What's It Like to Write Programs For Your PDA?

Bob Russell · 07-05-2004, 01:04 PM

How hard is it to write a program for my PDA? That's a question I've been asking myself a lot recentlly. I'm not a whiz-bang coder, but like a lot of people I've taken a few programming classes, and I've written a bunch of simple non-GUI programs for fun a long, long, long, long time ago.

I love fiddling with my PDA, and I miss knowing that if I want to whip out a quick and simple program I can. Plus, I heard of this thing called SuperWaba that is like Java for your PDA. It works on PalmOS, PocketPC and can even run on the desktop... Just like you'd expect from a variation of Java. As a result, I decided to try an experiment with my Sony SJ33.

I'm going to see if I can learn how to write simple PDA programs. It's a project for my "spare time" (a fictitious concept in itself, I think!) And it's just for fun.

But here's the twist, -- I'm going to share it with anyone who's interested. You might just be curious or you might be feeling the same way I am, and have a desire to write a program for your PDA.

If this sounds interesting to you, check out my SuperWaba blog at http://superwaba.blogspot.com/
(I noticed that I have to repeatedly hit refresh with my IE browser sometimes to get the blog to load. Don't know if that's due to their servers or my client, but be patient. If it doesn't improve I'll find another free host somewhere.)

Don't expect an entry every day. It will be sporadic. Sometimes frequent, sometimes only a few per month. We'll see how it goes and how much interest there is. I'm new to both SuperWaba and blogging, so it may take a while to "get my feet wet. I'm both excited and a little intimidated. Don't know how far it will go, but I can't wait to see!

If anyone is interested in this at all, let me know. That will be my best motivation if I know people are curious enough to read it. I'm still undecided whether to make this post at some of the popular Palm Forums or not. In a way, it might have made sense to start at a Palm-specific site, but MobileRead is my favorite site, so I will begin here. I guess I'll post elsewhere also if I get the feeling people might be interested in general.

Thanks for your input!

Colin Dunstan · 07-07-2004, 07:15 AM

Sounds really interesting, Bob! For reasons unknown to me PalmOS development has never been a widespread topic. I don't think it is hard to write programs for PalmOS if you have programming knowledge, mainly because the device is so much smaller (in functionality) than a normal PC.

However, I wouldn't go for anything but C programming. Platforms like Java (or here: SuperWaba) are generating programs that are usually uncessary big in size and take more CPU than a program that was written in C. You could go either with some open-source C compiler, or pay for a more advanced solution. Some interesting programming links:

http://prc-tools.sourceforge.net/
http://pilot-link.sourceforge.net/
http://www.zenonez.com/prctoolsx/
http://www.flippinbits.com/palmdevfaq/
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_u...ot.programmer*
http://www.palmos.com/dev/
http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/gcc/
http://www.gnu-designs.com/palm+linux/ (guy behind Plucker!)
http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/

Tell me what you think!

Bob Russell · 07-07-2004, 10:25 AM

Thanks Morpheus, and for the links.

I noticed also that PalmOS programming isn't a really widespread topic. I wonder if it's the same way in the PocketPC world?

Like you say, C is the way to go for (serious) Palm programming. I did consider it for my little exercise, but SuperWaba seemed like more fun and less intimidating. Maybe I'll give it a try later.

BTW, when I start to get this stuff figured out, I'm going to need ideas for a simple application to write that's hopefully useful also. Something along the lines of a Tip Calculator in complexity seems about right for my first "real" program. Any ideas?

ignatz · 07-07-2004, 10:52 AM

Bob, this seems like a fun project. I've had a similar inclination, but it's never gotten off the ground. I'll be watching your progress.

Two things:
http://www.pdatoolbox.com/ is a tool for graphical creation of Palm programs, especially simple ones. It may be worth looking at, but perhaps you're more interested in really getting your hands dirty in the raw code.

Also, as far as programs go, my goal was to write a mileage calculator that could handle multiple cars. I wanted to eventually expand it into a general maintenance tracker. This never got started, but perhaps it might be a little more useful than a tip calculator, with a similar level of complexity?

Bob Russell · 07-07-2004, 01:18 PM

Cool. Having even just one or two people interested should really be good incentive to keep going. I'm hoping that there are a lot of people that feel that way. Maybe this will inspire you or someone else to do something similar for another perspective, maybe even a different language.

I like the milage/maintenance idea and will keep it in mind.

PDA Toolbox looks like a nifty program, but is really more of a database program than a regular programming environment. So I guess you're right... I do want to get my hands dirty with some "real" code. I just don't want to wade in so deep that I drown.

