WAP Course And Certification

What is WAP?

WAP - Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard that is used in accessing information that is over a Mobile Wireless Network. A WAP browser is a web browser that is used for mobile devices such as mobile phones that makes use of the protocol.

WAP was introduced in 1999, WAP gained some popularity in the early 2000s, but by 2010s it had been mostly superseded by more recent and modern internet standards. Most modern handset internet browsers now fully support HTML, so they do not need to make use of WAP for developing markups for their web page compatibility, and therefore, most of them are no longer able to render and display web pages that are written in WML, which stands for WAP's markup language.

Before the introduction of WAP technologies, mobile internet service providers had very restrained and limited opportunities to offer data services that are highly interactive, but needed interactivity to support and maintain Internet and Web applications such as stock prices, email services, news, and sports headlines.

The bottom-most protocol in the suite, which is the Wireless Datagram Protocol (WDP), works as an adaptation layer that makes every data network to look a bit like UDP to the higher layers by offering unreliable transport of data with double, 16-bit port numbers (which are the origin and the destination). All the upper layers view WDP as one and the same protocol, that has several "technical realizations" on top of other "data bearers" services such as USSD, SMS, etc. On native IP bearers such as the GPRS, UMTS packet-radio service, or the PPP that is on top of a circuit-switched data connection, WDP is in fact exactly the same as UDP.

Components of WAP

A WAP network consists of the following components:

1. WAP-enabled device

2. Gateway

3. Application server

Features of WAP

1. A programming model similar to the Internet's: The concepts of the WAP are very to that of the Internet concepts, letting you introduce them quickly to the WAP-based services, as the concepts are very familiar to both the manufacturers and the developers.

2. Wireless Markup Language (WML): As HTML language is used for developing a web-based software application, the markup language that is used for authorizing and developing the WAP-based services is WML, which serves the same purpose as that of regular HTML. In addition, WML is developed to fit with small handheld devices as well.

3. WML Script: As VB script or JavaScript is used for improving the features and functionalities of the web applications, on similar lines WML script is used for improving the functionality of a WAP-based service. In addition, several procedural logic and computational functions can also be added to WAP-based services.

4. Optimized protocol stack: The WAP protocols are Internet protocols such as HTTP and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and both of these are optimized in order to solve and address the limitations of the wireless environment like low bandwidth or high latency.

How WAP Works

The application server in WAP can be located in either a public or private IP network. The gateway normally is located in telecom networks, but it can be set up by a company using its own computer systems. A user with a WAP device requests content from the application server, the request reaches the gateway first, which does the protocol translation from WAP to HTTP and routes the HTTP request to the destination server, the server returns WML output and adds HTTP headers to the gateway, depending upon whether dynamic or static pages are requested, the gateway converts WML and HTTP to binary form to conserve bandwidth and returns a WAP response to the user, the browser inside the WAP device interprets the WML and shows the contents.

Online applications and services that do not transfer a large amount of information across a network will fuel most of WAP’s success. Services such as stock quotes, news, weather, and sports are already operational. As mobile commerce becomes a faster, more secure channel, services such as banking, retail coupons, wireless ticketing, and sales notification will become commonplace.

Benefits of WAP

There are many benefits of WAP, and some of them are;

1. WAP services are portable.

2. WAP services are easy to use.

3. WAP lets you access a vast variety of services on a competitive market level.

4. WAP gives you the possibility of having personalized data services.

5. WAP offers more convenient, fast, and efficient access to data services.

Application For WAP

1. Mobile Banking: The WAP allows not just information provision but also secure mobile transactions and electronic commerce.

2. Mobile Commerce: It is expected that mobile commerce will become just an extension of electronic commerce on the Internet. There will not need to be any special applications developed for the mobile to take into account the screen, bandwidth and security limitations of the mobile device.

3. Games: These are a huge service that many people see as being a key application for future mobile devices. 

4. Ringtones: Another emerging service is downloading ringtones. it has become popular to download new ringtones from an Internet site to the phones.

5. Email:  This is likely to be a fast-growing and popular application for WAP, mainly due to the high and increasing usage of Internet email to communicate globally, and the benefit from using WAP Push to notify mobile users about important new emails messages.

6. Qualitative Information: A wide range of content can be delivered to mobile phone users ranging from share prices, sports scores, weather, flight information, news headlines, lottery results, jokes and so on. 

7. Chat: Due to its association with the Internet, the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) would allow mobile users to participate fully in existing Internet chat groups.

Why Study WAP?

1. WAP services are very easy to implement and use.

2. It gives you the possibility of having personalized data services.

3. It offers more convenient, fast, and efficient access to data services.

4. Job opportunities and career advancement.

5. Enrich your CV and Increase your earning potential.

WAP Course Outline

WAP - Introduction

WAP - Key Features

WAP - The Model

WAP - Architecture

WAP - Environment

WAP - WML Syntax

WAP - WML Script

WAP - Core Services

WAP - Key Benefits

WAP - Modern Devices

WAP - Future Prospects

WAP - Summary

WAP - Video Lectures

WAP - Exams And Certification