Challenges of Developing Software for Wireless Devices (Essay Sample)

E-commerce
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Challenges of Developing Software for Wireless Devices
One of the big challenges that hinder the process of developing software for wireless devices is the different standards for application development. There are several platforms with different requirements and hence developers face challenges since there is no one platform that can serve all the wireless devices (Turban et al., 2008). In contrast, the world of personal computers is dominated by the Microsoft windows operating system. This means that application developers have an almost uniform platform on which to create computer applications. Other operating systems like Linux, and Ubuntu, and iOS occupy a small segment of the market; the developers can focus on making applications supported by Windows since that is where most people are.
Various players with different operating systems dominate the wireless devices market. For example, Samsung, one of the major player in the market has its own operating system, Tizen. Apple, the other big player, has its own operating system, iOS. Until recently, Nokia used the Symbian operating system. Hosts of new generation smart-phones use Google’s Android operating system while other devices have begun using Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Evidently, the mobile market is still highly fragmented, which prevents the emergence of common standards in application development (Mackay and Marshall, 2004).
Another challenge facing developers of software for wireless devices is the different product configurations. Devices come with vastly different configurations such that creating common software applications even for devices using the same operating system is a big task. This is in contrast to the world of personal computers, where devices have similar configurations as long as they are in the same class (Turban et al., 2008). For instance, all computer devices that use Duo Core processors have similar specifications regardless of who the maker of the device is. This is not the case for wireless device makers. There are no product standards. Manufacturers just release new products as soon as they make them. This poses a challenge for software developers since different products specifications mean that the software will only operate in a limited number of devices. Software manufactures have to make a downgraded version that will fit in most devices or they have to forego a wide market and specialize in making software for a limited number of devices.
Components of mobile computing
Software development involves many aspects ranging from security policy, modeling, developing a security architecture and software models, testing verification and validation, and the last steps involve evaluation, certification, and accreditation. The main components of a mobile computing are markup language, WAP, micro browser application, users interface, and mobile operating systems (Turban et al., 2008)...