What is WAP – 1
Definition
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is a method of accessing Internet resources from a mobile phone, which does not use computer and/or modem. In essence it is a technical standard describing a method, by which information from the Internet is transmitted to the screen of a mobile phone.
Theoretically, if a mobile phone screen could display the variety of information that a computer screen displays, WAP display would be no different from display of ordinary Web pages. But because resolution of a mobile phone screen is not that good, display of WAP sites is characterized by less graphics and animation, and the volume of information is minimized. (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org)
Here is another definition (Source: http://www.iec.org/online/tutorials/wap/):
Wireless application protocol (WAP) is an application environment and set of communication protocols for wireless devices designed to enable manufacturer-, vendor-, and technology-independent access to the Internet and advanced telephony services.
Comment: Another factor that encouraged introduction of WAP was the GSM network itself. Standard Internet protocols HTTP and TCP/IP did not take into account various characteristics of wireless networks, such as longer delays, unreliable connections, limited throughput – all of which are important parameters to consider when working on a network protocol. WAP has been developed to transmit data compressed in a binary format and the protocol is optimized for long transmission delays and low throughout of data.
Who is Behind WAP?WAP is a global standard and is not controlled by any single company. Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, and Unwired Planet founded the WAP Forum in the summer of 1997 with the initial purpose of defining an industry-wide specification for developing applications over wireless communications networks. The WAP specifications define a set of protocols in application, session, transaction, security, and transport layers, which enable operators, manufacturers, and applications providers to meet the challenges in advanced wireless service differentiation and fast/flexible service creation. There are now over one hundred members representing terminal and infrastructure manufacturers, operators, carriers, service providers, software houses, content providers, and companies developing services and applications for mobile devices. For more information, visit the WAP Forum at http://www.wapforum.org. (Source: http://www.iec.org/online/tutorials/wap/)
WAP Browsers
A modern mobile phone has, as a rule, a WAP browser. WAP-browser is a browser which works with special sites designed for mobile devices using WAP protocol. Text on WAP sites is marked up either in WML (WAP 1.x) or in XHTML Mobile Profile (WAP 2.x) markup language. Handheld computers and smartphones often use browsers that can also read sites in HTML, XHTML, and cHTML.
Usually a WAP-browser in mobile phones is a part of a closed operating system, so the browser is pre-installed in the phone’s ROM. An example of a WAP-browser for other platforms (Windows, Pocket PC) is WinWAP. To view WAP sites, one can use different programs: R380s WAP Emulator 2.0 (a pрone emulator), Klondike WAP Browser 1.5, or M3Gate 0.5. (Source: http://www.wikipedia.org)
