.NET Reference Guide

Mobile Web Development with ASP.NET

Last updated Jan 1, 2004.

Mobile Web Development with ASP.NET and the Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT)

Because wireless communication is revolutionizing all kind of communities these days, the .NET Framework version 1.1 includes ASP.NET mobile controls and supports for mobile device development. This section discusses how to develop powerful, sophisticated mobile web applications using the Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT)—formerly known as the Microsoft .NET Mobile Web SDK—and the ASP.NET mobile controls. The Mobile Internet Toolkit extends ASP.NET to provide content to a wide variety of mobile devices such as WML and cHTML cell phones, HTML pagers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as the Pocket PC.

The MMIT server-side technology is built on the Microsoft .NET Framework and provides all the benefits of .NET Framework, as well as all the required tools to develop, deploy, and maintain mobile web applications. The shared programming model and shared Visual Studio .NET toolset lessen the cost of mobile application development. Developers can leverage their existing knowledge of desktop application development to develop mobile applications, and reuse existing business and data access code from desktop applications, applying that code to their new mobile applications.

MMIT 1.0 includes the following items:

• Mobile web forms controls

• Mobile Internet Designer, which works with the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment

• Browser capabilities

• QuickStart tutorial with sample code

• Developer documentation

• Device adapter code samples

Support for Multiple Markup Languages

MMIT supports multiple markup languages and multiple mobile devices such as the following:

• Cell phones and other devices that use Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) to display Wireless Markup Language (WML)

• Devices such as Pocket PCs, which display Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) content

• Japanese i-mode phones, which display Compact Hypertext Markup Language (cHTML) content

Write Once, Access from Multiple Devices

When an ASPX page (.aspx extension) is requested by a mobile device, mobile server controls can automatically generate the appropriate WML, HTML, or cHTML content at execution time, according to the targeted device. Therefore, the mobile web application can be accessed from multiple devices.

In addition to language differences, mobile devices have widely varying capabilities—memory, screen resolution, number of display lines, horizontal or vertical screen orientation, color or black-and-white display, and so on. To overcome these differences, the Mobile Internet Toolkit includes an extensible mobile capabilities component, built on the browser capabilities feature of Microsoft ASP.NET. This component recognizes the client device and provides all the necessary information to the mobile web forms page and controls. (MMIT's extensible architecture even facilitates future support for additional devices.)

Integration with Visual Studio .NET

The Mobile Internet Toolkit is tightly integrated with the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE). You can easily develop and maintain your mobile web application by using the excellent IDE features such as the designer, toolbox, drag-and-drop server control support, automatic deployment, and so on.

Sample Program

Following is a simple program containing a single form with a label control. When executed, it displays the text Hello, World.

< %@ Page language="c#"
 Inherits="System.Web.UI.MobileControls.MobilePage" % >
< %@ Register TagPrefix="Mobile"
  Namespace="System.Web.UI.MobileControls"
   Assembly="System.Web.Mobile"%>

<mobile:Form id=Form1 runat="server" >
   < mobile:Label id=Label1 Runat="Server" >
   Hello, World< /mobile:Label >
< /mobile:Form >