Platform Independent, Higher-Order, Statically Checked Mobile Applications

There is increasing interest in establishing a presence in the mobile application market, with platforms including Apple iPhone, Google Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile. Because of the differences in platform languages, frameworks, and device hardware development of an application for more than one platform can be a difficult task. In this paper we address this problem by the creation of a mobile Domain Specific Language (DSL). Domain analysis is carried out using two case studies, leading to the identification of basic requirements for the language. The language is defined as an extension of a λ- calculus in terms of an operation semantics and a type system. The language is a contribution to the understanding of mobile applications since it precisely defines the essential properties offered by a range of mobile application technologies, and can form the basis for a single language that can target multiple platforms.