Introduction to push technology © 2009 Research In Motion Limited.

Introduction to push technology

© 2009 Research In Motion Limited


Agenda

This course covers the following topics:

– Introduction to developing applications for mobile devices

– Methods of application development for mobile devices

– Introduction to GPS and Wi-Fi® technology on BlackBerry® smartphones


Agenda

– Introduction to push technology

– Data structures and memory management on mobile devices

– User interface design for mobile devices

– BlackBerry themes and animated graphics

– Security considerations for developing applications for mobile devices


Introduction to push technology

Objectives:

– Define push technology and describe the benefits of push technology.

– Describe how a server-side push application works.

– Provide an example of how a server-side push works on a BlackBerry smartphone.

Push technology



Push technology

– Push applications send web content or other data to specific BlackBerry smartphones.

– The push application automatically delivers the information as soon as it becomes available.


Push technology

Benefits:

– Immediacy

– Efficiency

– Reduced latency

– Longer battery life

– Shorter learning curve

Push applications for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server




Two applications are required:

– Server-side push application

• Submits the push request

– Client-side listener application

• Listens for incoming push messages



Client/server push applications:

– Consist of a custom client BlackBerry smartphone application and a server-side application that pushes content to the client BlackBerry smartphone

– Provide more control and flexibility


Advantages

– Store data on the BlackBerry smartphone

– Make network connections based on the information that comes in

– Integrate the data with BlackBerry applications such as a calendar



Server-side push applications:

– Make requests to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service to push data to specified BlackBerry smartphone users

– Generate and send HTTP POST requests to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service and use either the PAP push format or RIM push format to specify the delivery parameters

– Push data to individual users based on either their email addresses or their BlackBerry smartphone PINs, or to groups of users created and maintained on the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol

PAP Push Access Protocol

PIN personal identification number

RIM Research in Motion



Supported push formats send an HTTP POST request to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service.

– PAP push format

• The request contains a MIME multipart message that includes two components: an XML-based PAP control entity that defines the delivery parameters, and the data to be pushed.

MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

XML Extensible Markup Language



RIM push format

– The pushed content is sent as a byte stream.

– The destination port is specified within the URL of the pushed content.

– The destination users and other delivery parameters are specified in HTTP headers included with the request.

URL Uniform Resource Locator



Client-side listener applications:

– Custom listener application

• Must create both the custom client-side application that receives the pushed data and the server-side application that makes the push request

– Configure the push listener to start up automatically

• Application automatically starts when you perform a hard reset on the BlackBerry smartphone or when the application is first installed

• Applications can have multiple entry points



Create an autostart application with multiple entry points using the BlackBerry® JDE Plug-in for Eclipse® or the BlackBerry® Java® Development Environment:

1. Create a background listener application, which starts a listener thread.

2. In the application properties, select the System module.

3. Select the Auto-run on startup option.

4. Code the main method to start the listener thread.


5. Create a project that has just an application icon, and then choose the Alternate CLDC Application Entry Point project type.

6. Set the Alternate entry point to the main application.

7. In the Argument Passed to field, enter descriptive text.

8. Modify the source code and combine the two startup sections.



The BlackBerry® Browser:

– Contains a built-in listening thread on the BlackBerry smartphone

– Listens on port 7874

– Pushes web content or other browser-supported data

– Stores pushed content in a dedicated cache

Web signals and BlackBerry Push API




Web signals and the BlackBerry Push API:

– Two push options for non-Enterprise or BIS-connected BlackBerry smartphone users

– Can push data to any network connected BlackBerry smartphone, even if the BlackBerry smartphone is not managed by an organization’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

API application programming interface



Web signals:

– Near real-time content updates push data directly to the BlackBerry smartphone.

– Third-party content providers can add timely and relevant updates to their application portfolios.



