Differences are what make people interesting. It really depends on what you are developing and for who as well I suppose. If you think CW 9.x has fewer issues than PODS I think you'll discover otherwise fairly soon. I'm not going to bash CW though. I think it's a good product on the whole.
Your third point is a good one. Everyone thinks they will never let go of their favorite pet electronic device or OS, but my experience has been that we inevitably are drawn to newer and shinier baubles, whether it's hardware or software. How many people still use pagers (anyone remember the PageWriter2000?), 8-tracks, rotory phones, parachute pants? There will always be holdouts, but our mainstream society constantly seeks that which is newer and "better". I think Palm has done a better job than most at the backwards compatability dance. Even they have to draw the line at some point in order to grow. As it is I wouldn't even want to imagine trying to support half as many versions of backwards compatibility on the products I have developed. My perspective is maybe a little different than yours since I tend to think in terms of the enterprise software arena rather than consumers. Either way any technology entity has to adopt new technology, grow its own, and adapt to change or it will perish. Personally I think Palm (setting aside the current 2 company split) is still trying to catch up on the hardware side. They are getting there with some of the newer devices. The PalmOS and its general philosophy are what makes it a better platform IMO. I think their approach the handheld concept is just better than PPC. However that's just taste and mine is biased towards Palm. I pretty much disagree with your last paragraph. Although I'm not really sure what you are trying to say. What does C/C++ have to do with MetroWerks? Or is that not what your MW acronym is? No one is stopping anyone from using CW for now, but sooner or later we will have to say goodbye to that too. Just my .02 -Aaron Hansen Palm developer since the last millennium ;) >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Del >Ventruella >Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 2:18 PM >To: Palm Developer Forum >Subject: Re: Product Development Considerations. > > >As someone considering learning to develop for the Palm OS, >there are a number of reasons why I have acquired CodeWarrior 9.0: > >1. It is a mature product, developed commercially from the >ground up, and evaluated by a large user base over time, which >means that the number of bugs in the product that are left for >me to personally discover and waste my time dealing with >instead of writing a useful application should be fewer than >with a new release of something else that is in the process of change. > >2. Product is friendly to Windows 98, including PILRC >simulator, which minimizes the need for those not writing code >professionally to purchase a computer with sufficient memory >to handle Windows XE and deal with the need for endless >downloads to bring a new OS up to date in terms of software >fixes required for it. > >3. There are many books, new and used, available through >Amazon that focus on CW and the Palm OS. > >Finally, is it reasonable to expect Palm OS, with so many >users in love with their Palm Pilots and similar products >using that OS because of the software they are already using >on it, perhaps developed specifically for it by them, to risk >loss of the related appeal by putting major products on the >market that can't run existing software, regardless of how it >was developed, even if that is the original plan? > >The hardware advantages in terms of battery life are destined >to disappear with advances in technology, at least in terms of >providing any real impediments to use with regard to specific >types of software. (Who cares if you have to plug the Palm in >once every two weeks, and the palm PC into the charger once a week?) > >Once the hardware advantages are gone, why pay developers to >migrate old applications to PODS if handheld PC's, or tablet >PC's, will prove cheaper in the long run in terms of >development costs, particularly in terms of ease of use with >screen intensive applications given that these latter devices >have always tended to have larger, coler screens? Of course, >if you want to write a novel with a stylus on your telephone... > >I would expect that C/C++ must be recognized to have a large >user base, if not a large base of new users in 2005, but then >that is how software companies make their money, isn't it, >with something new? Abandoning anything as popular as C/C++ >and MW based software will drive many to consider other paths >forward, including purchase of different hardware in terms of >total cost of ownership with regard to enterprise based >applications. (One might even see a significant market >develop for used Palm devices capable of running old >software.) Users like to know that the software they buy >today, will run on the newer, better OS they purchase >tomorrow, if they are to be expected to rely upon a single >hardware family. It is the legacy of the PC world under >Windows. MW isn't dead just yet, although it appears that >that is the mindset of many. > > -- For information on using the PalmSource Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/
