Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs for short), also known as palmtop computers, are a type of handheld computer normally combining a phone, web browser and portable media player. The term PDA was coined in 1992 with the launch of the Apple Newton, but the first PDA is normally considered to be the Casio PF-3000, even if the term hadn't been invented in 1983 when the product was first unveiled. The range of software available for most PDAs is similar to a regular PC: office applications, games, GPS navigators, multimedia and other utilities. This article aims to acquaint you with the basics of PDA software development.
The bad news is that the bulk of PDA software development jobs for actual software companies appear to be outsourced to India, Eastern Europe and other areas of the world where labor costs are cheap. However, there is a thriving market for PDA software downloads, so if you have the entrepreneurial spirit and the skills to develop software in one of the popular PDA operating systems such as Palm OS, there is nothing to stop you from going into business for yourself.
The hardest part of PDA software development, provided one has the necessary programming skills (and see below if you don't), is finding ideas for new applications. Very few apps are created ex nihilo, however. Most are improvements and additions to existing software. Often, you can get ideas for the next killer app by using existing software for your PDA and thinking about how you would make it better.
But first things first. You will need to learn a programming language such as XML, Java or C++ in order to develop PDA software. The good news is that there are a host of online and offline resources available to help you learn these languages. The website Cprogramming.com contains a series of tutorials designed to help the beginner learn C++, which is used in developing PDA software for the popular Palm OS mobile operating system, with links to free software that you will need. And there is any number of books available, including the ever reliable Dummies series.
For XML and Java programmers, AJAX is a method of programming made popular by Google and often used in PDA software development. AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript And XML. AJAX is not a programming language, but a software development technique that allows PDAs to retrieve data from the server without interfering with the display on screen. It allows for much faster and more detailed animation to be used in PDA software. If you want to learn PDA software development, AJAX is probably the best place to start.
Can I Get a Job in PDA Software Development?
The bad news is that the bulk of PDA software development jobs for actual software companies appear to be outsourced to India, Eastern Europe and other areas of the world where labor costs are cheap. However, there is a thriving market for PDA software downloads, so if you have the entrepreneurial spirit and the skills to develop software in one of the popular PDA operating systems such as Palm OS, there is nothing to stop you from going into business for yourself.
The hardest part of PDA software development, provided one has the necessary programming skills (and see below if you don't), is finding ideas for new applications. Very few apps are created ex nihilo, however. Most are improvements and additions to existing software. Often, you can get ideas for the next killer app by using existing software for your PDA and thinking about how you would make it better.
Learning to Program PDA Software
But first things first. You will need to learn a programming language such as XML, Java or C++ in order to develop PDA software. The good news is that there are a host of online and offline resources available to help you learn these languages. The website Cprogramming.com contains a series of tutorials designed to help the beginner learn C++, which is used in developing PDA software for the popular Palm OS mobile operating system, with links to free software that you will need. And there is any number of books available, including the ever reliable Dummies series.
For XML and Java programmers, AJAX is a method of programming made popular by Google and often used in PDA software development. AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript And XML. AJAX is not a programming language, but a software development technique that allows PDAs to retrieve data from the server without interfering with the display on screen. It allows for much faster and more detailed animation to be used in PDA software. If you want to learn PDA software development, AJAX is probably the best place to start.
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