Mobility-Enabled Publish/Subscribe: A Case Study

The integration of mobile devices within distributed systems introduces a wide range of constraints for developers. Some constraints arise from the hardware, software and interaction features of mobile platforms, while others stem from the use of wireless networks that are more dynamic, less reliable and performing than wired networks. In either case, software engineering processes have to tackle these constraints in order to provide mobility-enabled systems and applications. Based on first-hand experience in the field, this paper provides a framework to categorise these constraints and their severity, and describes some of the strategies that can be used to cope with them, with an emphasis in those relevant to middleware design.