Is Palm programming difficult?
 

Hi, I am a person who has no background in programming but I would like to learn some simple Palm programming. I am wondering if it is very difficult. Please advise. :confused:

well, yes and no. with PDA Toolbox theres NO codinq at all but the apps you can make dont have the potential compared to something like CW. but CW requires extensive knowledge of C (maybe Pet can comment more on that).

If you've worked with Visual Basics, there is a pluggin you can use to program in the Palm OS. It's called Crossfire. It helps alot if you are just starting out and don't know C at all. though if you don't know Visual Basic's either... it will stake some time learning.. though IMHO you'll pick it up faster than trying to learn C.

VB is DEFINITELY easier than C

> ...no background in programming but I would like to learn some simple Palm programming....

IMHO any PDA platform is a terrible place to start to learn programming (even if you are testing with the emulator)

I recommend a PC version of Visual Basic, and an introductory book. That way you can learn programming, type in code and run it immediately on your PC (nothing related to Palm).

Later on advice (after you've written at least a few simple programs)
Pocket PC specific programming has a number of alternatives. See other suggestions on this Forum for tool choices. CodeWarrior is the best IMHO for C/C++ programming, but not the tool for your first program either.
Also, the best tool can depend on what kind of program you want to write (eg: simple form database apps are much easier than writing 3D games...)

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> Is Palm programming difficult?
In the general sense - YES.
It is quirky, has quirky tools, a quirky memory model, quirky 68K/ARM differences, lots of historical APIs and many other quirks.

In many cases the debugging setup is a pain (either an emulation, bad simulation or remote debugging to a real device).
FWIW: the PocketPC platform has fewer quirks (but many of the same debugging problems).

IMHO: The reason for writing for the PalmOS platform is when you want something that must run on a PalmOS device. Unless you have to target a PDA, programming on a PC for the PC is so much easier...

well said Pet! fssia- l recommend HB++ if you know VB

I dunno VB as well. So I guess that's where I should start huh? I am considering joining a short courses on programming. May be that will give me some ideas and guidance on how to write simple programs. Thanx a bunch for the advices. :)

If you are interested in the SuperWaba approach (Java for Palm & PPC), you might be interested in my blog at Journey into SuperWaba

It's my attempt to see what it takes to program on my Palm PDA as a novice programmer using Java. This probably isn't the right language if you want to be a pro, or if you want something really easy like a database application, but it was a good fit for me.

Good luck!

I've not started. Have been a bit busy with work and life, plus trying out Plant Tycoon. Really addicted piece of software. Lots of respect for ppl who could program such wonderful apps. :)

You might want to try a simpler environment like Basic (SmallBasic) or Lua (Plua, which is the palm port of Lua). Each are probably an easier environment to learn in than C... Personally, I am a "Plua" person...

bh77a, thanks for the info. Can you include the weblinks to SmallBasic and Plua, so I can have a look at them when I am free? Thanks a bunch! :)

fssia,

Plua 1.0 can be found at: http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/plua.shtml

A newer version (1.1b8) can be found at the yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plua

SmallBasic is http://smallbasic.sourceforge.net

Please note that I have no experience with SmallBasic ( I plan to someday)...

If you need some help getting started with Plua, let me know...

bh77a, thank you for being so kind and helpful. I think I will try with Plua first since I have u as my guru. :p

fssia - Please keep us updated on your Plua experience. I'd love to hear how it goes!

No problem... When you get setup, you can download a beta of one of my programs from the files section of the Plua Yahoo group... It is a drawing app titled "Illusion"... It is still a little rough right now in the UI, but it gives some ideas of what can be done... Good luck and don't hesitate to ask.

Thanx a zillion! :)

Bobbert, u may have to wait a bit. Have been very bz lately.

using SmallBasic
 

Hi, I have some experience with SmallBasic for Palm OS.
It is more or less an implementation of the good old GWBASIC (including the graphics commands), but enhanced with a number of useful extra's.
So if you are out somewhere without a pc, you can still hobby or prototype on your Palm ;-)
There are however strong limitations on program size and arraysize, but if you can live with that it is a nice tool.
There is also a unix and windows version, and exchanging the code is easy.

But, I wonder what Plua is like. I will take a look right now.

It's easier, I think, than programming Windows GUI apps, but much harder than programming Windows command-line apps... This refers to C in all three cases. I'd learn programming the classic way, by programming command-line programs, and then moving on to GUI stuff, whether Windows or PalmOS or other.

Is Plua limited like SmallBASIC? COuld be neat to try.