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PDA Glossary
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1G – First Generation. Refers to early, analog, circuit-switched voice systems. 1G systems are no longer being developed.

2G – Second Generation. Refers to digital protocols such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA.

2.5G - Extensions of 2G systems to provide packet-switched connections (GPRS) and higher data rates using EDGE and HSCSD.

3Com - The former parent company of Palm, Inc., which makes a line of modems and networking peripherals.

3G – Third Generation. New protocols that support Mbps data rates.

4G – The next generation of wireless, supposed to appear ~2011. Proposed features include ~100 Mbps speed, location sensing, self-tailoring to user needs.

802.11a – Newer version of 802.11b that allows devices to exchange information at up to 54 mbs.

802.11b – A wireless standard for device connectivity. Mainly for LAN connections and not necessarily wireless Internet . This standard allows handhelds, desktops and other wireless devices to exchange information at up to 11 mbs at several hundred feet.
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A
Active Matrix Display - An LCD technology used in flat panel computer displays; it produces a brighter and sharper display with a broader viewing angle than passive matrix screens. Active matrix technology uses a thin film transistor at each pixel and is often designated as a "TFT screen."

Addressbook - One of the most popular native applications on the Palm OS® device.

API - Application Programming Interface. Allows an external program to execute a products functionality.

Application - A program, such as a word processor or a spreadsheet, that performs one of the important tasks for which a desktop or handheld computer is used. This term is sometimes use in place of or in conjunction with "software."

ARM - Advanced Risc Machines. A company that designs processor and peripheral Intellectual Property cores primarily targeted for low power operation.

ASP – Application Service Provider. An extension of the ISP (Internet Service Provider) business offering web-based applications as well as Internet access. Proposed for applications that are most useful when data is shared among a group of users, such as calendaring, or applications that are too expensive or infrequently used to be cost-effective for small companies, such as complex tax planning software
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B
Backlight – Optional function in handheld or e-book reader displays which allows the user to read in the dark.

Bandwidth - Measures the data-carrying capacity of a communications channel. Digital systems are usually measured in bits per second(bps).

Beaming – a way to send information between two PDAs via the infrared port. Can also be used to send information to the printer.

BlackBerry™ - Handheld device developed by RIM® which focuses on wireless email communications, but can also run other applications.

Bluetooth – A specification for short-range (~30 feet) radio transmission of data between mobile and stationary devices such as PDAs, cell phones, PCs, and printers.

bps - Bits per second: the number of bits that can be transmitted per second over a communications channel. A common measure of data speed for computer modems and transmission carriers.

Brick-and-Mortar - Traditional, physical store locations where the consumer must go in order to shop for and purchase goods and services.
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C
CDMA – Code Division Multiple Access. A technique of multiplexing, also called spread spectrum, in which analog signals are converted into digital form for transmission. For each communication channel, the signals are encoded in a sequence known to the transmitter and the receiver for that channel. The foremost application is digital cellular phone technology from QUALCOMM that operates in the 800MHz band and 1.9GHz PCS band. CDMA phones are noted for their excellent call quality and long battery life. A 2G digital wireless standard developed by Qualcomm. Offers speeds of about 14.4K baud.

CE – See Windows CE.

CHTML – See Compact HTML.

Circuit-Switching – Creating a connection by opening a dedicated circuit between both parties to a call. The circuit remains open for the duration of the call. Compare with Packet-Switching.

Clock Speed - Clock speeds, are the speed measurements of a microprocessor's internal clock that controls how fast a computer can make calculations, usually measured in megahertz (MHz)

Commercial Software - Software that must be purchased before use. There is no "testing" period available before the customer must spend money for the product.

Compact flash – A removable expansion which could be memory or other connectivity software.

Compact HTML – A reduced HTML tag set used by i-mode instead of HDML or WML.

Connectivity - The ability to connect your PDA or computer electronically with other computers, printers, or fax machines. The connection can be achieved through an internal computer network, EDI, the Internet, or a combination of these methods. The transmission carrier can be electrical wires, phone lines, cable lines, infrared waves, or radio waves.

