Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me with this problem which I have no idea at all.

I have written a SCADA program for Modules/PLC, Temp/RH Sensors and Particle counter using Visual Basic.
One customer came with a request recently that they would like to download data from the particle counter using PDA (Palm OS).

How should I write a program for Palm OS, can I use Visual Basic?
Do I need to have any extra hardware to carry out the function (eg RS232 converter etc..)?

 

You can't use Visual Basic to write a program for the PalmOS.

For Palm OS development, look at http://www.palmsource.com/developers/

As for physically connecting your device to the PDA, that's going to entirely depend on which model of PDA you've got. Not all Palm OS PDAs are by Palm, and the last native serial PDAs were, I believe, the Palm V series. Most all of the new Palm OS PDAs are native USB devices, which means you won't be able to use a simple adapter like you could on those earlier Palm III/V series units. If all you know is Visual Basic, you've got a large learning curve.

Now, a Windows CE PDA might be a bit easier, as I believe you'll be able to write your code in eMbedded Visual Basic, but you'll still have the hardware connection problem.

Alex Pavloff -- [email protected]
ESA Technology ----- www.eason.com
--- Linux-based industrial HMI ---
-------- www.eason.com/5k --------

 

1. Do a Google search for "visual basic palm os"

2. Get a copy of "Programming Visual Basic for the Palm OS"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0596002009/002-9369196-2152833?vi=glance

 

Let me correct myself here.

Apparently, you can write Visual Basic for a Palm.

http://www.appforge.com/products/mobilevb/index.html

It'll cost you $900 for the full version, $129 for the "lite" version (that works on devices running Palm OS 3.5). Check that out and see if it helps you. It has a serial control similar to MSComm, but like I said in the last post, the hard part is going to be wiring the Palm OS PDA up to your serial device.