Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW)

BREW is a product from QUALCOMM and it is a powerful platform for creating exciting applications on a wide variety of mobile devices. BREW is used to develop mobile applications for playing games, sending messages, sharing photos, etc. BREW is widely used in U.S. as their leading wireless providers Alltel and Verizon are currently offering phones that support BREW. This allows easily porting of the mobile applications in mobile devices for the application developers. BREW has large user base in parts of Asia including Japan and South Korea.

Essential Components

BREW developers typically use the C or C++ programming language in combination with the BREW API to develop mobile games for BREW devices. It also supports other software development technologies such as XML and even Java. BREW can run as intermediary between a game and the underlying phone's operating system. It also supports native code which enable a game to be compiled specifically for a certain phone's processor. The essential components that you need to acquire when you desired to developed mobile game using BREW are listed as follow:

• BREW Software Development Kit (SDK),
  • this is a free download from BREW's web site
• a Windows development environment
  • (e.g. Microsoft Visual Studio (Visual Studio .NET)
• an ARM compiler
  • a compilation tools which need to be purchased at a price
• TRUE BREW
  • a tester for compatibility for the applications
  • this is essential as some operators require BREW applications
    to pass TRUE BREW testing before being made available to
    wireless subscribers. Applications that pass this testing will receive
    a digital signature from QUALCOMM. Handsets will use this
    signature for authentication purposes before permitting an application
    to be downloaded or run.

Visual Illustration

Below is a sample of block diagram from BREW's manual on how the components fit together, and identifies the files created by each tool for an application called MyFirstApp.

Figure taken from QUALCMOM BREW's manual - Creating a BREW™ Application from Scratch

© 2006 - 2007 KidsOnMobile. All Rights Reserved.