BlackBerry Push API:

– Lets you build push capability into Java® based consumer applications

– The pushed data is directed to the BlackBerry smartphone PIN number rather than the phone number

Push application design considerations



Push application design considerations

When developing push applications, consider:

– The type of information that users in your organization need pushed to them and how often you must push that information

– Having users subscribe to the push information that they require

Components of a push request




PAP push and RIM push formats support the following:

– Reliable push requests

– Deliver before time stamp

– Deliver after time stamp

The PAP push service implementation also supports:

– Push cancellation

– Push status query



Push request reliability:

– Specify that you want the BlackBerry smartphone to return a result notification when the pushed data is successfully delivered.

– If you do not specify a reliability level for your push method, the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service does not provide the push originator with any notification regarding the outcome of the push request.

– You must also specify a notification URL to which the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service sends result notifications.



To specify a reliable push request:

– Using the PAP push format

• Include the <quality-of-service> element in the <pushmessage> element of the control entity

– Using the RIM push format

• Include the X-Rim-Push-Reliability header in the request.



There are three levels of reliability:

– Transport

– Application

– Application-preferred



Transport level:

– The BlackBerry smartphone

• Sends an acknowledgment notification when the pushed data reaches the BlackBerry smartphone

• Does not attempt to verify that the data was received by the client-side application



Application level:

– BlackBerry smartphone

• Sends an acknowledgment notification when the pushed data reaches the client-side application

• Sends the acknowledgment to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service, which forwards it on to the notification URL provided in the push request

– Notes

• You must register the listen port number on the BlackBerry smartphone with the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service before you can make application-reliable push requests.

• If you are pushing data to the BlackBerry Browser, the port is preregistered.



Application preferred level:

– Only the RIM push format supports the application preferred reliability level.

– If the BlackBerry smartphone supports application-level reliability it sends an acknowledgment notification when the pushed data reaches the client-side application.

– If the BlackBerry smartphone does not support application-level reliability, it sends an acknowledgment notification when the pushed data reaches the BlackBerry smartphone.



Application preferred level:

– Register the listen port number

– Not available with the PAP push format



Time restrictions for push delivery:

– Define an expiry time during which pushed data must be delivered to the recipient BlackBerry smartphones

– Set two time stamps to specify time restrictions

• Deliver before time stamp

• Deliver after time stamp



To specify time restrictions for push delivery using the PAP push format:

– Define one or both of the deliver-after-timestamp and the deliver-after-timestamp attribute for the <push-message> element of the control entity.

To specify time restrictions for push delivery using the RIM push format:

– X-Rim-Push-Deliver-Before and X-Rim-Push-Deliver-After header in the request.

PAP push format



PAP push format

Send three types of requests:

– Push request

• Pushes data to the specified recipients

– Status query request

• Queries the status of a push request for one or more specified recipients

– Cancellation request

• Cancels a push request for one or more specified recipients


PAP push format

The PAP push format:

– Sends the request as an HTTP POST request to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service

– Use the format:

POST http://<MDS_CS>:<MDS_CS_port>/pap

<message>

If the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is configured to support secure connections, you can use the HTTPS protocol.


PAP push format

Create a PAP push request:

1. Send an HTTP POST request.

2. To push content to multiple recipients using PAP, add multiple address tags to the POST request.

3. To push content to a group using PAP, in the recipient addresses part of the push submission, prefix the group name with the $character.

Example: an address element used to push to a group named IT using PAP:

<address address-value="WAPPUSH=%24IT/[email protected]"/>

RIM push format



RIM push format

Send the request as an HTTP POST request to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service:

POST http://<MDS_CS>:<MDS_CS_port>/push?

DESTINATION=<destination>&PORT=<client_port>&REQUESTURI=<uri>

<headers>

<data>


RIM push format

To push content to:

– One or multiple users, send an HTTP POST request

http://mdsServer:web server listen port/push?DESTINATION=

– Multiple recipients, include multiple DESTINATION parameters in the query string

http://mds_server:8080/push?DESTINATION=

[email protected]&[email protected]&PORT=7874&REQUESTURI=/

– A group, prefix the group name with the $character

Introduction to push technology © 2009 Research In Motion Limited.

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