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Creating a mobile solution: using XML Web services with ASP.NET mobile controls.

Article Excerpt
THERE'S BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW WEB SERVICES WILL BE USED, WHICH IS TYPICAL AS ANY NEW TECHNOLOGY BEGINS TO EMERGE FROM ITS INFANCY. AN ESTIMATE BEING TOSSED ABOUT IS THAT, OF ALL OF THE WEB SERVICES EXPECTED TO BE CREATED, LESS THAN 1% CURRENTLY EXISTS. AS WE KNOW, A WEB SERVICE ISN'T MEANT TO LIVE PRIMARILY AS A STANDALONE COMPONENT, BUT AS PART OF A VIRTUAL APPLICATION OR SEVERAL APPLICATIONS.

THIS ARTICLE DEMONSTRATES ONE SUCH SCENARIO BY BUILDING A MOBILE APPLICATION USING A WEB SERVICE IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR TECHNOLOGY: ASP.NET MOBILE CONTROLS.

I'm assuming that the reader has some familiarity with ASP.NET, specifically C#, VB.NET, and Web services. To ensure that the example runs properly, the Microsoft .NET Framework and the Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT) must be installed on the Web server. You must also have an established connection to the Internet.

Following is a brief introduction to ASP.NET mobile controls.

ASP.NET Mobile Controls

Simply put, ASP.NET mobile controls are Web-based elements such as forms, labels, textboxes, command buttons, or hyperlinks that are rendered on a mobile device (or a PC's Web browser). Mobile controls are Microsoft's answer to the need to create mobile solutions for a variety of supported devices without having to write code for each.

To enable the .NET Framework to render the appropriate output for the device dynamically, the MMIT mentioned above is installed as well. It works in conjunction with the .NET Framework so that once the Internet Information Server (IIS) receives HTTP requests, content can be created for mobile screens on any number of .NET-supported devices (based on the HTTP USER AGENT server variable in the HTTP header). Once a match is made with the device type, the Web server then compiles the page using an appropriate converter and responds with the resulting content that device needs. Some of the devices currently supported by .NET are the Pocket PC, Mitsubishi T250, Nokia 7110 and 6210, Sprint Touchpoint, Samsung Touchpoint, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater, with promises of increased support for additional devices in the coming year.

A Simple Mobile Page

Development begins with a single mobile page, which is a file with an ASPX filename extension that exists on a .NET Web server. One or more mobile forms can exist within a mobile page, with multiple mobile controls contained within each mobile form. Having all the display code...