Borland Adds Palm OS Support to C++ Compiler

Posted By: Ryan Monday, September 22, 2003 9:40:23 AM

Borland Software Corporation and PalmSource today announced that Borland has licensed the PalmSource software development kits (SDKs) and will support Palm OS development in the Borland C++BuilderX IDE and latest Borland Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) solutions for C++.

PalmSource Chief Products Officer Larry Slotnick will introduce and demonstrate this new solution for Palm OS application development during his presentation at the PalmSource Developer Conference in Munich, Germany.

"By supporting PalmSource SDKs with Borland C++BuilderX, we are helping to extend enterprise development for mobile applications," said J.P. LeBlanc, vice president and general manager mobile and C++ solutions at Borland. "More than 30 million Palm Powered devices have been sold to date, and our customers are looking for end-to-end C++ Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) solutions that will allow them to create applications for the full range of handhelds and smartphones."

Borland C++BuilderX is a pure C++ development solution designed to provide true end-to-end development capabilities for the growing number of organizations extending their business infrastructures to include mobile applications and devices. In addition, C++BuilderX eases development of these mobile applications with the introduction of Rapid Application Development (RAD) capabilities for C++. This technology preview offers a new visual designer for drag and drop development and easier access to internally developed and third party mobile component libraries. By combining these capabilities with PalmSource SDKs, Palm OS developers are able to create innovative enterprise applications both for the enterprise and the individual in an increasingly mobile workforce.

Borland C++BuilderX is currently available. Additional information on this IDE can be found here. Preview Palm OS SDKs for C++BuilderX are available here.

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Finally I'm gonna start programing!

a3 @ 9/22/2003 12:56:46 PM #

This is the Borland C++ was what I used at the U. I hope Palm development is as easy as it was for Windows.

____________________________________________
Former Tapwave's Helix fan, now a T|T3 fan.

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

Palminator @ 9/22/2003 1:07:48 PM #

Has anybody looked at the price tag on this stuff? Personally, this seems like a slap in the face to Metrowerks and I just don't get it. Why introduce the development community to an entirely new development environment for PalmOS? With higher cost and no installed base, I just don't get the rationale behind this.

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

Fammy @ 9/22/2003 1:23:10 PM #

Rationale: Borland wants their share of the PalmOS pie.

-- Fammy

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

dvl @ 9/22/2003 1:52:10 PM #

Right now there are no commercially viable C++ RAD development systems for the Palm OS. Depending on how Borland implements Palm support, this could really help Palm (as well as open Borland to a new market). Right now creating a simple C++ application UI shell using Codewarrior is not a trivial task. I think this is a step in the right direction. The price doesn't seem too bad, the mobile edition cost the same as Codewarrior for Palm OS. I would definitely be able justify upgrading to BuilderX if it decreases my development time.

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

Dennizlerim @ 9/22/2003 2:28:24 PM #

I've talked to the Borland guy today on PalmSource and he said that their target is to include a Framework with Borland C++ so any mobile device will be supported.

Then they will sell the runtime. Sounds like some kind of Appforge to me.

It will leave the same problem like all other IDEs beside Codewarrior have: no support of official third party libraries.

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

sr @ 9/22/2003 3:42:37 PM #

"Personally, this seems like a slap in the face to Metrowerks and I just don't get it."

Personally, I was waiting for this for years. Borland's tools are just much better, and their Windows and Linux development environments are top notch, being able to do Palm as well is great.

Does anyone know if they'll extend this support to Delphi?

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

rsc1000 @ 9/22/2003 5:56:43 PM #

>>Personally, I was waiting for this for years. Borland's tools are just much better, and their Windows and Linux development environments are top notch, being able to do Palm as well is great.

I don't know man - they use to be much better, but not really anymore. And if u already use CW you won't want to relearn skills when Borland could turn aroun d and drop this in 6 months. Borland used to make really great products but they've fallen behind in many ways. Still - i'll give it time to develop and see what happens before deciding. I might check it out.

BTW - does anybody know if the MobileWizardy guys are planning to release Shakr as an affordable tool for all developers? The impression i got was that it basically had to be licensed direct from them on a project by project basis. No word on prices - but that sounds like its out of the range of the common developer. Shark sounds like the most interesting dev option for PDAs / smartphones yet. No runtime Bullsh!t.

RE: Finally I'm gonna start programing!

sr @ 9/22/2003 7:24:11 PM #

"I don't know man - they use to be much better, but not really anymore. And if u already use CW you won't want to relearn skills when Borland could turn aroun d and drop this in 6 months. Borland used to make really great products but they've fallen behind in many ways. Still - i'll give it time to develop and see what happens before deciding. I might check it out."

Well, if you've been using Borland for Windows development they have been just getting better and better, granted Palm and MacOS support was always missing. Actually, if you try using C++ Builder to do Windows development it will blow you away if you're used to CodeWarrior. Much better IDE, excellent and very quick compiler, .NET support... Remember, I'm strictly comparing it with the Windows version of CodeWarrior as I don't have any experience with the Mac version. I agree there is a learning curve when switching from CW, but it should feel like switching from Win 3.11 to Win 95. :) Also, Borland tools have a huge userbase - these are the people that Borland wants to please by giving them access to Palm.

I'm not sure which product you're referring to they've dropped quickly, but C++ Builder is the foundation of their development tools together with Delphi. These have been around for many years!

POL

MountainLogic @ 9/22/2003 3:24:34 PM #

The real question is will Borland support the POL framework???

RE: POL

rsc1000 @ 9/22/2003 6:02:58 PM #

The question is - will anybody support POL from now on? As i understand it (please correct me if im wrong - i hope i am) the group that does POL has ended support for it. Anybody know anything more about this?

RE: POL

bcombee @ 9/23/2003 3:58:56 AM #

Maks, the main developer of POL, is still supporting it on the message boards at http://www.aqpoint.com/pol/. While TeT isn't licenses anymore, we are continuing to ship the library with CodeWarrior for Palm OS V9, and we will be including the latest update (POL 4.04.02) in V9.2 when it is released soon.

Since the library is released in source code form with the CW V9 produt, even if support goes away for it, the exising users will still have a high-quality source base to which they can apply their own bug fixes or modifications.

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com

What PalmOS needs

TheSquire @ 9/23/2003 4:16:19 AM #

This may be great news. Perhaps Palm have realized that everyone likes developing for PPC because MS offer a free development platform. Palm coders have to cobble together freeware tools or pay big $$ for CodeWarrior.
Looking on the Borland site they seem to have BuilderX Personal which is available for a nominal shipping fee ($10). If this works with the new SDK we're in business!
But can anyone explain how the PalmOS SDK, which isn't even strictly C aligned, is going to work in what claims to be a 'pure' C++ development environment?