1. CodeWarrior 5.2 (which, it turns out, is what I have) is an IDE that permits development using C/C++ for the Palm OS, developed by MetroWerks.
2. Palm made a conscous decision to use low power electronics to give it an advantage in the marketplace in terms of battery life, which means its processors tend to be slower. I'm not sure that saying that Palm is trying to "catch up" is the proper term. They made a decision to position them for market share in the initial rush to develop hand held PDA's, as they were then called, by offering devices with long battery life, and their success suggests that it was a good one. That milestone purchased quite a bit of weight with consumers of this new product type. The original Palm was meant to be an extension of the PC, and a lower powered processor was deemed acceptable given what other devices could do in the same category allowing for cost differences. 3. My final paragraph says what it says. No insinuation is made that anyone is being forced to develop for Palm OS. Palm devices are dominant in the handheld marketplace, particularly in terms of cellular phones. (That certainly tells one something in terms of user and developer loyalty, as reflected in your comments.) This dominance is the driving force in terms of development focused on the Palm OS. Any new OS that can not support software written for older operating systems in the same product line may produce a certain reluctance to purchase new products based upon it. (Windows 98SE is still widely used many years after new operating systems were released, in part because of a large installed base of users reluctant to deal with the birth pains of a new OS and the required memory upgrade in many instances for reasonable performance under XP. This is a factor for non-commercial Palm OS developers using Windows 98SE to develop for personal or small group use, particularly for small business, as the simulator in PODS does not work with Windows 98SE, much to my recent disappointment.) The latest gadget may appeal to those with a certain mindset, particularly among executives, but most users simply want a device that meets their needs, even if it is the one they've kept in their coat pocket for years. Palm and Palm OS have done that for many in a most admirable manner. Ironically, Palm achieved market share by originally choosing to set their goals a little lower and a little more realistically, perhaps, rather than above, their competitors, in terms of raw power, but with some nice features that made the difference. One can only hope that they are as successful with the new products running their new, more powerful hardware and OS as with the original Palm device. Thank you for the opportunity to clarify my prior comments. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aaron Hansen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Palm Developer Forum" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 3:53 PM Subject: RE: Product Development Considerations. 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/ -- For information on using the PalmSource Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/
