[sword-devel] Getting Started on Windows Mobile Software

[David Trotz]

John,
I am so excited you want to join our team. It will be nice to have 
another engineer working with us on this. It also encourages me to stay 
focused and motivated on the project myself.
> EVC4 is still available from M$, I think I'll give that a shot since I 
> have a PPC 2003se and Mobile 6 device.  I use to code in EVC3 and then  
> port to EVC4 for PPC 2003se/Mobile 5 support.  M$ broke that with Mobile 
> 6 though.  I couldn't keep up with M$ changes so I went back into the 
> workforce.
>   
It shouldn't be too hard to port, I was able to port it to Visual Studio 
2005 in about an afternoon. Mostly it was just a matter of dealing with 
STL and other posix standard headers that windows mobile didn't have in 
eVC 3 but now has in MSVC2005.
> I think we should think about different versions for different 
> platforms. PPC 2002 (has 3-4 processor types), PPC 2003/2003se and 
> Mobile 5/6.  We should keep as much of the code the same as possible though.
>   
I agree completely, but do keep in mind that the sword engine is 
somewhat slow when it comes to marking up text. I have found that a 
bible like ESV w/ all features on can take ~6 seconds to load and render 
Psalm 119 on my Samsung i760. I do have plans to take more of a demand 
loading approach but thats a few months out still.

Keeping the code base the same for all the different platforms should be 
relatively simple. The harder part is getting access to all the 
different devices we want to support. I think we should initially 
support those devices that are specifically being requested now. In most 
cases adding support for other devices will be as simple as creating a 
new build for each specific processor, in others we may have to do 
run-time functionality tests and in others maybe a few #ifdef clauses.

Currently Albert Sites is helping me with the Pocket PC port. I am 
hoping we can have a unified menuing system between the two builds.

>
> I would be glad to join the team.  I am interested in adding some bell 
> and whistles to the interface to make the reader easier, although I am 
> only guessing since I have not looked at SwordReader for several years.
>   
Yes, this is also why I started helping out on the project. I wanted 
something that was easy to use and didn't lack some of the features I 
have grown to love in other pda based bible programs. Its definitely a 
challenge to program on something with so many limited resources, but 
that's what keeps me interested as well.
> I noticed there is no CAB file available for download on the main 
> website which is a problem for non Windows users.  I avoid Windows 
> whenever I can but will run it in a VM to develop for this project.  Can 
> we get CAB files listed there?
>   
I have nothing against CAB files. I am open to them I just have not 
gotten around to creating one yet. I have not made any official releases 
since I started the rewrite.
> I think the first thing I need to do is get SVN up, is there a how to?  
>   
Well even better (depending how you look at it) there is a free O'Reilly 
book available at
http://svnbook.red-bean.com/

> I know nothing about SVN but I am vaguely familiar with version control 
> concepts.

Since you will be using Windows to do the dev, be sure to check out 
TortoiseSVN at
http://tortoisesvn.tigris.org/
It makes svn a snap (not that it is that hard to use in the first place) 
but it does have some cool features like a visual diff tool for 
compraing your source against the subversion HEAD.

Feel free to bug me anytime, especially as you get started with the 
code.  You can find me in irc.freenode.net in #sword
I am either dctrotz or dtrotzjr. I also do AIM, Yahoo, and MSN IM, but 
those I only give out privately. so drop me an email if you want my 
screen names.
Welcome to the team.
--
In Christ,
David Trotz