This article is Part 5 of the LinuxDevices.com series by Jerry Epplin that explores the history, status, alternative architectures, and future developments of Linux on PDAs and handheld devices. In this installment, Jerry reviews the architecture, environment, and programming techniques used to develop applications with the Transvirtual Technologies PocketLinux PDA framework. Epplin writes . . .

“Previous articles in this series have addressed some of the approaches taken for running Linux on PDAs, including those by Century Software and Trolltech. Up to this point, we have concentrated on distributions for the Compaq iPAQ because Linux has been most mature on that platform, thanks to the Compaq-sponsored handhelds.org Linux-on-handhelds project. Other Linux-based PDAs are now becoming available, and we intend to cover them soon. In the meantime, this article takes a brief look at PocketLinux, a distribution based on Linux, Java, and XML.”

“Like the other distributions, PocketLinux for the iPAQ uses the handhelds.org kernel and builds a GUI platform on top of it. But PocketLinux, provided by Transvirtual Technologies, is in a sense more ambitious than the others, in that it is targeted toward development by both programmers and non-programmers.”

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