Development process overview

This section describes the general steps involved in MIDP application development, starting from setting up the project environment and ending in deploying to a target device. Note that in reality all these tasks are not necessarily performed by the same developer and that your process may differ. The following figure illustrates the continuous cycle of creating, compiling, and testing code, involved in the process of developing an application.

Figure 7: The application testing cycle

The steps involved in developing a MIDP application are:

• Analyze and design the project

  Determine the requirements, scope, and functionality of your application, as well as the development environment to use. For more information on designing, see section Designing MIDP applications.

• Set up the project environment

  Set up the project environment in accordance with your IDE requirements. For information on the default project structure, see section MIDP project structure.

• Create source files

  Create or import the source code in Java^TM programming language according to your own processes.

• Compile and preverify source files

  Compile the source files into class files according to your own processes. In Java ME, preverification of classes is done automatically during the compile process.

• Create JAR and JAD files

  Create JAR and JAD files for your application. For information on JAR and JAD files, see section Packaging MIDlets. For information on MIDlets and MIDlet suites, see section MIDP applications.

  • MIDlets can be deployed using MIDP OTA.

  • MIDlet suites are used for the distribution and installation of services and applications.

• Test code

  Run the application in the emulator and test the code according to your own processes. For information on testing code, see section Testing MIDP applications.

• Sign your application (optional)

  Package and sign the application according to your own processes. For information on testing and signing applications for the trusted third party domain, see Java Verified Program.

• Deploy the application

  Applications can be deployed to devices for testing purposes or distributed to wider audiences.

  • Test applications by deploying them directly on your device, using a USB cable, Bluetooth connection, infrared, or other hardware compatible connection.

  • Distribute the application to multiple devices through any one of the standard methods available. OTA technology can also be used.

  For information on deploying MIDlets, see section Deploying MIDlets to a device.