[HPCC-Conf] Coming up for air

[Richard Schwartz]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Wales" <frank@limov.com>
To: <hpcc-conf@lists.handheld.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2002 9:22 PM
Subject: [HPCC-Conf] Coming up for air


> Joseph K. Horn wrote:
> > Another reason is that many of us enjoy programming PPC's as such.
>  > PPC's can be programmed in simple ways and in goofy locations; nothing
>  > else can satisfy the love of "couch hacking" like a PPC.
>
> I have to admit that part of the thing that sucked me into computing was
> the immediacy of my HP-41, and the ability to work on problems while
sitting
> on the bus, or while being bored at a lecture.  It had a wonderful balance
of
> programmability, immediate problem-solving tools and expandability, and I
> really don't see that in modern machines like the Palm, which don't come
> with any self-hosted programming tools, and which are overly-dependent on
> a PC somewhere. (I say more about this in my 'RCL 20' piece, which is
> also available here: http://www.limov.com/rcl20/chapter.lml )

Actually, you are mistaken.  For a quick start, you can get HotPaw basic.
The problem is that anybody using your program must also have HotPaw.
However, it is a cheap license.   Beyond that is Quartus Forth and the
On-Board Resource Editor.   The problem with this is that there is very tall
hump early in the learning curve.    Also, there is an On-Board C compiler,
and On-Board assembler, and an interpreted form of C that allows you to
distribute code with a runtime interpreter.   So there are plenty of ways to
program on the Palm, and if you do it in C you will be developing a
commercially marketable skill.   None of the on-board development
environments are expensive (but none are wonderful).

The downside:   you must have TWO  palms when you are developing an
application.   Before compiling and testing, you need to back up your work
to the second palm via the infrared beam that HP no longer offers.

> At this point, I have almost no hope left for HP as the place I ought to
be
> looking for innovation or leadership in portable computing devices (or,
quite
> frankly, in anything else).  As a perennial optimist, I look forward to
being
> proved wrong, and being excited once again by a new HP calculator product.
> But as a pragmatist, I'm no longer holding my breath.

Sadly, I have to agree with Frank 100% on this.

. . . Richrad