Shane Nay wrote:
...
> > The same thing could be said about Java, but given the target hardware and
> > existing apps, Waba seems like a good choice for what SMARTDATA (and
> > everybody else working on a linux-based handheld) is doing.
>
> Maybe. But you are also taking away one of the main benefits of Java, and
> that is programmer familiarity. Waba does not implement many things that
> Java programmers expect. It cannot use much of the large body of code that
> is already out there (GUI wise). So, everything must be written from
> scratch, or much of it re-implemented. Some would argue this is eventual
This is what will also happen with CLDC and MIDP, the environment that Sun has
designed for mobile appliances like cell phones.
It is unlikely that existing Java applications will be run on portable devices of PDA
size w/o partial re-implementation, in particular if they were initially designed for
desktop PC screens; they're also quite big (app classes + foundation classes) and cpu
hungry, and often use swing.
The kind of Java code that one can reasonably want to run on a PDA are small applets.
WABA is an alternative JVM for very small devices, comparable to J2ME. But unlike
J2ME, it is royalties free. Note that the GUI model of J2ME (e.g. KVM on Palm) is also
specific and quite limited.
We think a stripped-down version of AWT could be a senseful solution, so as not to
introduce yet another object model. Currently there are the following GUI models (at
least):
- AWT for applets and apps
- CLDC/MIDP for cell-phones
- Swing for desktop apps
- UI/FX for waba on Palm and PocketPC
> because of the platform, but that is not really true. (Okay, with a
> dragonball, it is, but with a higher power handheld, no)
Note that for high-end PDAs like IPaq, there are several VMs like Kaffe that work well
with a 200MHz CPU with 32 Megs RAM. With low-cost platforms where both CPU and mem
resources are low, you'll have to do compromises, anyway.
Achieving to build a flexible and open appliance around a CPU lik a DragonBall is
essentially an economic issue, since the price, power consumption, low memory need,
etc. have all together an impact on the final cost.
Regards,
Pascal
--
Pascal Bauermeister
Head of Software Development
SMARTDATA
PSE-A / EPFL
CH-1015 Lausanne
http://www.smartdata.ch
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Phone: +41 (21) 693 84 98
fax: +41 (21) 693 84 91
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