Sebastopol, CA--If you listen to Palm buffs talk about their Palms (or
other PDAs), you may be reminded of the early days of the PC when there
were a lot of enthusiasts eagerly awaiting any new functionality that
came their way. Like the early PC applications, many of today's Palm
applications are amusing or interesting, and several are actually quite
useful. Few applications, however, have become crucial enough to propel
Palm usage into the realm of truly pervasive technology. Still, the
appetite for functionality is there, and the advent of networking
ability and wireless connectivity has increased the demand for Palm
programmers to produce applications that will realize the handheld's
true potential.
According to Greg Winton, author of Palm OS Network
Programming
(O'Reilly, US $39.95), the convergence of handheld, wireless, and
peer-to-peer technologies will allow people to communicate as never
before. "Some of the infrastructure for this glorious future is already
complete, but there is still a way to go," says Winton. "There are
already networking applications available for the Palm, but there are a
lot more Palm devices out there that are not connected, just waiting
for the right connection."
Winton adds, "The past five years have seen incredible growth in both
the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) market in general, and the Palm OS
Platform in particular. While any book on Palm OS programming is
unlikely to appear in Oprah's Book Club, the Palm V did appear as a
Christmas Gift pick, almost two years ago."
Palm OS Network
Programming is the first complete guide to developing
network applications for the Palm Computing Platform. The book covers
all major Palm network concepts such as transport protocols and
client-server applications from the ground up, clearly illustrated with
examples using Metrowerks CodeWarrior development environment and GCC.
The book also provides a detailed examination of the Palm Net Library
and offers sample networking applications to illustrate how to make the
best use of this essential tool.
The Palm Computing Platform is today's fastest-growing consumer
platform and the need for networking applications for connected devices
continues to grow rapidly. "The electronic networks and applications
that use them are the infrastructure for the next century," says
Winton, "just as the interstate highway network was the infrastructure
for the last century and the railroad network was the infrastructure
for the one before that. Network application developers have to create
a high-quality infrastructure and efficient, stable applications. The
next economy depends on it."
Software developers who are comfortable with the basics of Palm OS
programming and are interested in developing networking applications
for the platform will find Palm OS Network
Programming to be an essential resource. Although no previous network
experience is assumed, the book will be most valuable to developers who have
written Palm applications in C.
Online Resources:
Palm OS Network
Programming
By Greg Winton
September 2001
ISBN 0-596-00005-7, 382 pages, $39.95 (US)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