07-05-2004, 01:04 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	What's It Like to Write Programs For Your PDA? How hard is it to write a program for my PDA? That's a question I've been asking myself a lot recentlly. I'm not a whiz-bang coder, but like a lot of people I've taken a few programming classes, and I've written a bunch of simple non-GUI programs for fun a long, long, long, long time ago. I love fiddling with my PDA, and I miss knowing that if I want to whip out a quick and simple program I can. Plus, I heard of this thing called SuperWaba that is like Java for your PDA. It works on PalmOS, PocketPC and can even run on the desktop... Just like you'd expect from a variation of Java. As a result, I decided to try an experiment with my Sony SJ33. I'm going to see if I can learn how to write simple PDA programs. It's a project for my "spare time" (a fictitious concept in itself, I think!) And it's just for fun. But here's the twist, -- I'm going to share it with anyone who's interested. You might just be curious or you might be feeling the same way I am, and have a desire to write a program for your PDA. If this sounds interesting to you, check out my SuperWaba blog at http://superwaba.blogspot.com/ (I noticed that I have to repeatedly hit refresh with my IE browser sometimes to get the blog to load. Don't know if that's due to their servers or my client, but be patient. If it doesn't improve I'll find another free host somewhere.) Don't expect an entry every day. It will be sporadic. Sometimes frequent, sometimes only a few per month. We'll see how it goes and how much interest there is. I'm new to both SuperWaba and blogging, so it may take a while to "get my feet wet. I'm both excited and a little intimidated. Don't know how far it will go, but I can't wait to see! If anyone is interested in this at all, let me know. That will be my best motivation if I know people are curious enough to read it. I'm still undecided whether to make this post at some of the popular Palm Forums or not. In a way, it might have made sense to start at a Palm-specific site, but MobileRead is my favorite site, so I will begin here. I guess I'll post elsewhere also if I get the feeling people might be interested in general. Thanks for your input!

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07-07-2004, 07:15 AM	#2
Colin Dunstan Is papyrophobic! Posts: 1,926 Karma: 1009999 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Device: Dell Axim	Sounds really interesting, Bob! For reasons unknown to me PalmOS development has never been a widespread topic. I don't think it is hard to write programs for PalmOS if you have programming knowledge, mainly because the device is so much smaller (in functionality) than a normal PC. However, I wouldn't go for anything but C programming. Platforms like Java (or here: SuperWaba) are generating programs that are usually uncessary big in size and take more CPU than a program that was written in C. You could go either with some open-source C compiler, or pay for a more advanced solution. Some interesting programming links: http://prc-tools.sourceforge.net/ http://pilot-link.sourceforge.net/ http://www.zenonez.com/prctoolsx/ http://www.flippinbits.com/palmdevfaq/ http://groups.google.com/groups?as_u...ot.programmer* http://www.palmos.com/dev/ http://www.palmos.com/dev/tools/gcc/ http://www.gnu-designs.com/palm+linux/ (guy behind Plucker!) http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/ Tell me what you think!

07-07-2004, 10:25 AM	#3
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Thanks Morpheus, and for the links. I noticed also that PalmOS programming isn't a really widespread topic. I wonder if it's the same way in the PocketPC world? Like you say, C is the way to go for (serious) Palm programming. I did consider it for my little exercise, but SuperWaba seemed like more fun and less intimidating. Maybe I'll give it a try later. BTW, when I start to get this stuff figured out, I'm going to need ideas for a simple application to write that's hopefully useful also. Something along the lines of a Tip Calculator in complexity seems about right for my first "real" program. Any ideas?

07-07-2004, 10:52 AM	#4
ignatz mechanoholic Posts: 582 Karma: 1000217 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sarasota, FL Device: Nook STR/iPhone 4S/EVO 4G	Bob, this seems like a fun project. I've had a similar inclination, but it's never gotten off the ground. I'll be watching your progress. Two things: http://www.pdatoolbox.com/ is a tool for graphical creation of Palm programs, especially simple ones. It may be worth looking at, but perhaps you're more interested in really getting your hands dirty in the raw code. Also, as far as programs go, my goal was to write a mileage calculator that could handle multiple cars. I wanted to eventually expand it into a general maintenance tracker. This never got started, but perhaps it might be a little more useful than a tip calculator, with a similar level of complexity?

07-07-2004, 01:18 PM	#5
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Cool. Having even just one or two people interested should really be good incentive to keep going. I'm hoping that there are a lot of people that feel that way. Maybe this will inspire you or someone else to do something similar for another perspective, maybe even a different language. I like the milage/maintenance idea and will keep it in mind. PDA Toolbox looks like a nifty program, but is really more of a database program than a regular programming environment. So I guess you're right... I do want to get my hands dirty with some "real" code. I just don't want to wade in so deep that I drown.

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