Cradle – Device which handheld computer is placed in to synchronize data with the desktop computer. Cradle connects to the computer via USB or serial connection. Can also be used to recharge handheld computer batteries.
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D
Digitizer - On Palm OS® devices, the digitizer calibrates the display's sensitivity to the tip of the stylus for accurate pointing and writing.

Doc – document. This term is usually used for electronic documents.

Docking cradle - Many PDA's include a cradle into which you can insert the device to synchronize data and upload programs from a host PC. Some cradles double as battery chargers.

DoCoMo – The wireless web division of NTT, and vendor of i-mode.

Document reader – a program to read documents on the handheld computer

DragonBall - processor Computer processor manufactured by Motorola on which Palm OS® devices run.

Dual-band mobile phone - Phones that support both analog and digital technologies by picking up analog signals when digital signals fade. Most mobile phones are not dual-band.

Dual screen - To create a better picture than those on early passive-matrix, flat-panel displays, companies began splitting the screen into two parts and refreshing each simultaneously. These dual-scan displays are brighter and clearer than single-scan LCD screens. However, they are still not as bright as active-matrix displays.
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E
E-commerce Electronic Commerce. Selling and purchasing of products through an electronic service, such as the Internet.

E-text – Text in electronic format which can be read from a handheld computer

ECMA – European Computer Manufacturers Association.

EDGE – Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution. A faster version of the GSM standard. It is faster than GSM because it can carry messages using broadband networks that employ more bandwidth than standard GSM networks. A GSM 3G enhancement designed to support baud rates up to 384K.

EDI - electronic data interchange. A direct computer-to-computer file exchange. EDI messages usually travel over private networks using dedicated phone lines, but they can also be transmitted via the Internet on virtual private networks. With PDA prescribing systems, EDI transmission is faster than electronic faxing and more secure than e-mail.

EPOC – Symbian’s operating system and interface design platform for handheld devices and wireless data-enabled mobile phones.

Ethernet card - A matchbook-size adapter that enables a PDA to connect to an Ethernet, the most common type of local area network (LAN). The "card" is a printed circuit board that plugs into a slot found on many - but not all - PDAs. An Ethernet card may require a cable connection to the network, or it may connect wirelessly.

Expansion slots – Physical slots on some handheld computers that can be used for extra memory, digital camera, electronic book, Margi-Presenter-to-go etc.
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F
FDMA frequency division multiple access - An analog standard that lets multiple users access a group of radio frequency bands and eliminates interference of message traffic.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - these are questions received from users that are the most frequently asked. They are accompanied by a corresponding set of answers.


Firewall - An electronic boundary that prevents unauthorized users, like hackers, from accessing confidential files on a private network, or a computer used to maintain such a boundary. If your group or hospital is networked, it most likely has firewall protection.

Flash - A nonvolatile electronic storage device.

Form Factor - General size and shape of a handheld computer.

FPLMTS - Future Public Land-Mobile Telephone Systems. See IMT-2000.

Freeware - Copyrighted computer programs that are available without charge for public use. Freeware programs may not be sold for profit.

Frequency hopping spread spectrum - A method by which a carrier spreads out packets of information (voice or data) over different frequencies. For example, a phone call is carried on several different frequencies so that when one frequency is lost another picks up the call without breaking the connection.

Fuzzy Logic - Fuzzy logic is a mathematical technique for dealing with imprecise data and problems that have more than one solution. It works with ranges of values, solving problems in a way that resembles human decision making. Fuzzy logic was conceived by Lotfi Zadeh, former chairman of the electrical engineering and computer science department at the University of California at Berkeley.
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G
GPRS – General Packet Radio Service. A 2.5G radio-based enhancement to GSM that supports packet-switching, with baud rates averaging 20-30 Kbps and a maximum of ~170Kbps. With GPRS, wireless devices are always on—they can receive and send information without dial-ins. GPRS is designed to work with GSM.

GPS – global positioning system

Graffiti – Handwriting recognition on Palm OS devices

Graffiti Writing Area - Area at the bottom of a personal digital assistant. It is divided into two sections. The left side is for writing letters with the stylus. The right side is for writing numbers with the stylus.

