MOWAHS - Optimised support for XML in mobile environments

Abstract

This report describes a prototype middleware system for optimising transfer and processing times of XML based data between mobile, heterogeneous clients, supporting servers and context providers. The system will achieve these objectives by compressing or compacting the XML data in different ways, and using different parsing techniques. Two such techniques are examined more thoroughly, namely tag redundancy reduction, and binary compression. These optimisation techniques are implemented in a fully functioning XML data optimising system, and their effectiveness is tested and compared. A long term goal is discussed and considered in relation to these techniques: To develop a set of heuristic rules that will allow the system to determine dynamically which optimisation methods are most efficient at any given time based on available context data. The prototype system described is developed in Java, with a client for mobile devices written in Java2ME.