The number of developers using J2ME to create applications on wireless platforms has reached new heights, according to Evans Data in its '2004 Wireless Development Survey.' The market researcher canvassed more than 450 wireless developers to find out how many were using J2ME, among other topics.
Forty percent of the survey's respondents use J2ME and 24% are evaluating it. The app's runtime environment is the prime reason for choosing a target platform, according to 27% of participants. Next on the list were physical device, OS and the device's popularity.
In other findings, 30% of developers constructing phones believed software application improvements and the increase in efficiency that came from them could most reduce development costs. However, 17% believe that optimizing the platform and operating system were the best means of reducing construction costs, according to Evans Data.
Developers' plans for user-initiated applications on the Java platform that allow end users to download, install and execute new applications are well underway, with 40% currently building them and another 19% planning them for next year.
The three top security mechanisms for wireless applications are public key infrastructure (15%), SSL/TLS connections (12%) and user authentication/password protection (11%).
Testing and debugging tools are the second most important weapons in the wireless developers' arsenal, according to 76% of respondents. However, they are the second most unsatisfactory type of tool, with almost a quarter indicating that they need work.