> The problem with Java on a PDA is that every attempt at doing a JVM on the
> PalmOS has taken up too much CPU time and you ended up with another Apple
> Newton. Please remember that Java designed for machine that are 10 to
> 50 times a cost of a typical Palm device.
Java is a great language - however, we just dont have the balls on the
current devices to do anything "useful" with it. sure, you can write a
very simple game, or bounce a few balls around the screen..
but 16/20Mhz!!! lets run Java on our 386 machines! will you? NO.
> It is my professional take that a Palm device is not really a computer
> but more of a very elegant and modular embedded system. Thus, the closer
> you can code to hardware and the less portable your code is, the better
> performance you will get.
the Palm is a great device.
the API's provided are pretty solid and perform what you need 99% of
the time. in some extreme cases, you may need to access the hardware
directly, however, you can always get around this by checking what
hardware there is (ie: CPU register poking, check CPU type first).
> I would recommend using C++ for the extra extensions but don't design any
> objects since calling object constructors can quickly bloat code and take
> up scarce memory. Thus, you will have what some developers call
> "C+" code that is nice, tight and takes advantage or compilers. It all
> comes down to what you are doing with your project and if there is any
> economic use of porting versus rewriting.
you can use C++ if you wish - however it is known to have some bloat
the best option is to use basic C, but design with an OO approach.
modularize your code, establish a good communications mechanism
between your modules..
chances are, you can build some pretty good re-usable code in C.
> On the other hand, if you are a total performance fanatic, there is nothing stopping
>you from coding in 68K assembly but I would
> only do that if you are using an oscilloscope at a bench marking tool.
or.. if you are crazy enough to try and emulate a machine that runs
1/4 of the speed of the device itself :P squeezing one or two CPU
cycles can make a "large" difference.. :))
choose your language based on what you know. i use some custom m68k
when i need to, and i acknolwedge porting it is a total pain in the
backside. :)
cheers
// az
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.ardiri.com/ <--- free games!
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