Prithwi Raj Chakraborty,Alok Kumar Chowdhury,Sujan Chowdhury,Farhana Shirin Chowdhury Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl.
, Vol 2 (2), 374-378
An Efficient Approach to Access Database in J2ME Applications
Prithwi Raj Chakraborty
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Premier University
Chittagong, Bangladesh
stranger.prithwi@gmail.com
Sujan Chowdhury
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Chittagong University of Engineering &
Technology
Chittagong, Bangladesh
sujan_cse_04@yahoo.com
Abstract
Application development for mobile devices has
been very challenging. Distributed applications for
mobile devices should have uninterrupted data access.
Though most of the mobile phones have CLDC
configuration, Java provides no standard JDBC driver
and API for mobile devices with CLDC configuration.
Relational database in J2ME can be used with some
currently available DBMSs and frameworks. But still
there are problems like storage limitation, database
inconsistency, nonstandard SQL, platform dependency
etc. This paper proposes an approach which ensures
continuous database access with shared DBMS for
distributed J2ME applications running on CLDC
devices. This approach also supports writing standard
SQL in J2ME applications.
Keywords: J2ME database access, DBMS for CLDC
devices, standard SQL in J2ME, shared database
access, distributed mobile application, platform
supported J2ME application.
1. Introduction
J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) is a Java platform
from Sun Microsystems that allows programmers to
use the Java programming language and related tools
to develop programs for small devices with a limited
processor power and small memory size like mobile
phones, personal digital assistants etc. To support a
wide variety of device types, J2ME technology adopts
Alok Kumar Chowdhury
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Premier University
Chittagong, Bangladesh
alokchy04@yahoo.com
Farhana Shirin Chowdhury
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Premier University
Chittagong, Bangladesh
fshirin2007@gmail.com
a modular and scalable architecture. It has two primary
kinds of components—configurations and profiles. A
configuration defines the minimum set of JVM (Java
Virtual Machine) features and Java class libraries
available for a particular category of devices. A
configuration typically represents a group of devices
with similar processing power and amounts of
available memory. A profile is a specification that
defines sets of APIs (Application Programming
Interfaces) and features and utilizes the underlying
configuration to provide a complete run-time
environment for a specific kind of device. The profile
manages the application, user interface, networking
and I/O.
J2ME defines two configurations, the CLDC
(Connected Limited Device Configuration) and the
CDC (Connected Device Configuration). The CLDC
is for devices with small amounts of memory and/or
slow processors. The VM (Virtual Machine) used by
the CLDC omits some important features. The CDC,
on the other hand, includes a full JVM and a much
larger set of core classes, so it requires more memory
than the CLDC and a faster processor [1]. CLDC
devices consist of very small UI, memory of about 160
KB to 512 KB, 16 to 32 bit processors. CDC devices
consist of large range of UI, 2 to 16 MB memory and
32 bit processors.
The proposed approach will be focusing on
database access by J2ME applications for mobile
devices. Mobile devices are increasingly used for
database driven tasks such as product inventory
tracking, sales order entry, and customer relationship
management. While developing applications for
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Prithwi Raj Chakraborty,Alok Kumar Chowdhury,Sujan Chowdhury,Farhana Shirin Chowdhury Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl., Vol 2 (2), 374-378
mobile devices, some certain limitations like limitation
of energy and resources of mobile devices,
disconnecting problem, bandwidth asymmetry etc.
should be kept in mind. J2ME applications that run on
CDC devices are capable of utilizing DBMS
(Database Management System). This DBMS is
typically located on a remote server; although some
highly configured CDC devices might have the DBMS
stored locally on their hard drive [2]. But CLDC
devices are widely used all over the world for both
personal and programming purposes. The fact is that
J2ME does not provide any optional package for
database access for CLDC devices. Though some
light-weight DBMSs are available for CLDC devices,
but there also some problems like data limitation,
unavailability of standard SQL, improper data caching
etc. Moreover, a shared, remote server DBMS can be
accessed by multiple J2ME applications. So, mobile
devices should be connected to remote server
somehow while accessing database, otherwise their
transactions may cause data inconsistency. If local
databases in mobile devices are concerned, it is not
possible to access large amount of data because of
storage limitation of mobile devices. So, we are
proposing a newer approach which includes,
• An API for developers to use standard SQL into
their J2ME client applications for CLDC devices.
This API will also give access to locally saved
schema of remote server DBMS through RMS
(Record Management System), a J2ME file
system.
• A remote and shared DBMS server with huge
amount of data. The shared DBMS can have
multiple accesses from different J2ME client
applications.
