Palm Programming for the Absolute Beginner w/CD [Paperback]

Andy Harris (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0761535241 | ISBN-13: 978-0761535249 | Publication Date: August 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

If you are new to programming for the Palm and are looking for a solid introduction, this is the book for you. Developed by computer science instructors, books in the for the absolute beginner series teach the principles of programming through simple game creation. You will acquire the skills that you need for more practical Palm programming applications and will learn how these skills can be put to use in real-world scenarios. Best of all, by the time you finish this book, you will be able to apply the basic principles you've learned to the next programming language you tackle!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andy Harris began teaching computing at the university level in the late 1980s as a part-time job. Since 1995, he has been a full-time lecturer at the Computer Science Department of Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). He now manages the IUPUI Streaming Media Lab and teaches classes in several programming languages. Andy resides in Noblesville, Indiana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761535241
• ISBN-13: 978-0761535249
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,675,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I live near Indianapolis, Indiana.

I am a lecturer in computer science at Indiana University / Purdue University - Indianapolis (Yes, that IS officially the longest university name on the planet... we call it IUPUI)

I was an army brat. I grew up in many parts of the Eastern United States and in Japan.

I've been interested in computing since the early eighties, when my brother and I took the money we were saving for a car and blew it on a TRS-80 model 1 with the built-in Japanese character set. (That machine is still in my garage. Don't tell my wife.)

My first career was as a special education teacher. I taught young adults with severe disabilities for several years. I really enjoyed my job and my students. I learned a lot about teaching through that experience.

While doing special ed, I kept my interest in computing, doing some freelance programming and writing about computer topics. Eventually, I became a lab instructor in the computer science program at IUPUI.

I moved to IUPUI as a full-time gig in 1995. Since then, I have been involved in creating a certificate of applied computer science. I have also worked on building a distributed education program. I especially love designing curricula using emerging and interesting technology and ideas.

I have taught many applied CS topics, but there is always more to learn.
Right now my focus tends to be on applied computing in programming languages, game programming, and mobile computing.

My favorite part about writing is hearing from readers. It's great when somebody sends me a link to a game or project they've written using one of my books. I'd love to get a line from you about one of my books, what you'd like to see me work on next, or just to say hi. I hope my writing feels like a conversation, and I'm looking forward to hearing from your side of the talk.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for beginners, September 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Palm Programming for the Absolute Beginner w/CD (Paperback)

I read a prerelease version, and thought it was excellent. This book is, as it's titled, for absolute beginners. For that audience, I think it works very well to teach PocketC, which is not C. Most programming environments for the Palm are not for beginners. The book is clear, simple, entertaining, and gets the reader to the point where satisfying useful and interesting programs can be written for an inexpensive computer. To rapidly get into programming, with some coverage of most procedural (not object-oriented) programming topics, this book and PocketC are a great combination. Topics covered include program flow, databases, and graphics including images and the user interface. Generally these are discussed in a game context, but skills acquired are clearly applicable to other programs.

Potential buyers should understand that pocketC is not C. Close to a subset of C, it is in fact easier for beginners since it has automatic type conversions and a useful set of simple palm-specific functions. Code can be written and compiled on either the desktop or the Palm device itself. C programmers will miss structures most. It is also slow, but this deficiency is attenuated by the applicability of native libraries such as the excellent and free PToolbox, covered in the book.

The book's major shortcoming derives from PocketC as a moving target: the language and PToolbox were both updated shortly after release. However, this book should prepare the reader to understand those extensions, as well as the orbworks forum (cited) where questions on PocketC can be placed and answered. The major change is to PToolbox, which now can replace CControls.

One _can_ make standalone prc files with PocketC, however that's not always a good idea, since programs take up much less space if you don't. (And prc files must be made on the desktop, not the palm.)

