On 11-Dec-99 Matt Mason wrote:
> So there! Good tools and GREAT documentation make a platform successful.
> There are already plenty of good ideas for this platform, but programming
> here still sucks!
I find it difficult to believe that anyone would have problems finding PalmOS
programming documentation. It really is a very open system and the SDK
manuals are 99.9% complete IMO. I do have a couple of books as well, but to
be honest I have barely touched them. The PalmOS API is so darned simplistic
that it becomes second nature, it's as if "less is more" is the motto with
the device _and_ the API.
Yes, I agree programming with PalmOS and C is very different from a setup
like VB. But you will learn to appreciate some wonderful qualities when your
project is in the testing and QA stage. Using the PalmOS Emulator (POSE) you
can simulate truly torturous conditions and exercise nearly 100% of the
operation of your programs. And when they fail (for whatever reasons) you
can reproduce the conditions post-mortem and trace through your code to fix
the problem.
Without getting too teary-eyed, I feel like I've really found my stride in
developing software for this device. It has just the right amount of design
guidelines (i.e. how to layout screens effectively) and a compact enough API
so you don't feel the need for any abstraction layers. But it's the
satisfaction you get at hitting 2 million gremlins that'll put hair on your
chest :)
I do think however that a largish part of the "happy" programmers for this
device were of the home computer generation. Myself it was the TI-99 but I'm
sure there are a gazillion C64, Atari, ZX81, NEC, Apple IIe developers that
are getting their second wind on these devices. Okay everyone, let's all
port our 16 year old programs!
/* Chris Faherty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, finger for PGP */
