> What is the difference between the Exchange Manager and the IR Library? The Exchange Manager is more abstract. It provides a simple API that isn't specific to any one transport. However, there has been only one Exchange Library (the term we use for a plug-in to the Exchange Manager) until Palm OS 4.0. This Exchange Library provides support for the IrOBEX protocol. This is the protocol used for beaming. The IR Library gives apps a lower-level API. It provides support for the IrLAP, IrLMP, and TinyTP protocols. You can also use the (New) Serial Manager for the IrCOMM protocol. This was introduced more recently (I forget the exact version), first as a user-installable update, and then in the ROM. See http://www.irda.org for details about these protocols. Here are some Palm-specific issues: - Our implementation of IrOBEX only supports sending in one direction: from the initiator. Until Palm OS 4.0, it only supported sending a single object. - There is no public IrOBEX API in Palm OS. You must use the Exchange Manager to do IrOBEX on Palm OS (or implement your own IrOBEX). - The IrOBEX service is always listening whenever a Palm device is on, as long as Beam Receive is on. This means that you don't have to run your app on the receiving device. All the other protocols require both devices to run your app. - IrPing is a good example of how to do IrLAP, IrLMP, and TinyTP on Palm OS. See http://bodotill.suburbia.com.au/ir_ping/ir_ping.html. It's much trickier than using the Exchange Manager. - The preferred forum for this topic is comm-dev-forum, but that forum isn't currently archived. If comm-dev-forum had a FAQ, this would be in it. :) -- Danny Epstein OS Engineer, Palm Inc. -- For information on using the Palm Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/tech/support/forums/