GSM – Global System for Mobile Communication. A digital wireless standard introduced in 1992. Uses a time division approach similar to TDMA. Offers speeds of about 16K baud. The standard in Europe and large parts of Asia. Also used in North America, along with TDMA and CDMA.
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H
Hack - Non standard applications used to enhance the use of PDAs.

Handspring – a company which manufactures handheld computers which use the Palm operating system.

Handheld Personal Computer (HPC) - Microsoft Corporation's name for a personal digital assistant.

Hotsync – The process and software by which handheld computers synchronize/share information with a desktop computer

Hot Sync Application Button - The button used to instantly activate you Hot Sync Application. This button is typically located on the cradle.

HSCSD – High-Speed Circuit-Switched Device. A circuit-switching technology for GSM that can boost speeds to ~58Kbps.

HTML - HyperText Markup Language. The language used to format web pages.
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I
i-mode – Information Mode. The predominant standard in Japan, proprietary to NTT DoCoMo. Uses packet-switching, with speeds of about 28.8K baud.

ICON - A pictorial graphic displayed on the LCD screen of a PDA which, when selected, opens the desired application.

IMT-2000 - International Mobile Telecommunications-2000. International Telecommunications Union's title for the specification for projected 3G wireless services. Formerly called FPLMTS, Future Public Land-Mobile Telephone Systems.

Infrared – Handheld devices can use this to transmit information to each other or to a printer without being physically connected. Also referred to as IrDA Port. A protocol for infrared exchange of data between two devices, up to 2 meters apart. IrDA devices typically have throughput of 115.2Kbps or 4Mbps.

IRIDIUM® - A global, mobile, wireless phone system based on 66 satellites in low-Earth-orbit (LEO). Originally conceived by Motorola, IRIDIUM let subscribers place and receive calls from anywhere in the world, without the limitations of cellular systems. The original IRIDIUM system was not commercially viable and is currently (as of early 2001) reorganizing.

IT – Information technology

ITU - International Telecommunications Union.
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J K L
Jog Dial - A dial located on the upper left quadrant on the Sony Clie. You can use it to scroll though the menus on the Clie.

Kbps – Thousands of bits per second.

Keyboard Entry - Entry of data into a personal digital assistant accomplished by tapping on the liquid crystal display (LCD) screen's virtual keyboard with a stylus or touch-typing on an accompanying portable keyboard.

Kilobyte – 1000 print or non-print characters

l-Commerce – Location-based e-commerce. E-Commerce that responds to a user’s physical location, with the possibility of other criteria being factored in as well. For example, a car wash web site might call cell phone users who pass with a mile and offer a discount if they come in in the next hour. Or a clothing store web site might call passing shoppers to invite them in for a dollar-off coupon on umbrellas when rain is in the forecast. L-Commerce is one of two terms for this technology – see m-Commerce.

LAN – Land access network

LCD – Liquid crystal display. Optical technology making small flat screens possible.

Load - To start a computer program. Load time may affect your assessment of software usefulness, particularly when patients are present. Some PDA software loads almost instantly.
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M
m-Commerce – Mobile e-commerce. E-Commerce that responds to a user’s physical location, with the possibility of other criteria being factored in as well. For example, a car wash web site might call cell phone users who pass with a mile and offer a discount if they come in in the next hour. Or a clothing store web site might call passing shoppers to invite them in for a dollar-off coupon on umbrellas when rain is in the forecast. m-Commerce is one of two terms for this technology – see l-Commerce.

Mac® OS - Apple's Macintosh® operating system.

Mbps – Megabits per second.

Megabyte – 1000 kilobytes

Memory stick - Memory Stick designed by Sony for Sony products acts as an off-line connection transfer and exchange media for connecting many types of digital devices. It acts as a temporary storage space for pictures, music, words, sounds, movies, ideas, photographs, or anything else that can be converted into digital data. Memory Stick is currently available in 32 and 64MB sizes.