• A backup SMS application running on the same
remote server (where DBMS is located) to keep
connection between mobile applications and
remote DBMS alive while the network bandwidth
communication (internet communication) is
interrupted.
2. Background
Issues of the proposed approach are – use of
standard SQL in J2ME applications, uninterrupted and
shared remote database access with large amount of
data by multiple J2ME client applications and client
devices will be CLDC devices. There are some
database management systems as well as frameworks
for CLDC devices to access database like Floggy,
OpenBaseMovil, Mimer SQL Mobile, J2MEMicroDB
etc. These software and frameworks partially solved
J2ME database access problem, but they are not the
ultimate solution for our issues.
Generally, J2ME applications store and
manipulate data in nonvolatile memory using RMS.
RMS is a combinational file system and database
management system that enables us to store data in
columns and rows similar to database tables. Data can
be inserted, read, searched and sorted by RMS. But the
problem is that RMS is not a relational database, so
SQL can not be used. Besides, RMS has limited
storage capacity [2]. The amount of memory available
for record-based data storage varies from device to
device. The MIDP (Mobile Information Device
Profile) specification requires devices to reserve at
least 8K of non-volatile memory for persistent data
storage. The specification does not place any limits on
the size of an individual record, but space constraints
will vary from device to device [3].
At present, some frameworks and database
engines are available to minimize the problem
regarding J2ME database. Floggy is such a
framework. This framework creates an abstract
interface to manage data in the J2ME applications
through the artifacts of RMS mechanisms. That is,
J2ME developers do not need to deal with the RMS
low level architecture [4]. The problem with Floggy is
that it uses RMS to store and manipulate the
persistence infrastructure of database objects. As RMS
has limited data storage capacity, the storage limitation
problem still exists with Floggy.
OpenBaseMovil is another framework for J2ME
applications. It works both as database and scripting
engine with a declarative view definition language.
The scripting engine in OpenBaseMovil, known as
OpenBaseMovil-script, provides some facilities like
easy coding, extendable language, faster execution etc.
It uses a language called bmScript which is an object
oriented language [5]. However, OpenBaseMovil has a
big limitation and it is that it does not support standard
SQL.
Like frameworks there are some DBMSs also for
mobile devices. Mimer SQL Mobile is such a DBMS
which can be accessed by multiple uses with full
transaction support. A Mimer SQL Mobile database
can be accessed by parallel local applications, but also
by remote clients. A local Mimer SQL Mobile
application may also access remote Mimer SQL
databases. Very efficient compression techniques are
used for the data stored in database to reduce the
storage needs of mobile device up to 60%. The
client/server communication in Mimer SQL Mobile
utilizes standardized network protocols such as
LAN/WLAN, 3G/GRPS, Bluetooth, serial port [6].
Unlike OpenBaseMovil, Mimer SQL Mobile supports
standard SQL. Supported operating system platforms
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for Mimer SQL Mobile are Symbian OS (Operating backup J2SE SMS application which does the same
System)-Series 60, Symbian OS-UIQ, Symbian OS- thing as J2EE web application but it works while there
UIQ3, Linux 2.6+, Windows Mobile etc. But Mimer is no internet connectivity and uses GPRS model. On
SQL Mobile does not support Symbian OS-Series 40 the third layer there is the database server which gets
platform which is widely used [7]. data requests from J2EE web application and J2SE
J2MEMicroDB, a database engine for J2ME SMS application and performs required database
devices, is based on a three-tier architecture which operations as well as sends response back to J2EE web
includes a proxy server application, the remote application and J2SE SMS application. The J2ME
database and mobile client. Data access requests go client application is capable of accessing the remote
from mobile client to proxy server application via database through a two way application layer (second
HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol) and proxy layer).
server application uses the JDBC (Java Database
Connection) API to connect to remote databases [8].
Some features of J2MEMicroDB are – it is
lightweight, it presents time efficient database access,
it uses a remote DBMS through a web service, it
implements a relational database on mobile devices, it
also provides a way to store and retrieve database
objects in mobile device [9]. As mentioned,
J2MEMicroDB uses a remote database, so there is no
storage limitation while the client-end J2ME
application is connected to remote DBMS via
network. This engine implements an offline data
access approach by storing a small mirror of remote
server database into mobile device by RMS so that the
offline J2ME application can use that mirror to make
store and manipulate offline data stored locally into
that mobile device. But if the remote database is
shared by multiple J2ME applications, then the locally
stored offline data is no worth because it is not up-to-
date. So, the offline transactions will contradict with
the original database when the offline device becomes
online.
