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SI and SL XML Files (SP Only)

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Service Indication (SI) and Service Loading (SL) are two Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) push features used by Windows Mobile™-based Smartphone. SI and SL XML files can be used for sending provisioning updates, adding new services, downloading ring tones, and updating existing services.

  • An SI message notifies the user of new services, updates to existing services, and provisioning updates after Smartphone has processed the message. For example, an SI can be used to notify the user of basketball scores and to provide a link for retrieving the most recent information from a Web site.
  • An SL message automatically downloads the new service, update, or provisioning file.

SI and SL messages are simple XML files that are sent to Smartphone by the mobile operator or manufacturer (OEM). The messages are sent in connectionless unsecure WAP push operations from the Push Proxy Gateway, which encodes them by using WAP Binary XML (WBXML) tokens. Smartphone can process SI and SL messages that are encoded with the WBXML binary tokens as defined in the WAP Service Indication Specification Version 08-Nov-1999 and the WAP Service Loading Specification Version 08-Nov-1999. Smartphone supports Universal Transformation Format 8 (UTF-8) encoded XML documents.

Depending on the action level, which is specified in the action attribute of an SL message, the SL message is processed in different ways:

Action level Message processing
execute-high or execute-low The downloaded service is run immediately without getting permission from the user.
cache The downloaded service is cached and an e-mail message is sent to the Inbox.

Although the information in the XML files could also be sent through SMS and e-mail messages, SI and SL messages provide richer features. Unlike SMS and e-mail messages, SI notifications (messages) give the sender control over user-intrusiveness levels and can have an expiration date. To control user-intrusiveness levels, set the action attribute to signal-low, signal-medium, or signal-high. To control notification expiration, set the expiration date and time in the expire attribute.

A user who notices the SL message in the Inbox can select the command, and Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer either displays the content or, if the command is an application, install the content. For example, an SL message can be used to download the daily local forecast and then notify the user that it is available. When the user selects the command in the message, the new forecast appears.

With a few exceptions that are discussed in this chapter, SI and SL messages are implemented on Smartphone as they are described in the WAP Service Indication Specification Version 08-Nov-1999 and the WAP Service Loading Specification Version 08-Nov-1999. Both of the WAP specifications are available from the WAP Forum at https://www.wapforum.org/.

Although SI and SL functionality is on Smartphone by default, support is an optional requirement for mobile operators. For information about disabling SI and SL, see Application Management Security and Perimeter Security.

Last updated on Friday, April 22, 2005

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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