Microbrowser - The microbrowser is implemented in a mobile handset, and is designed to handle WML code using the phone's standard interface. As a result, displays are three or four lines, and interfaces will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and phone to phone. The microbrowser needs to work in the limited memory and processor space of a mobile phone, so it's not as sophisticated as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.

Modem - Modulator/demodulator device on some personal digital assistants that allows direct access to the Internet. A peripheral device that connects computers to each other via phone lines, allowing users to send and receive communications (such as e-mail) and to access the Internet. With palm-size PDAs, a modem is usually a separate expense, but all PDAs can accept one. Modems may be analog or wireless. An analog modem must be connected by a cable to a phone jack. A wireless modem requires no cable connection.

Multitasking - Running more than one program at a time. When a PDA has sufficient memory to allow this capability, it's easy to switch between programs to perform sequential tasks.
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N O
Native applications – The handheld computing applications like calendar and memopad which come on the handheld computer.

Newton® - Apple's handheld device, which used a proprietary operating system. No longer manufactured.

NTT – Nippon Telephone and Telegraph. The parent company of DoCoMo, distributor of i-mode.

OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer. Refers to the software or hardware manufacturer before relabelling or distribution.

OS – operating system. Handheld computers usually have a Windows CE operating system or a palm operating system.
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P Q
Packet - A chunk of data that is sent over a network, whether it's the Internet or wireless network. Packet data is the basis for packet-switched networks, which are under development in the United States as a faster, more reliable method of transferring wireless data than a circuit-switched network. Packet-switched networks eliminate the need to dial in to send or receive information because they are "always on," transferring data without the need to dial. The packets that hold data depend on the size of the data involved; "chunks" are broken down into an efficient size for routing. Each of these packets has a separate number and carries the Internet address for which it is destined.

Packet-Switching – Breaking voice or data into small units, or packets, transmitted over the network to the destination. Packet-switching is more efficient than circuit-switching because network resources are only used when packets are sent. This allows pricing based on the volume of data transmitted, rather than on the length of time that a circuit is open. NTT DoCoMo i-mode uses packet-switching. Compare with Circuit-Switching.

Palm – company which manufactures handheld devices. Also a generic term for a handheld computer.

Palm OS - Palm OS software is the operating system of Palm OS platform handhelds. Most software for these devices are called Palm OS applications.

PalmPilot - Palm, Inc.'s palm-sized device that debuted in 1996. In 1998, Pilot was dropped from the name for legal reasons.

Passive Matrix Display - A common LCD technology used in laptops. Passive matrix displays (DSTN, CSTN, etc.) are not quite as sharp and do not have as broad a viewing angle as active matrix (TFT) displays, but they have improved dramatically over the years. Looking head on into a passive matrix screen is not all that different than looking at an active matrix (TFT) screen. The difference is more noticeable with the viewing angle. A person looking from the side sees a dimmer image with passive matrix.

PAN – Personal Area Network. A group of devices within a 9 meters range linked wirelessly by low-power radio signals controlled by Bluetooth.

PCS (personal communications services) - An alternative to cellular, PCS works like cellular technology because it sends calls from transmitter to transmitter as a caller moves. But PCS uses its own network, not a cellular network, and offers fewer "blind spots"—areas in which access to calls is not available—than cellular. PCS transmitters are generally closer together than their cellular counterparts.

PDA – Personal Digital Assistant. A term coined by Apple when it released the Newton in the early 1990s. Denotes a handheld device that typically offers scheduling, to-do lists, contact lists, and similar features at a minimum. Handheld device about the size of half a sandwich that combines computing, personal organizing, telephone/fax, and networking features. Some PDAs also react to voice input by using voice recognition technologies. A generic term which could apply to Pocket PCs with Windows CE or Palm OS devices.

PDB - Palm Database. A PDB is a record database generally used to store data for an application

PHS – Personal Handyphone Service. A data communications service from NTT DoCoMo that lets subscribers connect PDAs and notebook PCs to a PHS network. PHS supports a baud rate of 32 Kbps, with 64 Kbps entering service.

