This book is structured into three sections. Developers new to the Palm should read at least the first three chapters in order; more seasoned programmers can dive into the later sections and chapters in pretty much any sequence.
The first section covers Palm application development using the AppForge add-in for Microsoft Visual Basic: how to obtain and install a development environment, principles and techniques of user interface programming, and how to access the Palm’s primary storage feature, its database.
This chapter introduces the basic software used throughout the book: the AppForge add-in for Visual Basic and the Palm OS Emulator. We look briefly at the architecture of AppForge. Then we cover obtaining and installing the necessary software components and walk through using AppForge to build a simple Palm application.
In this chapter, we focus on how to design and develop Palm
applications. We introduce almost all the features common to Palm
applications. The emphasis is on using AppForge
ingots to create the user interface and
leveraging the libraries provided by AppForge to access Palm native
functions within Visual Basic.
In this chapter, we cover the Palm OS database manager and how it works. Then we show how to access the Palm database features via the AppForge PDB library. We also explain the AppForge database schema extensions, which free the developer from many bookkeeping chores normally associated with Palm database programming.
The second section covers moving techniques for moving local and network data into and out of the device: how to use the Palm Conduit Development Kit, how to develop applications that leverage the use of SQL data repositories, and how to access the Internet through the Palm.Net wireless infrastructure. This section covers a variety of development techniques: Microsoft VB on the desktop, AppForge VB on the Palm, and VBScript on the Web server. Because this section is data-centric, there is a fair amount of SQL as well.
This chapter covers building conduits using Microsoft VB and the Palm COM Conduit Development Kit. We show how to design a proper conduit, and we cover all the required interfaces and features that a conduit must implement. We also show how to interactively debug a conduit and how to use the HotSync Manager log.
This chapter shows how to develop data-intensive applications using Microsoft SQL Server. We demonstrate a variety of techniques, including preprocessing the data on the desktop and implementing on-device manipulation. The chapter also covers the AppForge Universal Conduit, which is used to automatically synchronize Palm and Microsoft ODBC-compliant databases.
In this chapter, we cover web development using Palm’s wireless Palm.Net functionality. Note that this is not WAP—these are full-featured HTML applications. We show how to integrate the Palm VII handheld into Microsoft web applications, and how to format HTML pages especially for the handheld. Special attention is paid to security for wireless devices.
The third section diverges a little from the VB mainstream and shows how to extend the reach of VB Palm applications using features accessible only to the C/C++ language. Topics covered include developing callable applications that access operating system internals and using shared libraries to package common functionality. An exciting feature of AppForge—Piedmont, a portable COM-based framework that extends AppForge itself—is covered as well. We also include a chapter on debugging techniques.
In this chapter, we look at how to use features of the Palm OS that cannot be accessed from the standard AppForge libraries. We build a complete fuser application that encrypts and decrypts Palm record databases using the DES libraries in the Palm OS.
In this chapter, we look at extending an application’s functionality through the use of shared libraries—units of reusable code that contain frequently used sets of functionality.
This chapter covers the AppForge Piedmont Framework, which is a component development kit for handheld devices. We cover building system-level ingots, which are similar to Windows COM DLL servers, and we lay the foundation for U/I Ingots, which are similar to ActiveX controls.
This chapter covers some simple debugging techniques, such as using conditional compilation variables to optionally include or exclude debugging code. We show how to use the Palm Reporter tool to trace through a program. Finally, we provide sample code that logs information to a database for later analysis.
The book concludes with two appendixes that provide some reference material.
This appendix enumerates the many properties and methods of the AppForge Ingots for the Palm OS.
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