So, though there are some DBMS frameworks and
database engines available for J2ME, they have some Figure 1. Architecture of the system
limitations also. For this reason, a newer and efficient
approach has been proposed. 3.1. J2ME client application

3. System Architecture The proposed approach supports concurrent

Proposed system consists of three-layer
architecture. On the first layer there is a J2ME client
application which runs on mobile device. This J2ME
application will communicate with second layer
application and submit its queries written into standard
SQL. On the first layer, there may be more than one
J2ME applications sharing same second layer
applications. On the second layer there are two
applications which run on remote server (the same
server where DBMS in running). Among these, one is
J2EE web application which receives query requests
from J2ME application and sends responses back to
J2ME application using HTTP while internet
connectivity is available. The other application is a
access of remote database by multiple J2ME
applications. The J2ME application can access the
remote database either through a J2EE web application
or J2SE SMS application. Both the J2EE web
application and J2SE SMS application reside on
remote server along with the database. While internet
connectivity is available, J2ME application uses J2EE
web application to access database and uses J2SE
SMS application while internet connectivity is
unavailable.
For communicating with J2EE web application,
our J2ME client application uses HTTP which is
supported by all MIDP devices. HTTP makes wireless
applications more portable and standard [10].
For coding purpose, packages like java.io,
javax.microedition.io have been used. A small portion

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Prithwi Raj Chakraborty,Alok Kumar Chowdhury,Sujan Chowdhury,Farhana Shirin Chowdhury Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl., Vol 2 (2), 374-378
of J2ME code is shown which has been used to send
and receive data with HTTP.
conn = (HttpConnection)
Connector.open(webAppURL);
conn.setRequestProperty(“Content-Type”,“//text
plain”); …………………………………………………
byte sendingQuery[] = queryString;
outputstream.write(sendingQuery);
outputstream.flush(); ………………………………………………
int resp = inputStram.read();
While((resp)!=-1)
{ Push Registry manages network and timer initiated
responseString = responseString + (char) resp;
} network connection or a timer-based alarm to wake a
Figure 2. A portion of J2ME code to communicate
with J2EE web application
The Connector.open() method opens a connection.
The setRequestProperty() method sets the general
request property for the open connection.
OutputStream class defines interfaces for writing data
to an open connection. The write() method writes
multiple bytes of data to the open connection.
InputStream class defines interfaces for reading data
from an open connection. The read() method returns a
byte of data as an integer form.
J2ME application follows the above process while
internet connectivity is on. But the proposed approach
follows a backup way to access remote database while
there is no internet connectivity. For this purposes,
J2ME application follows WMA (Wireless Messaging
API). WMA is built on top of CLDC (or CDC) and
requires only the Generic Connection Framework of
CLDC 1.0 and CLDC 1.1 devices [3]. The package
javax.wireless.messaging has been used. A portion of
J2ME code is shown bellow which has been used to
send SMS.
MessageConnection conn;
conn = (MessageConnection)
Connector.open("sms://”+number+“:”+port);
TextMessage tmsg;
tmsg = (TextMessage)
conn.newMessage(MessageConnection.TEXT_MES
SAGE);
tmsg.setPayloadText(queryString);
conn.send();
Figure 3. A portion of J2ME code to send query
via SMS
The MessageConnection is class factory for
messages. The setPayloadData() method the payload
data of this message.
The portion of codes in above figure shows the
way to send queries via SMS. After sending queries
the J2ME client application will have to receive back
the response from server via another SMS. For this
purpose, Push Registry has been used. Push Registry
is a welcome addition since MIDP 2.0. The Push
Registry enables MIDlets to set themselves up to be
launched automatically, without user initiation. The
MIDlet activation; that is, it enables an inbound
MIDlet up [11]. With Push Registry a port number
(ex: 5550) can be specified for the specific J2ME
client application. If any SMS comes to that port, it
automatically received by the J2ME client application.
Port number “0” is not used because if a SMS comes
for port “0”, it goes to Inbox of SIM card, without
notifying the J2ME client application.
Besides all these, the proposed approach uses an
API to save information about basic schema (database
table structure) like table name, column name etc. of
remote database by RMS at J2ME client application.
The javax.microedition.rms package as well as the
classes like RecordStore, RecordEnumeration etc. has
been used for this purpose.
3.2. J2EE web application
After receiving queries from J2ME client
application, our J2EE web application uses JDBC
driver and JDBC API to process those queries
accessing the database. After processing queries, J2EE
web application sends back a response containing data
to J2ME client application. The package java.sql has
been used. Some used classes are Statement, Resultset,
Connection, DriverManager, DataRequest etc. The
J2EE web application is built on JSP (Java Server
Page), Servlet etc.
