Developing Titan Applications - Tools

Sprint has released their new Titan platform last week. Titan is a next generation Java platform for Sprint Windows Mobile devices. In addition to supporting existing MIDP Java ME applications, it includes the more capable CDC/Foundation Java Virtual Machine and OSGi framework. You can read more about Titan in Mobile OSGi blog. Titan is currently available for Windows Mobile 6 devices as an installable add on. In the future, devices will ship with pre-installed Titan, and Sprint plans to extend Titan support to other phone categories and platforms as well. This is a very important milestone for mobile OSGi and it opens up very exciting new opportunities for mobile Java. I plan to write a number of articles about how to develop applications for this new platform. However, before starting development work, it worth to have a look at the tools available. There is a step-by-step introduction - in the form of videos - on the Titan page at Sprint ADP. I don't want to repeat the information available there, rather complement it with some practical notes.

The Development Tools

From the Titan page, after some registration you can download the development tools for creating applications for Titan. The tools are based on the Eclipse IDE 3.3 Europa release. First you need to set up the environment. Follow the instructions on video for how to install and configure the development tools. The configuration step is very important in order to make sure that the IDE uses the provided CDC 1.1 Java runtime instead of your installed JDK version and the provided eRCP version as the development target instead of RCP provided as part of the Eclipse IDE.

First Project

Now you're ready to create your first project. The project template creates a simple eRCP application with some basic UI elements. We're ready to try it! Unfortunately, there's no built in device emulator in the toolset. The tool supports on-device execution and debugging (see video) only. So what can you do, if you don't have access to a WM6 device, or you find it more convenient to start first with an emulator on PC? Fortunately, Titan Runtime can be installed to Windows Mobile 6 Emulator.

The Emulator

First download and install the emulator to your PC. The emulator is available in a number of different localized versions, pick the one you like. However. make sure that you download one of the Professional images, Titan doesn't work with the Standard ones. Now you need to install Titan Runtime to the Emulator. The easiest way to get TitanDeviceRuntime-v1.0.CAB to the emulator is via a shared folder. After starting the emulator, you can select a shared folder in File > Configure... menu. The content of the shared folder can be accessed from the Emulator using the File Explorer in the "\Storage Card" folder. Just click on the CAB file to begin the installation. Similarly, you need to install the Titan Device Tools, which enable "on-device" debugging of applications or application startup from the IDE.

Network Setup

The desktop and device-side tool components use sockets for communication, so you need to setup a network access.

1. First you need to download and install Virtual PC 2007 because the Emulator uses the virtual network adaper support in VPC.
2. Now you can enable the "NE2000 Network Adapter" in the Network tab of the Configuration window of the Emulator.
3. After enabling it, you should bind the adapter to one of the network interfaces installed to your PC. For this purpose, I used the Microsoft Loopback Adapter.
4. You have to assign a static IP address to the emulator, because you have to be able to configure that IP address in the tools in your IDE. Open Settings in the Start Menu of the Emulator, select the Connections tab and then Network Cards. Select the "NE2000 Compatible Ethernet Driver" and then Use specific IP address. I used 192.168.42.1 as the address of the loopback adapter and assigned 192.168.42.2 to the Emulator. You need to softreset the Emulator (File > Reset > Soft) to ensure that the changes take effect.
5. Finally, you need to configure the development plugins in the IDE. Open Run > Run Dialog..., select OSGi on Device from the list on the left and then fill in the form, entering the IP address in the Device IP field.

Now you can try to run the sample application in the Emulator. Click Run! You should see something like this:

Final Notes

After the installation of Titan Device Tools, a black and blue disc-like icon appears on the task bar. This is a simple application that allows you to manage the lifecycle of the OSGi framework on the device. By default the framework is always running, you can use this application to stop or restart it. Notice that the icon is animating while an operation is in progress! WM6 Emulator emulates an ARM CPU and executes ARM native code, which is quite resource demanding, so don't expect too quick operation. In particular, when you start the emulator, it is useful to wait until the framework completely starts, before trying to run an application.