WBT: Who will the test suite be made available to? Licensees, operators? It would be really good for someone like O2 to have access to such tests.

Chu: Both: the test suite will be made available to any Java (CLDC/MIDP) Device manufacturers and operators launching Java-based services.

WBT: How much will the test suite cost?

Chu: This product will be priced to provide carriers and device manufacturers significant cost savings in qualifying and testing handsets compared to the process and efforts they have to go through today.

WBT: Will network testing be included? If so, what server-side components will be needed?

Chu: Yes, this product includes Over-The-Air (OTA) download testing of Java technology-based wireless data services.

WBT: Including JSR185 will, of course, mean that JSR120 is also included, so will MMS testing be available?

Chu: JTWI [the Java Technology for the Wireless Industry Expert Group (JSR 185)] will grow with the industry. Future versions of the JTWI roadmap and specification will incorporate additional technologies defined through the JCP, providing they work well with the technology already chosen for the architecture. MMS is not something that is currently included as part of JSR-120 or JSR-185. However, when MMS is included as part of JSR-185, future versions of this product will then provide testing for MMS.

WBT: What criteria of speed-testing will be available (graphics, networking, mathematical)? Will Sun be publishing figures for known devices?

Chu: Performance tests in this product test the speed of specific functions against known references. Some examples include tests for UI components, Record Management System (RMS) performance, networking performance, midlet performance, and so on.

Since this is a product used by device manufacturers and carriers to test handsets, Sun won?t have access to the final performance data for tested devices.

WBT: How big is the client component, since many handsets won?t run midlets over 64KB in size?

Chu: The client component is small and is similar to the size of the TCK client component. The product is designed to provide testing for a wide variety of devices. We don?t anticipate any size problems in running these test cases on devices.

WBT: Will MIDP 1.0 testing be possible?

Chu: Yes, MIDP 1.0 testing will be possible as well as MIDP 2.0. The Java Device Test Suite is modular enough to enable customers to select the test suites that match their device configurations.

WBT: Are the tests completely automated, in which case how are user interface components tested? If not automated, what man-power is needed, and how long do the tests take?

Chu: The majority of the tests are automated. There?s a small percentage of interactive tests to properly test the user interface. UI testing requires user feedback. The Java Device Test Suite is relatively fast but actual speed depends on the network and the test environment. The product is very easy to use and can be set up, configured, and launched within minutes. Simultaneous test execution and test load distribution enables users to control the length of a complete test run.

WBT: Will you be sending us a copy the day it?s available so we can get a comprehensive review up on this site immediately?

Chu: We?ll arrange a demo for WBT the moment it becomes available!

For more on the Java Device Test Suite, see the JDJ News article "Sun Woos OEMs and Java Service Providers with New Testing Tool for Java Devices".