Dr. Reddy's Guide to HP Palmtops

Palmtop Software -- Compilers and Assemblers

Yes, you can write software for -- and on -- a Palmtop...

HP's Palmtop Home Page

Compilers and Assemblers

• Pascal: I have an old copy of Borland Turbo Pascal 4.0 thats runs on my 100 LX and 200 LX. (I used the command-line Turbo 4.0 compiler on my 95 LX without much problem -- except those involved in switching between Memo and DOS on the 95.) 4.0, unlike 5 and up, does not have the integrated debugger, but it does take up very little space. I haven't yet tried out 5.5 on the 200, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work, and the debugging capability will help too. Changing the display colours (a bit hard in 4.0, definitely possible in 5.5 and up) may be necessary to make everything visible.
  
• C: Borland Turbo C 1.0 is fairly small (although not as small as Turbo Pascal -- and remember that you need the .h files too) and works pretty well on the Palmtop. Bear in mind that it, too, has no integrated debugger. The command-line versions of the older Microsoft C compilers (recommended for use with the Palmtop Software Development Kit) may also fit, but I haven't tried these yet either. There are many people using Borland compilers with the SDK; this may be a better choice, especially if you can use the (usually smaller) command-line compiler. (Instructions for using the Borland compilers with the Palmtop SDK pop up often in the Palmtop user's newsgroup and the Palmtop forum on Compuserve.)
  • NOTE: Borland now makes available, free of charge (but also free of support), copies of old versions of Turbo C and Turbo Pascal for download at their Community Museum. These include Turbo Pascal (versions 1, 3, and 5.5) and Turbo C (versions 1.0 and 1.5); this is not a complete list.
• FORTRAN: Microsoft FORTRAN compiler, version 5.0, works just fine on a Palmtop. I have not tried my copy of 5.1, but it probably works OK, too, since it too is DOS-compatible. Just be careful about disk space for temporary files (this is why I now have a 32 MB Compact Flash card in my Palmtop).
• Assemblers: Any 80x86-family assembler should work with the Palmtop. I have a spare copy of the IBM/Microsoft MASM, version 1.0, that does fairly well. (MASM 5.1 should work also, and may be preferable since 1.0 doesn't allow for the 80186 instruction set. It also produces CodeView-compatible .EXE files, and CodeView should also run on the Palmtops, although I haven't tried it out yet.)
  
• BASIC: QBASIC (I use version 1.0) runs well on the Palmtop, debugger and all. I assume that GWBASIC would also work, and probably also Microsoft Quick BASIC (and Quick C, for that matter).

Palmtop Software Development

Although any program capable of running on an IBM PC/XT or the equivalent can run on a Palmtop, you need special tools to develop programs compatible with the Palmtop System Manager (which runs over DOS and provides I/O, task-switching, and function-key, hot-key, and memory-management capabilities similar to that enjoyed by the built-in Palmtop applications). These tools are found in the HP Palmtop System Design Kit, and comprehensive documentation for them and for the Palmtop itself are in the HP 100LX/200LX Developer's Guide, which is available in package form or as part of the annual Palmtop CD InfoBase from Thaddeus Computing, publisher of the HP Palmtop Paper. The HP tools include software that allows your desktop or laptop to behave like a Palmtop (including all the System Manager calls and graphic capabilities) while you develop your application, as well as a converter to turn your finished EXE file into a System Manager-compliant EXM file so it can be run on your Palmtop. The C header files and the sample software (which includes the source code for the Hex Calculator found on the D: drive of the 200 LX) are written to be compatible with Microsoft C 6.0 or later; Microsoft C is the compiler underlying their Visual C++ package. Although you may have to rewrite the header files to make it work properly, programmers have reported successful Palmtop software development using the Borland Turbo C compilers (see above).

For those of you who don't want to put up with the hassles associated with the SDK, the Palmtop Applications Library provides C-callable functions that can give your software the look and feel of System Manager-compliant programs but will run under standard DOS and compile with any ANSI C compiler (including Borland and Microsoft). The PAL is included with the HP Palmtop System Design Kit and on the Palmtop CD InfoBase, and may also be downloaded from the Internet (see S.U.P.E.R.: the Simply Unbeatable Palmtop Essentials Repository).

I have posted a brief introduction to System-Manager-compliant Palmtop programming. It is still rudimentary, but System Manager novices may (I hope) find it helpful. I will expand on it as (and when) I have time.

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Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 Vinay N. Reddy, M.D. All rights reserved.
Written 08/20/96; major revision 04/05/00; last revised 05/10/04