Java for PPC?

[MikeB]

I've spent the past several days doing nothing but reading i'net sites
on java, ordering books and more reading... Unfortunately, I'm don't
feel much further along than I was when I started...

I'm trying to port (well, rewrite) a program I wrote for a handheld
computer (written in 16bit C 1.5) several years ago. The users now
want a more up to date system - including pocket pc's and/or palms.

I want to write an application once, and be able to run it on Palm or
PocketPC - but for the test, we chose PocketPC.

I've read about J2SE and J2EE - but I'm still confused as to whether
it will actually work or not.

Too, I still haven't figured out what I need to do to start
programming a simple hello world appl.

ANYTHING you can give me to help get me on the road again would be
greatly appreciated. Book recommendations? Web sites? Reply with an
answer to what do I really need to download, install and run to get a
simple app written and running on my WinCE device. anything would be
helpful and appreciated at this point!!

Thanks a ton!

Mike

 

[KC Wong]

I've spent the past several days doing nothing but reading i'net sites

on java, ordering books and more reading... Unfortunately, I'm don't
feel much further along than I was when I started...

I want to write an application once, and be able to run it on Palm or
PocketPC - but for the test, we chose PocketPC.

I've read about J2SE and J2EE - but I'm still confused as to whether
it will actually work or not.

Java for portable devices is called J2ME.

Google search "Pocket PC J2ME". It should you some ideas.

 

[Jamshid Afshar]

Java for portable devices is called J2ME.

Google search "Pocket PC J2ME". It should you some ideas.

Yeah, it will give you the idea that there is a lot of outdated stuff on the
web related to the Pocket PC and Java/Personal Java/J2ME.
<http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/~fittond/ppcjava.html>

I tried to find a way to build Java, even J2ME, software for my Pocket PC
2003, which I think Microsoft renamed to Windows Mobile 2003, and gave up
because nothing looked reliable, usable, or actively supported. Maybe the
commercial products work. Or maybe IBM's WebSphere Micro Environment is
usable <http://www-306.ibm.com/software/wireless/wme/features.html>, but I
wouldn't count on it.

I don't know if the problem is simply that Sun doesn't care about Windows
Mobile devices, or if it's just that Microsoft doesn't care for Java. Seems
like J2ME is getting some traction on mobile phones (or is that mostly
hype?), so I don't think it's a technical limitation with Pocket PC devices.

Anyway, I think you're stuck with Microsoft tools for Pocket PC development.
You'll have to choose your language, libraries, and what Pocket PC versions
you'll support.
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/understanding/gettingstarted/windowsmobi
le/>

Btw, I'd really like to see a simple scripting / automation language for the
Pocket PC. It would be great if Microsoft supported JScript on the Pocket
PC.

Jamshid Afshar
(e-mail address removed)

 

[JScoobyCed]

Yeah, it will give you the idea that there is a lot of outdated stuff on the
web related to the Pocket PC and Java/Personal Java/J2ME.
<http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/~fittond/ppcjava.html>

I tried to find a way to build Java, even J2ME, software for my Pocket PC
2003, which I think Microsoft renamed to Windows Mobile 2003, and gave up
because nothing looked reliable, usable, or actively supported. Maybe the
commercial products work. Or maybe IBM's WebSphere Micro Environment is
usable <http://www-306.ibm.com/software/wireless/wme/features.html>, but I
wouldn't count on it.

I don't know if the problem is simply that Sun doesn't care about Windows
Mobile devices, or if it's just that Microsoft doesn't care for Java. Seems
like J2ME is getting some traction on mobile phones (or is that mostly
hype?), so I don't think it's a technical limitation with Pocket PC devices.

Anyway, I think you're stuck with Microsoft tools for Pocket PC development.
You'll have to choose your language, libraries, and what Pocket PC versions
you'll support.
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility/understanding/gettingstarted/windowsmobi
le/>

There is a SuperWaba alternative solution to Java, which work for Palm and
PocketPC. SuperWaba is based on KVM plus a lot of native code to enable the
use of serial port on non-MIDP 2 devices (for example, but it is not the
only feature). There is a PPC emulator (that runs only SuperWaba programms,
but is good to see the layout of your GUI), and many nice things. It support
Palm OS 3 to 5. You can run on POSE (Palm OS Emulator).
You can use Eclipse to develop your application. Now the package names have
nothing to do with java.* or javax.* and you cannot load J2ME classes. It is
a restricted environment, but all of what it provides is quite enough for
most of your needs. i have been working with it for long time before I
bought a MIDP 2.0 enabled phone. So I let SuperWaba back, but still like to
advice it for programmers in need.
Also it's free... Check it out at www.superwaba.com.br, it is worth trying
if J2ME is not suitable but want the Java language for development.

 

[MikeB]

Yeh, I meant J2ME, not J2EE - pardon the mistype.

But I'm finding it exactly as you mention, a LOT of outdated stuff out
there. And its been hairpulling to get it all figured out, whats
needed, how to set it up once I do find some tools, and then, after an
app even gets written (sigh), the questions arise of how to install it
on the hhd, and then, will it even run...

I was thinking this was more due to my not even knowing Java - I've
written apps for many many years in C, VB and other languages - but
never Java. Its making it that much more difficult I beleive....

I guess I go back to VS.net...

Thanks! Any other comments would be welcomed and appreciated.

Mike

 

[MikeB]

I do recall reading about SuperWaba/Waba during all this study - but
was concerned that it would someday disappear and I'd be left with an
unsupported client. You think it has staying power? Not sure how
long its been in existence to date.

Also, would you consider it a RAD language/tool? Or will I be beating
my head for the first few months just trying to figure out the syntax
and framework?

I feel like I've been investigating the alternatives to .net for too
long already - hoping for portability. ??

Thanks for the replies!!

Mike

 

[Chris Tacke, eMVP]

FYI Skelmir has a JVM for WIndows CE that's free for personal use. It's
probably worth looking at.

 

[ksbag]

Well, if you're looking for a RAD tool that supports PalmOS, PocketPC,
Windows, (and supposedly the java platform in the future), check out
CASL. You can find it at: http://www.caslsoft.com
It's got an active user community, is reasonably priced, and actually
does write-once-run-on-supported-platforms. The language is event
driven, and similar to a mixture of pascal and basic, so it's
extremely easy to learn.

KeithB