Satelite forms is as easy-to-use a tool as anyone would want. It is relatively
inexpensive for anyone serious about learning what
is possible on the palm, and can be expanded with c extentions at will. Additional
entry level tools for the palm would not be
commercially viable and so any that pop up would not be stable due to the small base
of potential users (unlike the basic pc which
drove microsoft and IBM to suport the basic interpreter as a fundemental tool for the
PC.)
Lack of tools on the platform is not a limiting factor for anyone interested in adding
the palm to their toolbox. A possible
weakness here is a shortage of solid algriithmic fundementalists with solid acedemic
background in software development. Developing
software for yourself is a hobby. Developing software for others to use is a
profession. People working in the middle will always
be frustrated by the lack of focus by the industry on what they are interested in.
-----Original Message-----
From: Fawcett, Mitch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Friday, December 10, 1999 8:32 AM
Subject: RE: Excellent new article
I too think the articles in Dr. Dobbs journal are encouraging; but on the
other hand, Dobb's is mostly for hardcore techies. I look forward to the day
when we see how-to articles in more mainstream magazines. That won't happen
until the development tools become more mainstream. I look back on what the
Basic interpreter did for pc's. Does anybody out there think that some sort
of interpreter with Basic-like syntax would be a major boon, at least in
terms of making Palm programming more attractive to hobbiests and even
professional programmers? I've played around with CBAS, and with all due
respect, it's a start, but it's a long way off from being a serious
development tool. Does anyone have any opinions about why such a critter
doesn't exist commercially yet? Are there economic factors that I don't see?
Please don't flame me with comments about Basic being an unworthy lower life
form on the language food chain. That's my opinion too. I'm talking about
something different. Programmers have to adopt a piece of hardware from the
standpoint of which language they will use, and forcing them to learn and
program in C is a roadblock for a lot of otherwise smart and talented
people.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Glenn Bachmann [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, December 09, 1999 4:45 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Excellent new article
>
> At 11:42 AM 12/9/99 -0800, you wrote:
> >For those who haven't yet seen it, may I commend you to an excellent
> >introductory Palm programming article written by Michael Yam in the
> >latest (Jan. 2000) issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal.
>
> Mr. Yam's article is indeed excellent. Much to our surprise, Dr. Dobb's
> has
> really picked up the ball on Palm programming. I think they've run a
> Palm-related article in almost every issue this year (including an article
> on Shared Libraries by our very own Greg Winton!).
>
> I'm really encouraged - since the demise of Handheld Systems Journal,
> there
> hasn't been a lot of action in the area of magazine content for Palm
> developers. For those of you that are hungry for tips and tricks (and
> aren't we all), you may want to get a subscription to Dr. Dobbs. They seem
> to have adopted the Palm as a target for regular content.
>
>
>
>
> Glenn Bachmann
> Bachmann Software and Services, LLC
> http://www.bachmannsoftware.com
> Software for Handheld & Wireless Computing, Windows and the Internet
> Authors of "Palm Programming", published by Macmillan/Sams, and home of
> Bachmann Print Manager, the only graphical printing solution for the Palm
> Computing Platform