3.3. J2SE SMS application
Like J2EE web application, J2SE SMS
application runs on same remote server. It is basically
a console application which uses a GPRS modem
connected to the remote server where the SMS sent
from J2ME client application are stored. J2SE SMS
application always reads the port where modem is
connected. If it reads any new data (a new SMS), it
parses the SMS data and gets the queries from that
SMS. Then the application uses standard JDBC driver
to access database based upon those queries. After
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Prithwi Raj Chakraborty,Alok Kumar Chowdhury,Sujan Chowdhury,Farhana Shirin Chowdhury Int. J. Comp. Tech. Appl., Vol 2 (2), 374-378
query execution, J2SE SMS application sends back
response data back to J2ME client application via a
SMS through the GPRS modem. At coding level we
use Java Communication API. The used packages are
javax.comm.CommPort,javax.comm.CommPortIdentif
ier,jvax.comm.SerialPort etc. A portion of J2SE code
of SMS application is shown bellow.
CommPort thePort;
CommPortIdentifier thePortID;
…………………………………………………
thePort = thePortID.open(strPortName,
TIMEOUTSECONDS * 1000);
SerialPort myPort = (SerialPort) thePort;
………………………………………………………
is = new BufferedReader(new
InputStreamReader(thePort.getInputStream()));
Figure 4. A portion of J2SE code to read comm
port data
CommPort is an abstract class that describes a
communications port made available by the underlying
system. CommPortIdentifier is the central class for
controlling access to communications ports. SerialPort
is a RS-232 serial communications port. It describes
the low-level interface to a serial communications port
made available by the underlying system.
4. Discussion
As database based mobile device applications are
being used in several personal and business
perspectives, database access in mobile device is a
handsome issue for the mobile application developers
now. Though there are several programming
languages and platforms for mobile device application
developments, J2ME is widely used because it is
platform independent (J2ME application can be run on
any Java enabled mobile devices), open source, easily
used etc. These reasons drag the focus towards J2ME
database access. The proposed approach gives solution
to all of the discussed issues. With this approach,
standard SQL command can be used into J2ME
application dealing with a large amount of data. This
approach supports use of multiple J2ME applications.
The approach includes a backup way to access
database while there is no internet connectivity. The
proposed approach also supports CLDC devices with
Series 40 (or upper) platform(s). This approach is
tested with several mobile hand sets like – Nokia 3110
classic, Nokia 2730 classic, Nokia 3720 classic, Nokia
2700 classic, Nokia E52, Nokia E71 etc. with
satisfactory performances.
5. Conclusion
J2ME database access has been a very important
topic for the J2ME application developers. The
proposed approach deals with some major points in
J2ME database access. The proposed approach will
help J2ME developers to use database for their J2ME
applications as well as to make distributed mobile
applications with J2ME which will have a great impact
on business perspective also. This proposed approach
can be further updated with more features regarding
J2ME database access.
6. References
[1] J2ME Core Concepts. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.developer.com/java/j2me/article.php/1378971
[2] James Keogh, J2ME: The Complete Reference, Tata
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi,
2003.
[3] Sing Li, and Jonathan Knudsen, Beginning J2ME: From
Novice to Professional, Apress, New Delhi, 2006.
[4] Floggy. [Online]. Available at:
http://floggy.sourceforge.net/index.html
[5] OpenBaseMovil. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.openbasemovil.org/about/
[6] Mimer SQL Mobile – Highlights. [Online]. Available at:
http://developer.mimer.com/features/feature_18.htm
[7] Mimer SQL Products & Platforms. [Online]. Available
at: http://developer.mimer.com/platforms/index.tml
[8] Marc Alier, Pablo Casado, and Maria José Casany,
“J2MEMicroDB: An Open Source Distributed database
Engine for Mobile Applications”, Proceedings of the 5th
international symposium on Principles and practice of
programming in Java, ACM New York, Lisboa, Portugal,
September 5-7, 2007, Volume: 272, pp. 231-235.
[9] Marc Alier, Pablo Casado, and Maria José Casany,
“J2MEMicroDB: a new Open Source lightweight database
engine for J2ME mobile devices”, Journal of Intelligent
Manufacturing, Springer, Heidelberg, 2009, Volume: 20,
Issue: 3, pp. 303-309.
[10] Yu Feng, and Dr. Jun Zhu, Wireless Java Programming
with J2ME, Sams Publishing, New Delhi, 2001.
[11] The MIDP 2.0 Push Registry. [Online]. Available at:
http://developers.sun.com/mobility/midp/articles/pushreg/
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