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Palm software

Applications

I've written a number of small applications for the Palm handheld computer, which are available for download. I don't claim that they're particularly brilliant, original or reliable. On the other hand they are free (but still licensed - see below). They all need PalmOS 3.1 or better.

All the programs use TDBlib, my small shared library of useful things. This is included in the zip file for each program, but you need install it only once. Some of the programs also use MathLib, a popular shared library of mathematical functions, which is available with its source code as a zip file (151kB). Note that the Handspring Visor Palm-clone has MathLib already built into its version of the operating system.

Warning: Version 1 of TDBlib, and hence the programs using it, contained a number of bugs. Please do not use these versions: this means any Palm program downloaded from this site before mid-December 2001, or equivalently any Palm program whose readme file doesn't give a version number for TDBlib. Please replace them with the new versions below, which include TDBlib 2. Note that deleting the old TDBlib 1 may require a soft reset (indeed this was one of the bugs). Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

					MathLib?
	Clock 1.2	10kB	An analogue clock, with optional seconds hand and disable-auto-off function.	Screenshot	Yes
	Compass 1.3	12kB	A compass using the time, date and the sun's position to find North.	Screenshot	Yes
	Metronome 1.1	10kB	A metronome with sound and/or lights. The tempo can be specified in beats per minute or by tapping a button.	Screenshot
	Piano 1.3	6kB	A two-and-a-half octave piano with adjustable volume and sustain. Now with illuminated keys.	Screenshot
	Ruler 1.1	12kB	A ruler for measuring distances using the device case and an onscreen scale, with moveable markers to record distances. Warning: "device case" assumes Handspring Visor, but other devices may be different sizes.	Screenshot	Yes
	Torus 1.4	15kB	The Palm version of the TORUS tune-indexing system, discussed more fully here.	Screenshots

Note that the size shown in the table is that of the zip file, not the *.prc file.

Licence

These programs are distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence, and come with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. They are free software, and you are welcome to redistribute them under certain conditions. See the GNU website for further information.

Keyboard enhancements

I've designed replacements for the standard PalmOS qwerty and numeric keyboards. The qwerty replacement includes numeric keys and a couple of extra symbols. The numeric replacement includes a section intended for writing tunes in ABC format. This has keys for common ABC header fields, two octaves of notes in C...B order, and various useful symbols. They're both shown in these screenshots.

They take the form of "overlays" for the VirtualKB keyboard manager, which is free (but still licensed). The overlays are available as a PDB database (6kB): it contains both overlays, but you don't have to use both. VirtualKB is available as a zip file (63kB) which includes documentation and some sample overlays by the author. It comes in both stand-alone and hack-extension versions, and you'll need to install one of these. As well as new keyboard layouts it also provides extra features such as multiple undo and search-and-replace: for more details see the zip file or the VirtualKB website.

Warning

These items have been tested on various Palm platforms, but I can not guarantee that they will work on any particular device.