Palm OS Programming, 2nd Edition

Handheld Development Recommendations

Now that you have a good idea of the choices for creating applications for Palm devices, it’s time to figure out which is right for you. It should not be surprising that Windows programmers have the most flexibility; Macintosh and Unix folks have none. Let’s look at the Macintosh, Unix, and then Windows choices in order.

Developing Using Mac OS

CodeWarrior for Palm OS is currently the only way to do development on Mac OS 9 and under. The good news is that CodeWarrior for Palm OS started on the Macintosh, so you can be assured that it’s a robust, elegant product.

If you use Mac OS X, you have the option of using PRC-Tools.

Developing Using Unix

You’ll be using PRC-Tools for your development environment. This isn’t really a disadvantage, however. If you are accustomed to twiddling around with Unix in the first place, then the slightly more complex setup of PRC-Tools (e.g., the need to use makefiles) won’t even get a twitch out of you. Plus, it’s free.

Developing Using Windows

You have quite a bit of choice, as every environment we have discussed is available on Windows. Let’s try to eliminate some of the options by focusing on what might factor into your decisions:

Assembly programming

If programming in assembly is your cup of tea, then ASDK is for you.

C/C++ programming

If you are an ardent C programmer, use CodeWarrior or PRC-Tools. If you are an occasional or hobbyist programmer, then PRC-Tools is probably your best choice, given its attractive ...