A transaction protocol is defined to provide the services necessary for interactive "browsing" (request/response) applications.
During a browsing session, the client requests information from a server, which MAY be fixed or mobile, and the server
responds with the information. The request/response duo is referred to as a "transaction" in this document. The objective of
the protocol is to reliably deliver the transaction while balancing the amount of reliability required for the application with
the cost of delivering the reliability.
WTP runs on top a datagram service and optionally a security service. WTP has been defined as a light weight transaction
oriented protocol that is suitable for implementation in "thin" clients (mobile stations) and operates efficiently over wireless
datagram networks. The benefits of using WTP include:
· Improved reliability over datagram services. WTP relieves the upper layer from re-transmissions and acknowledgements
which are necessary if datagram services are used.
· Improved efficiency over connection oriented services. WTP has no explicit connection set up or teardown phases.
· WTP is message oriented and designed for services oriented towards transactions, such as “browsing”.
