Method for managing the triggering of an application in a service terminal, particularly in a telecommunication terminal

1. A method of managing the triggering of applications in a terminal placed in an environment composed of several access technologies, comprising the following steps:

identifying, upon arrival of a triggering event, an application on said terminal associated with said triggering event;

implementing a mechanism for testing the identified application; and

determining at least one network access technology supported by the identified and tested application using an application identifier of the identified and tested application, wherein

the mechanism comprises four operating modes, a first of which being based on characteristics of the application, a second of which being based on the application identifier of the application, a third of which being based on attributes of the application, and a fourth of which being taken by default when none of the other modes is declared.

2. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 1 , wherein the test mechanism is in the operating system of the terminal and its implementation comprises:

verifying, by the terminal, information concerning a current network access technology or technologies, and information contained in the application enabling it to determine the technology or technologies supported by the application; and

triggering of the application solely in the case where the verified information is compatible.

3. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 2 , wherein the information contained in the application comprises triggering parameters from one of the four operating modes, making it possible to determine network access technology or technologies supported by the application.

4. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 2 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

5. A method of managing the triggering of an application, according to claim 1 , wherein the test mechanism is in the application and its implementation comprises:

verifying, by the terminal, information concerning a current network access technology or technologies, and information contained in the application enabling it to determine the technology or technologies supported by the application; and

continuing execution of the application solely in the case where the verified information is compatible.

6. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 5 , wherein the information contained in the application comprises triggering parameters from one of the four operating modes, making it possible to determine network access technology or technologies supported by the application.

7. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 5 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

8. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 1 , wherein information contained in the application comprises triggering parameters from one of the four operating modes, making it possible to determine network access technology or technologies supported by the application.

9. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 8 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

10. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 8 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

11. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 1 , wherein several operating modes can be declared for one and the same application.

12. A method of managing the triggering of an application, according to claim 11 , wherein the default mode corresponds to the case where the application is indifferent to the network access technology.

13. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 11 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

14. A method of managing the triggering of an application, according to claim 1 wherein the default mode corresponds to the case where the application is indifferent to the network access technology.

15. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 14 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

16. A method of managing the triggering of an application according to claim 1 , further including the step of enabling said mechanism to install a new application containing the information making it possible to determine the technology or technologies supported by said application, or to update said information or to read said information.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

indicating in a field of the tested application, the information identifying that the network access technology or technologies supported by the tested application is determinable using the application identifier of the tested application.

18. A service terminal comprising:

program storage means for storing a program corresponding to the operating system and one or more applications,

means for identifying at least one application associated with a triggering event, and

means of implementing a method of testing the at least one identified application from information contained in the identified application, said information enabling the operating system to determine at least one network access technology supported by the identified and tested application using an application identifier of the identified and tested application and to check its compatibility with a current network access technology used by the service terminal, wherein

the method of testing comprises four operating modes, a first of which being based on characteristics of the application, a second of which being based on the application identifier of the application, a third of which being based on attributes of the application, and a fourth of which being taken by default when none of the other modes is declared.

19. A service terminal according to claim 18 , wherein said service terminal is a telecommunication terminal of a mobile telephone type equipped with a chip card and able to function with a multi-technology network access environment, and wherein the application tested and the test mechanism are located in the chip card.

20. A telecommunication terminal chip card, comprising means of implementing a method of testing at least one identified application which, from information contained in the identified application tested, enables the operating system of the chip card to determine at least one network access technology supported by the identified and tested application using an application identifier of the identified and tested application and to check compatibility of the identified and tested application with a current network access technology used by a terminal of the chip card, wherein

said means comprises four operating modes, a first of which being based on characteristics of the application, a second of which being based on the application identifier of the application, a third of which being based on attributes of the application, and a fourth of which being taken by default when none of the other modes is declared.

21. A telecommunication terminal chip card according to claim 20 , wherein a test mechanism implementing the method is a program loaded in a non-volatile program memory of the chip card, called up by the operating system of the chip card or integrated in said operating system.

22. An application able to be identified, tested and executed by a service terminal for a chip card in an environment composed of several network access technologies, the application being stored in memory and comprising:

triggering rules as a function of an arrival of at least one predefined event and

information, including at least an application identifier, that is used when said application is tested by a testing mechanism, said testing mechanism enabling the application to determine, by using said application identifier of the application, at least one network access technology that the application supports, wherein

the mechanism comprises four operating modes, a first of which being based on characteristics of the application, a second of which being based on the application identifier of the application, a third of which being based on attributes of the application, and a fourth of which being taken by default when none of the other modes is declared.

23. A method of managing the triggering of an application in a terminal placed in an environment composed of several access technologies, comprising the following steps:

providing in the application a mode flag, the mode flag indicating a type of information associated with the application for determining the network access technology or technologies supported by the application;

implementing, upon arrival of an event triggering the application on said terminal, a mechanism for testing the triggered application, and determining at least one network access technology supported by the triggered and tested application based on the type of information indicated by the mode flag, wherein

the mechanism comprises four operating modes, a first of which being based on characteristics of the application, a second of which being based on the application identifier of the application, a third of which being based on attributes of the application, and a fourth of which being taken by default when none of the other modes is declared.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the determining of the network access technology or technologies includes:

establishing, based on the mode flag indicated, from the application identifier of the tested application, the network access technology or technologies supported by the tested application.

25. The method of claim 23 , wherein the mode flag is based on one of characteristics of the triggered application, identification of the triggered application, attributes of the triggered application, and a default setting.