The wireless revolution has touched off a huge demand for Palm OS network applications. But information on how to connect a Palm is fragmented across dry function listings in the SDK documentation, a couple of book chapters, some sample code, and a few articles on the Palm web site (each of which assumes prior knowledge of network applications).
Palm OS Network Programming pulls all the necessary elements together in the first complete guide to developing network applications for the Palm Computing Platform. The author assumes knowledge of Palm programming in C, but no network experience is required. You'll learn Palm network concepts such as transport protocols and client-server applications from the ground up, clearly illustrated with examples using Metrowerks CodeWarrior development environment.
The Palm Net Library, essential to any network application development, gets the detailed treatment it deserves, with sample network applications demonstrating how to make the best use of this powerful system library.
Palm OS Network Programming is the first complete developer's resource to building creative--and connected--applications for the fastest-growing platform of the 21st century.
Greg Winton has been a professional software developer for thirteen years. As director of software development for Bachmann Software and Services, he transformed a respected Windows software development company into the premier Palm solutions provider.
Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animals on the cover of Palm OS Network Programming are buntings. Buntings are small, finch-like birds, and are members of the order Passeriformes. Birds belonging to this order are known as Passerines. These types of birds are also known as perching birds and boast the highest numbers of birds of any order.
A key feature that helps identify the Passerine is the feet. There are four toes--three facing forward and one facing backward. This distinguishing characteristic provides a firm grip on branches and twigs, which is a valuable feature as trees are the primary home of the Passerines. Seeds and insects make up the majority of the Passerine diet. These are found easily in a wooded environment. Industrial growth has led to less and less forest areas, which has caused these birds to live closer to more diverse populations and placed them at higher risk to such threats as cats and snakes. Mary Brady was the production editor and copyeditor for Palm OS Network Programming. Colleen Gorman was the proofreader. Rachel Wheeler and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Matt Hutchinson, Molly Shangraw, and Kimo Carter provided production support. Johnna VanHoose Dinse wrote the index.
Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.
Melanie Wang designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Neil Walls converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6 using tools created by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book; the code font is Constant Willison. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Mary Brady.
Whenever possible, our books use a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds this binding's limit, perfect binding is used.
Comments about O'Reilly Media Palm OS Network Programming:
I want to receive the book
3/24/2002
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Palm OS Network Programming Review
By Dr Sybil Baran
from Undisclosed
Comments about O'Reilly Media Palm OS Network Programming:
Being a neophyte in this field - am a psychologist and can't say I crucually need these devices- but also being a consumer, I became beguiled and "surrendered" to acquiring a Palm.
What an extraordinary feat this book is: to deliver a text, in this field, which actually manages to make this material come lucid and alive! It not only organizes the vast scope of this field to mananegeable proportions, but also distils complex material and processes into language which is accessible to a reader. Indeed, the writing, for me, actually turned out to be a fine literary experience! - and its about Palm Software, for G-d's sake, surely an inherently dry topic?
Congratulations to this writer!
Sybil Baran (Ph.D)
1/29/2002
5.0
Palm OS Network Programming Review
By Ellen Dash
from Undisclosed
Comments about O'Reilly Media Palm OS Network Programming:
I found this book to be exactly what I was in search of - something to clearly explain how to use NetLib along with well documented examples! Greg Winton does an excellent job of taking the reader through the development of an FTP application (explaining NetLib and sockets along the way) - each chapter builds on the previous and introduces new concepts in comprehensible portions.
I admit, like most engineers, that I jumped ahead to the end to see the "whole enchilada", but then went back and reread the earlier chapters. This was still a good approach for absorbing all that is presented in this book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone venturing into networking their Palm. It is well written, concise, and contains insights from someone who is clearly experienced in networking.
10/31/2001
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Palm OS Network Programming Review
By Marc McCotter
from Undisclosed
Comments about O'Reilly Media Palm OS Network Programming:
Palm OS Network Programming is the first book for which I have written a review. I cannot think of a finer book to start my editorial review career. Greg Winton's organization, clarity, and writing style, transforms a potentially dry topic into a work of art that is truly a joy to read.
I am currently 3/4 of the way through the book and I'm torn between plowing through it (as I usually do) and reading as slowly as I can...not wanting to reach the finish line.
Greg Winton does an outstanding job of describing the principles behind Palm OS networking, and explaining network application development in crystal clear detail. The order in which the material is presented and the explanations that accompany the API descriptions and sample code, confess that this was not a book that was rushed to market, but was instead thoroughly researched and revised to perfection.
I truly believe that Palm OS Network Programming raises the bar for future programming books, and deserves an easily accessible spot in every Palm OS developer's library.