As a casual programmer who normally uses C++, I find myself programming in PocketC because the ability to program on the Palm device lets me use odd bits of time. The skills developed on this platform are transferrable to others. If you are a beginner, and want to program the palm, I don't think you can find a better place to start.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book and Reference for the PocketC PDA Programmer, September 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Palm Programming for the Absolute Beginner w/CD (Paperback)

A Little Bit of Background about PocketC: PocketC was developed by Jeremy Dewey to allow the programmer to develop Palm PDA applications using the C language. He designed PocketC so that the programmer can design, code, and run the C programs using only the PDA. Although PocketC is a great development tool, there were no programming books that explained PocketC in detail - until now!

And Now the Book! - I bought this book to be used as a reference book since this is the first book that I have found on PocketC development. Boy, what a goldmine! Andy Harris has done an excellent job in presenting application examples and detailed explanations on how he uses the PocketC commands and functions to develop the application examples. If you are new to the C language or to Palm programming then this book will help you master both. Andy takes his time in teaching you how to use PocketC to program your Palm PDA. Each chapter builds on the knowledge that you learned from the previous chapter and his style of writing will not bore you to death. Also, everything is included on the CD-ROM to get you programming as soon as possible!

I highly recommend it for the beginner or veteran!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this if you are interested in Palm Programming., March 9, 2002

By 

J. Williams (Mississippi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Palm Programming for the Absolute Beginner w/CD (Paperback)

I have dabbled in programming since the 1970's, starting out with Radio Shack's Color Computer and their guide to Basic Programming. Over the years I have bought a bookshelf full of programming books and guides and this is one of the best ones I have seen.

It is written in great detail and every new concept and line of code is explained in an interesting, easy to grasp way. Program examples are for the most part based on progarmming games and "fun" type projects to keep you interested, but the book also gets into more serious topics as well.

The book teaches the Pocket C language. Pocket C is not standard ANSI C. I've seen a few negative comments to that effect, but I really don't consider it a negative. Pocket C is written specifically for use on Palms and has many built in functions that greatly simplify writing the programs. it is also a very compact and easy to understand language. Although in itself, it is not a "Visual" environment, there are several third party form design tools available when you prograss to the point of needing them. In my opinion you are better off concentrating on learning the programming syntax and commands first when learning a new language, or learning to program for the first time, rather than starting out with an interface that atttempts to do so many things for you. You need to have a good enough understanding of the nuts and bolts of your chosen programming language to do the coding manually, even if later on you use a more advanced rapid application development environment. This book does that..it gives you a good grounding in the basic concepts of programming that apply to Pocket C as well as whatever other language you might choose to learn.

Even if you choose to migrate to another language like C++, the concepts you learn with Pocket C will still be valid, and the language is similar enough that you will have an easier time learning that if you started out there to begin with.

I would highly recommend getting the Desktop edition of Pocket C from Orbworks and the Palm Emulator from Palm to write and test you programs. You will need the registered version of the Desktop edition (called PDE) pretty quickly into the book as the demo will only create projects of a very limited size.

The book comes with limited or demo versions of Pocket C, the pde and several third party products such as form builders, etc. The Cd also has the Palm Emulator, but due to licensing restrictions does not include the necessary ROM files for it to operate. These can be downloaded free from Palm by filling out a non disclosure agreement and signing up as a developer, which is also free. This is the case with ALL programming systems for Palm, not just this one.

If you are going to order the book, you need to go ahead and fill out the forms on the Palm developers website as it takes a day or two for them to approve your NDA agreement and give you access to the ROM files.

It would probably also be wise to check the net for new versions of any of the software included on the Cd with the book as new versions are released often and the CD's tend to get "stale" pretty quick.

As in most programming guides, I have found a couple of minor typos, but nothing serious enough to create a real problem.

I would suggest that you actually type in the programming examples in the book, as opposed to loading the source code from the CD...even though your fingers will get a little workout, it is probably the best way to commit the language to your memory.

To sum it up, I would recommend this and any of the other "Absolute Beginners" guides to programming to any programming beginner, or even somewhat experienced programmer learning a new language.