Robert,
>This isn't a specific question, but I wanted to get some feedback before we
>start using the new features in the 3.1 API.
>
>Since the percentage of Palm owners that actually have a device running 3.1
>is small, it seems like it would be a bad idea for apps to require 3.1.
>Even so, there are some new features in 3.1 that are very attractive from a
>programming stand-point, so it is in the developer's best interest to use
>them. How do we balance this out?
>
>I don't like the idea of checking to see if feature X exists, and using it
>if it does, or otherwise coding around the missing feature. This would
>bloat the code and we are all striving to make small, efficient apps. The
>option of #ifdef'ing everything and releasing multiple versions of the same
>program is not very appealing either, as it is tedious and confusing for the
>users.
>
>Is there another approach that is more appetizing?
I don't know about the other new APIs, but the IntlGlue library provides
backwards compatibility support for the Text Mgr APIs. Basically each
routine checks for the presence of 'real' support in the OS; if it exists,
then you call through to the OS, otherwise the glue code emulates Latin
character encoding support.
-- Ken
Ken Krugler
TransPac Software, Inc.
<http://www.transpac.com>
+1 650-947-9222 (direct) +1 408-261-7550 (main)
