Palm OS Development

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Palm OS Development

• Target Your Hand

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Palm OS Development

• Overview
• Architecture
• Palm OS Application Development
• Conduit Development
• Web Clipping

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Overview

• Numbers
• Devices

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Overview - Numbers

• Palm has shipped over 12 million devices
• Handspring has shipped over a million devices
• Palm OS accounts for over 86 of PDA sales

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Overview - Numbers
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Shipping Palm OS Devices

• Device OS Memory Features
• Palm Vx 3.5 8MB Slim, rechargeable
• Palm IIIc 3.5 8MB Color, rechargeable
• Palm VIIx 3.5 8MB Web Clipping
• Palm m100 3.5 2MB Low end
• Palm m105 3.5 8MB Low end with more memory (IIIxe
  replacement)
• Symbol SPT 1500 3.0 2/4MB Barcode scanner
• Symbol SPT 17XX 3.2 2/8MB Barcode scanner,
  wireless
• Kyocera 6035 3.5 8MB Cell phone, Web clipping,
  rechargeable
• Handspring Visor 3.1 2/8MB Springboard slot, USB
• Handspring Prism 3.5 8MB Springboard slot,
  Color, rechargeable, USB
• Handspring Platinum 3.5 8MB VZ processor
  (faster), USB, springboard
• Handspring Edge 3.5 8MB Slim, rechargeable, USB,
  springboard
• Sony CLIE 3.5 8MB Memory stick, USB
• TRG Pro 3.3 8MB Compact Flash slot

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Announced Palm OS Devices

• Device OS Memory Features
• Palm m500 4.0 8MB Slim, rechargeable, expansion
  slot, USB cradle, universal connector, vibrating
  and silent alarm
• Palm m505 4.0 8MB Color, slim, rechargeable,
  expansion slot, USB cradle, universal connector,
  vibrating and silent alarm
• Samsung SPH-I300 3.5 8MB Cellular phone, color,
  slim, rechargeable, 160x240 resolution
• Garmin ? ? Embedded GPS

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Architecture

• Motorola 68k Processor
• User Interface
• Graffiti handwriting recognition
• Wireless

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Architecture Processor

• Motorola 68x328 Dragon Ball
• 16-33 MHz
• Similar processing power of an early Macintosh
• 8MB RAM addressable
• Single UART for serial and IrDA

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Architecture User Interface
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Architecture Graffiti
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Architecture - Wireless

• Palm VII
• Integrated transceiver
• Mobitext network
• Lacks full TCP/IP support
• Supports InetLib which provides an HTTP oriented
  interface
• No cookie support (OS 4.0 will have cookie
  support)

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The back-end

• Palm Desktop
• HotSync
• Conduits

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The back-end

• Demonstration

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Palm OS App Development

• C - CodeWarrior, GNU
• Satellite Forms
• CASL Forms
• Pendragon Forms
• Visual Basic (Appforge)
• Java 2 Micro Edition
• Misc nBasic, TinyC, Forth, etc.

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POSE

• Palm OS Emulator
• Windows, Mac Linux
• Uses ROM images
• Useful for debugging
• Gremlins
• CodeWarrior integration

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POSE

• Demonstration

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Databases

• Implemented as a collection of relocatable chunks
  of memory accessed via handles using Dm functions
• They have nothing to do with modern relational
  databases
• Saved by generic conduit as a .PDB file
• The developer determines record layout
• Less than 64k limit to record length
• Records may be Deleted or Archived

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A simple C app

• Functions
• Palm Main
• Application Event Handler
• Form Event Handler
• AppStart
• Message loop
• AppStop
• Resources

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C app PalmMain

• Check ROM version
• Check launch code
• Call AppStart
• Open first form
• Run the App Event Loop
• Call AppStop

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C app - AppStart

• Open and/or Create database(s)
• Load preferences

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C app - Message Loop

• static void AppEventLoop(void)
• UInt16 error
• EventType event
• do
• EvtGetEvent( event, evtWaitForever )
• if ( ! SysHandleEvent( event ) )
• if ( ! MenuHandleEvent( 0, event, error ) )
• if ( ! AppHandleEvent( event ) )
• FrmDispatchEvent( event )
• while ( event.eType ! appStopEvent )

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C app - AppStop

• Save preferences
• Close Databases
• Close all open forms
• Clean-up

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C app Demo
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Conduits

• Development Tools
• Functionality
• Conduit Wizard Demo

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Conduits Development Tools

• Tools
• Microsoft VC
• Delphi
• 4.0 desktop supports COM

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Conduits Functionality

• Decide what functionality your conduit will
  implement
• Two-way mirror image synchronization
• Upload from the organizer
• Download to the organizer
• Custom

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Conduit Wizard

• Demonstration

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Web Clipping

• Index vs. Local vs. Remote pages
• Elaine
• Tags
• Tables
• QAB

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Web Clipping Tags

• ltMETA NAME"PalmComputingPlatform"
  CONTENT"TRUE"gt
• ltMETA NAME"PalmLauncherRevision" CONTENT"X"gt
• ltsmallscreenignoregt
• deviceid
• zipcode
• Frames arent supported

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Web Clipping Tables

• Tables are supported
• Palm OS devices have 160 pixel wide screens,
  fixed width tables could end up with horizontal
  scrolling

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Web Clipping QAB

• Query Application Builder
• Takes simple HTML and provides framework

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QAB - Demo

• Demonstration

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Resources

• www.TargetYourHand.com (soon)
• www.PalmOS.com
• Get on the PalmDev mailing list
• Mailing list archive at www.Escribe.com

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Fin

• Questions?
• Thanks!