Client Technology
The Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit comes with two additional components, the Application Layer and Platform Abstraction Layer. Together these three interdependent modules allow a programmer to develop a complete Wi-Fi connection management system for handsets, tailored to any particular OS and hardware platform. In fact, programmers are free to substitute existing routines in place of any Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit component for better ease of integration with existing software functionality.
Within the Boingo Embedded Toolkit are three main sub-modules. First, the authentication engine facilitates the transmission of user credentials so that devices can seamlessly connect to public Wi-Fi networks. Second, the Wi-Fi engine manages communications with a device’s Wi-Fi chipset and operating system, with careful attention paid to power management issues ensuring maximum battery life. Third, the Configuration engine provides a robust facility for maintaining user profiles and managing connection control scripts for public hotspots.
The Application Layer communicates with the Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit via the Wi-Fi Application Interface (WAI).
This API is completely open to the public and is available for download from SourceForge.net. The Application Layer includes a reference user interface designed by Boingo to cover all required man-machine interface (MMI) requirements. Used by Boingo for its own demonstrations, developers can use the reference interface “as is” or expand/adapt the design as required for a specific product design.
The Platform Abstraction Layer communicates with the Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit via the Platform Abstraction Interface (PAI). This API is also open to the public and available for download from SourceForge.net. The Platform Abstraction Layer provides developers with a methodology to adapt specific function calls in the main toolkit and connect them to the proper calls within the operating system (perhaps within a specific chipset driver). If a specific platform’s OS is particularly robust, the Platform Abstraction Layer is effectively a simple “glue” layer. However, for platforms that lack certain required functionality (such as basic HTTP services), this layer will provide augmented routines that will ensure the proper operation of the Boingo Embedded Wi-Fi Toolkit.
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