Professional Palm OS Programming (Wrox Professional Guides) [Paperback]

Lonnon R. Foster (Author), Glenn Bachmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2005 | ISBN-10: 076457373X | ISBN-13: 978-0764573736 | Edition: 1

Professional Palm OS Programming is everything programmers need to create applications for the world’s most popular operating system for handheld devices.

Veteran Palm developer Lonnon Foster, who has been developing commercial applications for the platform since its introduction nearly a decade ago, provides readers with hands-on instruction, lots of code, and advice that only comes from the trenches – giving readers everything they need to build cutting edge applications and take advantage of the features of both Garnet and Cobalt.  Coverage includes:

• Building forms, menus and user interfaces
• Managing memory
• Tying into Palm’s standard applications such as the Calendar, Phonebook, or Tasks
• Storing program data on removable storage cards
• Building network enabled applications
• Creating web applications for Palm
• Working with Palm OS new support for Web Services
•   Programm ing for new device features such as jog dials, rocker switches, 5-way navigators
• Working with sounds, graphics, multimedia, and new high-resolution color screens
• Encrypting and decrypting data
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and wireless networking

and more…

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Professional Palm OS Programming

Palm OS has defined the standard for handheld and mobile devices for nearly a decade, thanks to its convenience, power, and ease of use. As the popularity of these devices continues to grow, so does the demand for programmers to build original applications. This book guides both aspiring and experienced programmers through the ins and outs of creating software for Palm OS.

Covering nearly every aspect of Palm OS development, this useful resource gets you started with the fundamentals, such as how Palm OS works and the available development tools. You'll then quickly move on to new aspects of Palm OS, including the new Palm OS Cobalt, the next generation operating system. Packed with hands-on instructions, lots of code, and insider advice, this book will help you make your applications work seamlessly.

What you will learn from this book

• The various multimedia functionalities for audio and video recording and playback
• How to create applications that make use of TCP/IP communications options
• New and updated coverage of Palm OS development tools, including Metrowerks' CodeWarrior®9.3 and the new PODS from PalmSource
• Methods of programming system elements, graphics, and alarms
• Techniques for storing, manipulating, and retrieving data
• An understanding of the very complex topic of conduit programming and why it uses different tools

Who this book is for

This book is for experienced C programmers who are looking to either start developing applications in Palm OS or who would like to take their Palm OS skills to the next level.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

About the Author

Lonnon R. Foster is a programmer and writer who has spent the past nine years creating desktop applications, database front ends, Web sites, communications software, technical documentation, and handheld applications. He has been developing Palm OS applications almost as long as the platform has existed, starting with his first Pilot 5000 and progressing to more complicated wireless software for Symbol’s 1700 series. Lonnon fills his sparse free time with tactical tabletop gaming, recreational Perl coding, and reading everything he can get his hands on.

Glenn Bachmann is a noted author of several books and articles on Palm OS programming and mobile computing. Glenn is also president and founder of Bachmann Software, a leading provider of wireless file management, networking, backup, and printing software products for Palm OS, Pocket PC, and Symbian handheld computing platforms. Founded in 1994, Bachmann Software (www.bachmannsoftware.com) has established itself as a leading contributor to the mobile and wireless economy through its utility software products and partnerships with many of the key companies in the mobile computing arena. Bachmann’s PrintBoy, FilePoint, Mobile Backup, and Mobile Utilities are among the best-selling software utilities for handhelds and smartphones.

Product Details

• Paperback: 954 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; 1 edition (April 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076457373X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764573736
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,253,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs re-organized, February 20, 2006

By 

J. Christopher Kennedy (Puyallup, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Professional Palm OS Programming (Wrox Professional Guides) (Paperback)

This book would be better if it was re-organized. By chapter 4 you are entering a program, but you can't run it until after several more chapters, as creating resource files isn't discussed until chapter 6. Without the resource files (icons, form definition, etc.) the program can't run. Sort of disappointing after typing in all that code.

The books web site includes complete code for those using either CodeWarrior 8 or 9, but if you are using PODS you are out of luck. It discusses PODS, but as something of an after thought. The PODS documentation will serve you far better.

I also hope you are already familiar with C/C++ programming.

All the information to program for Palm OS appears to be here, but you will have to hunt around for it and be familiar with what you are doing.

Definitely not a raw beginner's guide.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PODS confusion.. decent book, October 18, 2006

By 

N. Kovach (Dallas, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Professional Palm OS Programming (Wrox Professional Guides) (Paperback)

I found this to be the only Palm Programming book available when I was attempting to learn to program my Palm. It certainly takes a bit of disassembling to figure out how the nuts and bolts work but it is actually a decent book.

As previously mentioned, there seems to be a lack of info about the PODS compiler because most all of the samples are written for codewarrior. I found this to be a bit frustrating because I spent a lot of time reworking the resource files to make the samples work.

Other than that, I would say the book covers quite a bit of material and is certainly ample for an intermediate programmer (with some C/C++ experience). If you are using the free Palm Developer Suite (PODS) just know that you will have to do a bit of reading on your own (reading Palm documentation) to figure out how to make things work.

I'd like to see more samples.. perhaps I'll write a few myself and start a website to help other novices like me learn the basics.

0 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Programming book, September 30, 2005

By 

A. M. Sutherland "greenbrumbie" (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Professional Palm OS Programming (Wrox Professional Guides) (Paperback)

Book arrived in VG condition and contents are as indicated on information blurb supplied by Amazon. Altogether very satisfied.