I am to develop a mobile application for the Java ME platform that sends SMS messages, containing binary data. However, the application is to use a custom port for sending these messages (so that it can register itself and automatically receive these messages, instead of the standard messaging system of the phone).
My question is:
1) Are BinaryMessages to custom port widely supported in mobile networks worldwide? Or is this something “extravagant” that would work only with a few telecom operators?
2) Normal TextMessages tend to be broken down to multiple parts when their text exceeds the limit of a single message. Are BinaryMessages treated the same way, and if so, how can I deal with this issue (fragmentation) in my application? Obviously part of the message will not do the work and ideally I would like to get the full message when all of its parts are received. Is this dependent on the carrier network?
I realize I could test this out, but I can’t run the test on many telecoms, just those in my (small) country, and this is crucial to whether this application should be developed, or not.
I tried looking for the answers by myself, but I failed. Sorry if these are trivial questions and thank you for your time.
I see nothing wrong with this question. I can only offer a semi-answer though.
It is true that it is up to the individual network provider to choose whether they want to keep all ports open, or not. Therefor you cannot assume that it’s always possible to send/receive a text message or a binary message.
However, I was told by another JavaME developer long time ago, that it’s very unusual for them to close the ports. (Aren’t the same ports used for a lot of other protocols such as sockets and http? If yes, then surely they are always open. Closing them wouldn’t make any sense).
If I were you I’d add some code to check if messages are sent, and then output some error message to the user about it if it fails. (If possible, also call some URL as a way of error-reporting back to you).
About the broken down messages, that’s a good question. I have no idea. I would make some real-device tests to find out.