This is the Palm OS Programmer's FAQ. See the Introduction section for history, a list of mirrors, and information about the maintainer.

This FAQ answers the most commonly-asked questions on the Palm programming newsgroups. The FAQ also contains a growing repository of Palm OS programming information and links useful for all levels of programmers. Please email me if you have any corrections or additions for the list.

If you would like to view this FAQ off-line, you can download a ZIPped version of these pages. (230 KB, last packaged 2001.10.06)

What's New?

2002.01.14

Ben Combee contributed updated versions of some of the functions in the floating-point article. The new versions are cleaner and they compile with current versions of CodeWarrior and GCC.

2001.12.12

Clarified the PRC-Tools debugging article.

Previous "What's New" Entries...

the FAQ

Contents

Section 0 - Introduction

0.1 About the FAQ
0.2 What languages and technologies does the FAQ cover?
0.3 What if your question is not in the FAQ?
0.4 Is there a mailing list for FAQ updates?
0.5 Mirrors
0.6 Legal Stuff
0.7 Acknowledgements

Section 1 - Getting Started

1.1 What other online sources of Palm programming answers are there?
1.2 What development tools are available?
1.3 Are there any GUIs for PRC-Tools?
1.4 What [printed] documentation is available?
1.5 What is POSE, and why do I need it?
1.6 Where can I get ROM files for POSE?
1.7 Which Palm OS unit should I buy for development?
1.8 What are the Palm platform limits I'll likely encounter?
1.9 What should I beware of when using C++ for Palm programming?
1.10 What's a creator ID, why do I need one, and how do I get it?
1.11 How do I create an icon for my program?
1.12 How can I get detailed info on Palm OS device features?
1.13 Which SDK version should I use?
1.14 I'm trying to build a program and the compiler says it can't find the SysAll.h, Pilot.h, UI.h, etc. headers. How do I fix this?

Section 2 - Intermediate Issues

2.1 Where can I get the file formats for the built in apps?
2.2 How do you display a bitmap?
2.3 What's a conduit and do I need one?
2.4 How do I make a simple conduit?
2.5 How do I display a simple message box?
2.6 How do I get the Palm user name?
2.7 What does the error value 5647 mean?
2.8 How do I create a thread?
2.9 How can I get TCP/IP to work in POSE?
2.10 How do I make a wireless TCP connection on a Palm VII?
2.11 Is there a unique ID in a Palm device?
2.12 How do I get my program's creator ID programmatically?
2.13 How can my program tell if it's running on a color device?
2.14 What are the limits of CodeWarrior Lite with respect to the full version?
2.15 How do I make my program exit back to the Launcher?

Section 3 - Advanced Issues

3.1 How do you make a full-fledged conduit?
3.2 How do I extend the Palm OS?
3.3 What's a handle, what's a pointer, and what's the difference?
3.4 How can I get technical info on chips used in Palm OS devices?
3.5 What can I do to work around the platform limits I'm running into?
3.6 Why does it take so long to HotSync my database?
3.7 What do we know about Palm's switch to ARM processors?
3.8 How can I debug memory allocation code?
3.9 How can I debug beaming?

Section 4 - Resources

4.1 Libraries
4.2 Web Pages

Section 5 - Examples

5.1 Hello, world!

Section 6 - Articles

Getting Started with PRC-Tools by Warren Young
PRC-Tools Tutorial by Andrew Howlett, et al.
Debugging with GDB and POSE by Warren Young
CodeWarrior vs. GCC by Wade Hatler
C/C++ Portability Guide by Warren Young
Using Floating Point Math by Warren Young

Section 7 - Book and Software Reviews

Section 8 - Development Tools

C/C++ Development Systems by Warren Young
Other High Level Language Systems by Warren Young and Wade Hatler
Data Collection Programs by Warren Young and Wade Hatler
Miscellaneous Development Tools by Warren Young and Wade Hatler

the FAQ