PIM – personal information management. Refers to handheld computer applications that organize personal information such as calendar, to do lists, memos.

Pixels - Units of resolution (or measurement) on a LCD display.

Platform - Combination of hardware and operating system.

Pocket PC – Handheld operating system developed by Microsoft – generic term for handheld devices which run Windows CE

PRC - Palm Resource. A Palm resource file containing a resource list rather than a record list. Palm OS applications are resource databases. Palm OS application contains code resources a well as user interface resource elements.

Psion™ - A British handheld computer company that makes its own hardware and operating system. Utilized by the Symbian device platform.
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R
Radio-wave transmission - A means of using electromagnetic waves to transmit wireless signals. All PDA prescribing systems either offer or soon will offer radio-wave transmission capability. This enables you to beam scripts from your exam room or office to a desktop PC or a printer in another room. It also lets you access the Internet and send and receive e-mails from a remote location via a satellite network.

RAM – Random access memory. Temporary storage for computer files.

Rechargeable Battery - Battery type usually found in personal digital assistants with a color display.

Resolution - Resolution is the number of pixels contained on a display, expressed in terms of the number of pixels on the horizontal axis and the number on the vertical axis. For example 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 resolutions.

RIM - Stands for Reasearch In Motion, which is the name of the company that produces the BlackBerry™ wireless device. See BlackBerry™.

ROM – Read only memory. Used for static information on computers.
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S
Satellite phone - Phones that connect callers via satellite. The idea behind a satellite phone is to give users a worldwide alternative to sometimes unreliable digital and analog connections. So far, such services have proven very costly and have appealed to few users aside from, for example, the crews at deep-sea oil rigs with phones configured to connect to a satellite service.

Smart phone - A combination of a mobile phone and a PDA, smart phones allow users to converse as well as perform tasks, such as accessing the Internet wirelessly and storing contacts in databases. Smart phones have a PDA-like screen. As smart phone technology matures, some analysts expect these devices to prevail among wireless users. A PDA equipped with an Internet connection could be considered a smart phone. Handspring, Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola also make smart phones.

Scroll Up/Down Buttons - Buttons located between Address Book Application Button and To Do List Application Button. Used to scroll up or down through the current application.

SD - Secure Digital. SD Card - The SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card is a memory device about the size of postage stamp. SD Memory Cards are nonvolatile, which means they do not require power to retain information stored on them. They are solid-state devices, so they have no moving parts to skip or break down. They will offer high storage capacity, fast data transfer, flexibility and security. The SD Card organization is located at www.sdcard.org/ SD Organization - The binding organization for the development of SD devices.

SD I/O - Palm's new SD-capable Palm handhelds will support the SD format as a whole. The SD format also supports input/output (SDIO) connectivity for future capabilities. With SDIO, manufacturers will be able to miniaturize their technologies to create SDIO modules for scanners, radios, modems, cameras and MP3 players.

Shareware - Best described as "try before you buy" software. Either a consumer can use the program for a specific time period or has a "crippled" version of the product. In both cases, the customer must register (pay for) the product in order to utilize all of its features for an unlimited time.

SIM – Subscriber Identity Module. A smart card inserted in GSM phones that authenticates the user to the network and can store basic user and network data

Skins - When referring to PDAs, this is the color of the outer layer of the device.

Smartphone - The next generation of mobile phones expected to be the ultimate mobile computing device.

SMS – Short Message Service. A paging system that lets GSM users send text messages up to 160 characters long.

Springboard - A Springboard is an additional snap in module specifically for Handspring PDAs that adds functionality. This is an open interface standard that is available for anyone to develop applications for Handspring PDAs.

SRAM - Synchronous Random Access Memory. A volatile electronic storage device.

Stylus – a pen writing device for the handheld computer. Writes directly on the screen.

Sub-notebook - Basically a laptop computer, but about 25 percent smaller. These computers can be placed in a purse or small briefcase.

Symbian - A joint venture between Psion, Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia to develop and support the EPOC operating system. Formerly known as Psion Software.

