Palm Database Programming The Electronic Version
Chapter 3: Development Tools and Software Development Kits
This material was published in 1999. See the free
Palm OS Programming
online course I developed for
CodeWarriorU for some updated material.
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Palm OS Software Development Kit
The Palm OS Software Development Kit (SDK) is available for
download from the Palm Computing Web site. The SDK contains a complete
reference guide (either Palm OS SDK Reference or Developing
Palm OS Applications) to Palm OS, the complete set of Palm OS
header files and runtime libraries, the source to the built-in
applications (such as the Address Book), the examples for the Palm OS
Tutorial (available separately from the Web site), and a version of
the Palm OS Emulator (discussed later in this chapter).
Although the compilers include a version of the SDK (CodeWarrior
Release 5 includes the Palm OS 3.0 SDK, GCC includes the Palm OS 2.0
SDK), you should check the Palm Computing Web site regularly for new
and updated versions of the SDK, especially if you're targeting the
newer Palm devices like the Palm V. The most recent version of the SDK
at the time this book was written is included on the accompanying
CD-ROM.
The reference guide and the header files are the most important
pieces of the SDK. You'll want to have links to the reference guide on
your desktop for quick access. You might even want to print a copy of
the complete reference guide, but given that it's about 1,000 pages in
length you might find it simpler to purchase a printed copy instead.
See the Web site for instructions on obtaining printed copies.
The header file directory structure isn't very complicated. A few
header files are in the base directory, but most are found in the
System and UI subdirectories and are referenced relative to the base
directory:
#include <Common.h>
#include <System/SystemMgr.h>
#include <UI/UIAll.h>
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Here is a short description of the most important header files:
- <Common.h> defines the types common to all Palm OS header
files, see the summary in Table 3.1. You should familiarize yourself
with these types.
- <System/SysAll.h> includes all the system header files.
- <UI/UIAll.h> includes all the user interface header files.
- <Pilot.h> includes <Common.h>, <System/SysAll.h>
and <UI/UIAll.h>. Most application source files include <Pilot.h>
as the first header file. Compile times for CodeWarrior users are
shortened because a precompiled version of this header file is used.
- <System/Globals.h> and <UI/UIGlobals.h> define the
global variables used by Palm OS itself. These global variables are
stored in dynamic memory. Don't use these variables directly, always
use the equivalent Palm OS APIs.
A number of header files are private to Palm OS. These have names
like <System/AlarmPrv.h> or <System/SystemPrv.h>. These
header files should not be used by your programs, as the functions,
types, and macros they define are reserved for use by the operating
system.
Table 3.1 Common Palm OS Types
Type
|
Description
|
Boolean
|
Unsigned 8-bit Boolean (true or false)
|
Byte
|
Unsigned 8-bit integer
|
Char
|
Signed character (8-bit)
|
CharPtr
|
Character pointer (Char *)
|
DWord
|
Unsigned 32-bit integer
|
Err
|
Signed 16-bit error code
|
Int
|
Signed 16-bit integer
|
IntPtr
|
Pointer to Int (Int *)
|
LocalID
|
Unsigned 32-bit card-relative memory offset
|
Long
|
Signed 32-bit integer
|
LongPtr
|
Pointer to Long (Long *)
|
SByte
|
Signed 8-bit integer
|
SDWord
|
Signed 32-bit integer
|
Short
|
Signed 16-bit integer
|
ShortPtr
|
Pointer to Short (Short *)
|
SWord
|
Signed 16-bit integer
|
UChar
|
Unsigned character (8-bit)
|
UCharPtr
|
Unsigned character pointer (UChar *)
|
UInt
|
Unsigned 16-bit integer
|
UIntPtr
|
Pointer to UInt (UInt *)
|
ULong
|
Unsigned 32-bit integer
|
ULongPtr
|
Pointer to ULong (ULong *)
|
UShort
|
Unsigned 16-bit integer
|
UShortPtr
|
Pointer to UShort (UShort *)
|
VoidHandle
|
Memory handle (void **)
|
VoidPtr
|
Generic pointer (void *)
|
Word
|
Unsigned 16-bit integer
|
The Palm Computing platform uses 16-bit integers, so in both
compilers the int type is a 16-bit type unless specified otherwise
with a compiler option.
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Copyright ©1999 by Eric Giguere. All rights reserved.
From Palm Database Programming: The Complete Developer's Guide.
Reprinted here with permission from the publisher. Please see the
copyright
and disclaimer notices for more details.
If you find the material useful, consider buying one of
my books,
linking to this site from your own site or in your weblog,
or sending me a note.
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