[sword-devel] PDAs / SA1110

[Troy A. Griffitts]

> > I spent a little time adding a new target: arm, in the make system.  You
> > should be able to build the sword libraries for the arm cpu now.
> 
> Very very cool.  Having turned into a PDA-freak myself lately, I actually
> made the decision to buy an ipaq the same day you sent this note out. :)  I
> should have one shortly (I won an auction on ebay) with which to being
> playing.

Took me 5 weeks to get mine.  Now I'm trying to get the CF expansion
sleave so I can get a microdrive :)  They seem to be as scarce as the
iPaq.


> Do you know anything about writing Pocket PC apps (as in not for Linux, but
> for the standard iPaq OS from that company in Washington)?  I'll probably
> try out Linux on the iPaq, but what I've read indicates to me that it's not
> at all ready for prime time yet.  So I'd be interested in seeing how tough
> it will be to write something for PocketPC OS.  I'm afraid it may end up
> requiring using of Visual C++ for WinCE (i.e. "Microsoft eMbedded Visual
> Tools 3.0") which is apparently free for download, but still confronts us
> with the problem of SWORD not having been set up to compile on VC++ yet.
> *sigh*  I have a feeling a PocketPC version of SWORD would get more use than
> an iPaq Linux-only version. :)

Here is my experience with MS embedded vc++.

[freed disk space]
Downloaded the ~350MB file from the ever-so-slow MS sight.
[freed more disk space]
Double-clicked and it unzipped to 2 CDROM images on my harddrive, ~750MB
[freed yet even more disk space]
Ran setup from disk1 and it forced me to install IE.
Continuing the setup installed more files than I could find to my
computer.


I set up a project and struggled for about an hour trying to figure out
how to add an include path to the make system.

Finally got things to start compiling and got an error including
<string> and <list>.

After browsing some docs, I found out that STL is completely absent. 
I'm afraid a PocketPC version with this compiler would require a rewrite
of a BUNCH of code.

Although, since I've been trying to get the size of an app down for use
on my iPaq, I've found that merely including iostream.h in a file will
add 350K to the binary size.  I wonder if we should write alternate
impls of the few STL controls that we use.  With the functionality we
use, we could probably reduce the size of a binary by leaps and bounds. 
We could put them in an alt_include directory and use it for building
the micro edition of the api... hmmmm.....


> The PQA interface requires either a PalmOS device (Palm VII or other device
> with either Omnisky or Palm Mobile-Internet-Kit) or the POSE emulator with a
> Palm VII ROM.  I think if you check out the source from CVS, which is just a
> bunch of html files, you can test it out in Netscape/IE.  I'll post some
> screenshots so everyone can see what it looks like on the device.  I don't
> yet know how to do a WAP version (PQA is Palm's proprietary stuff) and am
> not even sure if WAP supports text input.  Does it?  I'd love to support
> WAP/WML if we can.  I'd also love to try writing a PalmOS native app for
> using SWORD that doesn't require an internet connection.

At one time I got the gcc palm cross-compiler running and built one of
the sample apps and installed it.  I just didn't have time to browse the
OS API.  I'm too old to learn a new GUI API without a builder tool that
generates code for examples. ;)


> > Putting all the texts on the device won't be as cool/practicle
> > as grabbing any text off of the website on demand!
> 
> I have this dream that some day I will be able to load all the SWORD modules
> onto an IBM Microdrive. :)

Me too!  Found a microdrive, just can't get the expansion port!

I've been trying for 2 days now to limit the verticle size of a
GTK_LIST(GTK_COMBO->list) dropdown.  I think it's impossible.  I've been
on gimp irc and I think all of the gtk+ hackers have fallen off the face
of the earth.  I've browsed the code and they seem to hardcode the logic
for checking whether or not to display the vscrollbar to
gdk_screen_height (gtk+ 1.2.8; gtkcombo.c; line 314). I think it's
hopeless, so I think I'm ready to upload a package of what I have for
the iPaq.  Here is a very bad, very messy pic:

	http://www.crosswire.org/~scribe/ipaq.0001.jpg

I have my desktop pc tmp directory nfs mounted on the ipaq, so I'm gonna
tar up the files exactly as they are (in /home/guest) and put a tarball
here:

if anyone's interested...  (it has a compressed nkjv, so it's on the
alpha page).

http://www.crosswire.org/sword/ALPHAcckswwlkrfre22034820285912/alpha/micros-0.0.1.tar.gz

Chris,
	Let me know when you get yours!  I'm excited to work with you on stuff!

		-Troy.