Sync – short for hotsync.
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T U
TDMA – Time Division Multiple Access. A digital wireless standard, developed primarily by AT&T, that allows each user a different time slot on a given frequency. Offers speeds of about 8K baud.

TFT - Thin Film Transistor.Liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, common in personal digital assistants, which has a transistor for each pixel. It is also known as Active Matrix.

Touchscreen - The touch-sensitive display on all PDAs. Tap a stylus to an appropriate spot on the PDA's screen, determined by the software you use, and a task is performed automatically.

UA - User Agent. The device that contains software which interprets WML, WMLScript etc.

UMTS – Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. A 3G, broadband digital wireless standard due to be introduced in Japan in 2001 and offering a baud rate of up to 2 Mbps.

U.S. Robotics - Manufacturers of the PalmPilot and related software until 3Com acquired the company in 1996.

USB – Universal Serial bus – Connection that sends information from a desktop computer to a personal digital assistant, printer, camera, etc. It compresses information so it sends it faster than a Serial Port.
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V W
Voice Recognition Software - Software in some personal digital computers that allows one to enter verbal commands.

WAE - Wireless Application Environment. WAE specifies a general-purpose application environment based fundamentally on World Wide Web technologies and philosophies. WAE specifies an environment that allows operators and service providers to build applications and services that can reach a wide variety of different platforms. WAE is part of the Wireless Application Protocol.

WAN – Wireless access network or wide area network

WAP – Wireless Application Protocol. The underlying standards for the wireless web. Based in part on IP, WAP is the wireless web’s equivalent to TCP/IP on the Internet. Can operate on any wireless system.

WASP – Wireless Application Service Provider. See ASP.

WAV - A standard format for storing sound in computer files. When prescribing systems offer digital dictation capability (something they're expected to do within the next few months), your verbal notes will be converted into WAV files that can be transmitted over the Internet to a transcription service.


WCDMA – Wideband Code Division Multiple Access. A CDMA enhancement supporting baud rates to 2Mbps.

WDP - Wireless Datagram Protocol. The WDP layer operates above the data capable bearer services supported by the various network types. As a general datagram service, WDP offers a consistent service to the upper layer protocol (Security, Transaction and Session) of WAP and communicate transparently over one of the available bearer services. The protocols in the WAP family are designed for use over narrowband bearers in wireless telecommunications networks. Since the WDP protocols provide a common interface to the upper layer protocols (Security, Transaction and Session layers) ,they are able to function independently of the underlying wireless network. This is accomplished by adapting the transport layer to specific features of the underlying bearer.

Web Clipping - Web clipping applications are HTML-based content designed specifically for small form factor and wireless devices.

WID - Wireless Information Device. A term used to describe any device that communicates via wireless connection.

Windows CE – A “miniaturized” version of Windows 95 developed to run handheld devices that compete with the Palm operating system.

Wireless LAN - A local area network that connects computers, including PDAs, by radio waves.

Wireless WAN - A wide area network—which could span a region, a nation, or the globe—that connects computers, including PDAs, by radio waves via a satellite system.

WML – Wireless Markup Language. The current wireless markup language under WAP. An XML instance, and the next generation of HDML.

WTLS - Wireless Transport Layer Security. The "equivalent" to SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) widely used in the HTML world - although not identical in functionality. The WTLS layer operates above the transport protocol layer. The WTLS layer is modular and it depends on the required security level of the given application whether it is used or not. WTLS provides the upper-level layer of WAP with a secure transport service interface that preserves the transport service interface below it. In addition, WTLS provides an interface for managing (eg, creating and terminating) secure connections. The primary goal of the WTLS layer is to provide privacy, data integrity and authentication between two communicating applications. WTLS provides functionality similar to TLS 1.0 and incorporates new features such as datagram support, optimised handshake and dynamic key refreshing. The WTLS protocol is optimised for low-bandwidth bearer networks with relatively long latency.
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X Y Z
XHTML – Extensible Hypertext Markup Language. HTML recast as an instance of XML.

XML – Extensible Markup Language. A meta-language that allows developers to create custom tags and languages. XML is more powerful than HTML but less complex that SGML.
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