei

Answer 1

User-1573490007 posted

1) Sure can!

2) You don't HAVE to, but its recommended. ASP.NET has a special kind of web form and web controls designed specially for mobile devices (and automaticaly adapt depending on the device capabilities), which greatly improve the user experience, but look very bad on normal browsers, so its best to have 2 versions (mobile web sites can be done really quickly if your business logic is in a class librairy, so it shouldn't be a big issue)

Answer 2

User1697307199 posted

1.) Refer to the answer item 1, since ASP application allowed to be access via mobile device, so does it mean that it works like a normal computer based browser (e.g IE)? If yes, then we are not required to "upgrade" our existing applications to asp.net version for mobile access purpose, right?

 2.) For the answer no 2 with the definition from wikipedia (Mobile internet sites, or WAP sites, are websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and accessed via the WAP browser.), is ASP.NET consider WML.

 3.)Do we require special server which is WAP enabled? Can it be done in IIS?

 4.) New question from me, since asp application allowe to be accessed via mobile, so does it means that applications created by any web programming languages (PHP, JSP, COLDFUSION..ect) are allowed to be accessed as well?

Pls advise...

 Regards,

 

 

Answer 3

User-1573490007 posted
1) Your web site will "work" on any mobile device that can read HTML (most of em do). However, it will look really bad, be hard to use, etc, unless it was designed with that in mind (probably using pure XHTML/CSS, etc). My old cellphone can go to any web site I point it to: however all it does is extract text from the page, so I can read, but its unpractical. If your page is very simple, then it will work fine.

2) Some mobile devices only accept WML when browsing the web. Many (especially cellphones) will work with anything, but are optimised for WML. Using the mobile web controls of ASP.NET, the page will "adjust" to the device: for example, if you use a Pocket PC (Windows Mobile) application using Pocket Internet Explorer, it will output normal HTML (optimised for small screens). If you go using an older cellphone, the SAME PAGE (thats important!) will output WML. Also, controls will behave differently from device to device to optimize for them: a mobile web command control (a button) will render as an HTML button on Pocket IE, but will render as a "soft key" on many cellphones. Makes sense?

3) IIS will do it just fine.

4) Any web app will be able to be accessed by mobile devices that can read HTML (most do). What ASP.NET does however, is "detect" which device is accessing your page, and renders pages optimized for the device accessing it. This is done with a special set of ASP.NET controls (the mobile controls), which are "adaptative". It also has a lot of features to detect capabilities of the mobile device: for example, you can detect if a cellphone can send mail, and render the page differently if it does. You could also detect if a device can handle color, and if it does, use different images in your mobile web site. This is very very powerful, and very easy to use (no code in most cases). All web programming languages can do this, ASP.NET just has more "automatic" features than most for this purpose.

Answer 4

User-1160826939 posted

Hi,

I have some different question in same context.

Our client is using a device which allows wireless connectivity (most of models now do this), In our client office they have setup where they can work wirelessly and connect his device to server (SQL Server machine) from anywhere within office.

My question is that can we detect this connectivity from windows mobile 5.0 application, Is there any technic by what we can identify that now device is within office's network.

I have to do develop a program which accepts item details and will store in a sql table (its preety simple), but complication comes here, before saving it I have to detect that if device is within office network then I have to save item details directly to main SQL Server of his office otherwise I have to store it in device's SQL Server CE table.

1 My first question, is it doable?

2 Can we install SQL Server CE in device itself? (In development environment I would be using emulators only - no physical device)

Regards,

Naimish

Answer 5

User1697307199 posted

Hi,

More doubt, well, now I'm wondering how does mobile browser work. Below are my questions:

 1.) When the user access the internet via their mobile, i.e access to www.yahoo.com, does it go to the same site same like the normal pc browser?

2.) When they key in the search word, does it display the result same like the normal pc browser?

3.) As I know that different mobile devices support different programming languages. Some support WAP and WML, some support HTML or a limited version of HTML, and some support both or a different language. Does it mean that, if the mobile devices only support the WAP and WML, then only the site with WAP and WML will be rendered from the SEARCH?

Really confuse, hope can get further advise.....

 

 

Answer 6

User-1573490007 posted

1) No, usually it will be something like yahoo.com/mobile or something. A different set of page: not because the same page wouldn't work for both, It WOULD work fine (well, except the WML wouldnt work on many desktops, but html for mobile would work), it is because the PC makes available a much richer set of features, and the site wouldnt be "pretty enough" for desktop users. It will be the same "web site" in Visual Studio probably (or at least it can), but you'll have 2 sets of pages.

2) It can be, but im sure Yahoo, Google and such have super complex engines that give different results depending even on the browser, country, everything.

3) Often no. My cellphone, when on google, would turn up with a bunch of sites it couldnt even render...but you COULD make it be like that if you wanted to make it better.