Palm OS Network Programming

Networking Options

Just as there are a wide variety of Palm devices, there are a wide variety of networking options. Each of these options has their strengths and weaknesses. The key to selecting the proper networking option is to make sure it fits the needs of your application. But whatever your network connection, a Net Library-based application should work unchanged.

Dial-Up

The dial-up architecture hasn’t changed since the first wired modems were introduced for the PalmPilot. The modem connects the Palm to the telephone network, translating data traffic to and from sounds. Figure 1-1 shows the dial-up networking architecture.

Figure 1-1. Dial-up networking architecture

Dial-up networking provides a simple connection to corporate or public data. The Palm must be configured to access the network through a remote access server (RAS) or Internet service provider (ISP). This is simpler than on a desktop, as there are no drivers to configure and few available options.

The user can connect to the network from any phone jack, but the downside is that the user is tied to this phone jack for the duration of the network session. This solution is best for regular, but not overly frequent updates of information.

Wireless

The basic architecture for wireless modems is ` similar to wired modems. Instead of using the phone network to access the Internet, wireless modems connect over a wireless network. ...