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Work with sprites in J2ME

John Muchow, Author

John Muchow, a freelance technical writer and consultant, is the author of Core J2ME Technology and MIDP. Visit Core J2ME for additional source code, articles, and developer resources. Send John e-mail for additional information about writing or consulting projects.

Summary: With the release of the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) version 2.0, J2ME developers can now access a new sprite class. A sprite is a representation of an image in memory. However, a sprite offers inherent capabilities that provide vastly more robust image manipulation beyond that available in a standard image. This tutorial presents the basic principles for working with both animated and nonanimated sprites. Moreover, you'll have the opportunity to create two complete MIDlets (J2ME applications) that demonstrate the inner workings of the sprite class.

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Date: 16 Dec 2003
Level: Introductory
PDF: A4 and Letter (509 KB | 36 pages)Get Adobe® Reader®

Activity: 15859 views
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Before you start

About this tutorial

The latest Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0 for J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition) added support for sprites -- images with additional attributes and methods to facilitate animation, transformation (rotate, flip and mirror), and collision detection. In this tutorial you'll explore the differences between nonanimated and animated sprites, learn about sprites placement using a reference pixel, and discuss how to detect collisions between sprites.

During the course of this tutorial you'll create two MIDlets (J2ME applications). The first will demonstrate how to create and display an animated sprite, whereas the second will be a simple game that illustrates collision detection in action.

Once you've completed this tutorial, you'll have a base knowledge from which to begin incorporating sprites into your J2ME applications.

Software prerequisites

You'll need two software tools to complete this tutorial:

The Java Development Kit (JDK): The JDK provides the Java source code compiler and a utility to create Java Archive (JAR) files. When working with the Wireless Toolkit 2.0 (as you will be here), you'll need to download JDK version 1.4 or greater. Download JDK version 1.4.1.
The Wireless Toolkit (WTK): The Sun Microsystems Wireless Toolkit integrated development environment (IDE) creates J2ME MIDlets. The WTK download contains an IDE, as well as the libraries required for creating MIDlets. Download J2ME Wireless Toolkit 2.0.

Install the software

The Java Development Kit (JDK)

Use the JDK documentation to install the JDK. You can choose either the default directory or specify another directory. If you choose to specify a directory, make a note of where you install the JDK. During the installation process for the Wireless Toolkit, the software attempts to locate the Java Virtual Machine (JVM); if it cannot locate the JVM, you are prompted for the JDK installation path.

The Wireless Toolkit (WTK)

This tutorial builds on an earlier developerWorks tutorial "MIDlet Development with the Wireless Toolkit" (see Resources), which explains the basics of creating MIDlets with the toolkit. This tutorial is an excellent starting point if you are new to the Wireless Toolkit.

The Wireless Toolkit is contained within a single executable file. Run this file to begin the installation process. It is recommended that you use the default installation directory. However, if you do not use the default directory, make sure the path you select does not include any spaces.

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