subject: The Process Of Developing Blackberry Applications [print this page] The kind of application you desire to develop determines the way you will choose to build the application. If you wish to create an independently running application then you can avail of Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) or Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES). It is a JAVA application that can offer a rich experience.
If you want to create and application that communicates using email or a different internet based service then you will need a Blackberry back-end to operate it. For this, it is good if you use MDS to develop your blackberry applications.
Java-Based Applications
Blackberry's JDE (Java Development Environment) is not a mobile version of Java but is afar it. RIM's Blackberry JDE offers access to many features that are being utilized for desktop and server application development. This will give you more flexibility in coding and creating.
Apart from this, RIM has also made the inclusion of various crucial Java standards into its MDS, which implies that developers can create location-based apps with access to GPS hardware.
You can also find the alternative of including accessibility and globalization options, as well as multimedia with the use of the BlackBerry Media player. And if that does not suffice then you may write apps that run in the background, as well as ones that avail of BlackBerrys push server.
Another exciting feature of the BlackBerry MDS is that it can be used to personalize your handset. For instance, with the help of the latest developer tools you can create animated backgrounds, new icons and fonts for your BlackBerry device.
BlackBerry also has prospering online developer communities which can give you access to tools, advice and information you will ever want. Simply put, it will be easy for you to find what you are looking for within the community. In this context, its an imperative reference tool for both amateurs and pros alike.
RIM offers the below mentioned blackberry application development tools for developing software for smart phones:
Development Environment
MDS Studio Rapid-Application-Development tool
Eclipse
All of the above mentioned tools, including documentation, sample code and support forums, are free of cost at the time of signing up to the BlackBerry developer website. Following registration, developers can start downloading any part of the BlackBerry development software, which is completely supported for BlackBerry 4.0 operating system onwards.
The BlackBerry JDE serves the core development tool for BlackBerry applications and, while it is a huge download, users are also suggested to confirm that they are running the latest version of Suns Java SDK.
After downloading JDE, developers can work in a similar environment, characterizing both a text editor and access to online documentation.
RIM identifies how popular Eclipse is and this is the reason it has released its first public beta version of an Eclipse development plug-in. With the inclusion of the Eclipse plug-in implies that developers can create and test end-to-end Java apps from the server to the handset.
