Wireless Application Protocol and Common Gateway Interface

Wireless Application Protocol

WAP, short for Wireless Application Protocol, is a protocol for mobile devices, such as mobile phone handsets, to connect to the Internet.

Wireless Markup Language

WML, short for Wireless Markup Language, is a language used to specify content and user interface for WAP devices. Documents in WML are usually called WAP pages.

Readers may refer to related links listed below for detail specification of WML. The source code of Chin-Shiuh Shieh's WAP Site is given below as an example:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE wml PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD WML 1.1//EN" "http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/wml_1.1.xml">
<wml>
<card id="card1" title="Hello, WAP!">
	<p>Hello, WAP!</p>
	<p><a href="#card2">About Me</a></p>
</card>
<card id="card2" title="About Me">
	<p>Chin-Shiuh Shieh</p>
	<p><img src="csshieh.wbmp" alt="Chin-Shiuh Shieh" /></p>
	<p>Mobile: +886-937316833</p>
	<p>E-mail: csshieh@cc.kuas.edu.tw</p>
	<p>URL: http://bit.kuas.edu.tw/~csshieh</p>
</card>
</wml>

WAP Page Authoring

Waptor 2.3, from WAPDrive, is a handy tool for WAP page authoring.
Black-and-White images in "wbmp" format are used in WAP pages. DissectImage from ipopcorn can be used for the required format conversion.

WAP Server

A WAP server is required for world-wide publication of your WAP pages.

A regular WWW server with the addition of the following MIME definition will become a compound WWW/WAP server.

Doc. type                 Official MIME type              Extension
WML document              text/vnd.wap.wml                .wml
Wireless Bitmap Image     image/vnd.wap.wbmp              .wbmp
WMLScript                 text/vnd.wap.wmlscript          .wmls
Compiled WML document     application/vnd.wap.wmlc        .wmlc
Compiled WML Script       application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc  .wmlsc

OmniHTTPd 2.08, from Omnicron Technologies Corporation, is a web server supporting CGI, PHP (with built-in PHP HyperText Preprocessor), PERL (with external ActivePerl-5.6.1.629-MSWin32), virtual host, advanced access control, and more. Note: The program will expire on 1/1/2002. Please set your system time back before that for academic testing and turn off proxy for local testing.
To configure OmniHTTPd 2.08 to act as a compound WWW/WAP server, select "Admin|Properties|Web Server Global Setting...|MIME" and add those MIME definitions listed above.

WAP Client

Devices supporting WAP is required to brows WAP pages, such as WAP compliant mobile phone handsets or PDAs.
M3Gate 0.6 from Numeric Algorithm Laboratories is a simulator for mobile phone handset supporting WAP/WML.

Common Gateway Interface

Common Gateway Interface is a standard for transferring information between WWW servers and external programs.
Readers may refer to The Common Gateway Interface for detail specification of CGI.
A sample application, WAP-based Remote Control by Chin-Shiuh Shieh, is given below:
- Installation
  "waprc.c" is compiled by Borland Turbo C++ 1.01. Compiled program, "waprc.exe", is placed in directory "c:\httpd\Cgi-Bin\"
  "waprc.wml" is placed in directory "c:\httpd\HtDocs\"
- An 8051 target board (8051.gif, 8051.a51, 8051.hex) is connected to PC via RS-232. Whenever a byte is received from its serial port, the received byte is sent to port P0 and the value of P1 is read and sent to serial port. Readers may refer to 8051 Development Tools for free or low-cost tools for 8051.
- Web-based Remote Control in action at "http://localhost/waprc.wml"