“In the previous articles in this series, I introduced the
options available for Linux on the Compaq iPAQ PDA and walked
through the installation of the base handhelds.org distribution.
Although Compaq ships the iPAQ with Windows CE, they also sponsor a
remarkably open project at www.handhelds.org with the goal of
porting Linux to the iPAQ.”
“The handhelds.org distribution is a straightforward Linux port
based on X, so it appeals to experienced Linux software developers.
In addition, at least three other companies are developing
add-on GUI development toolkits, all of which replace X with a GUI
built directly on the Linux framebuffer interface. This article
examines one of these three, namely the Microwindows Development
Toolkit by Century Software. Future articles will take a look at
the other toolkits.“
“As I outlined in the introductory article, the Microwindows
Development Toolkit is based on Microwindows , a windowing
environment that targets the Linux framebuffer and can also be
ported fairly easily to other environments. Microwindows supports
two APIs: the Windows GDI and Nano-X, an X-like API intended for
low-footprint applications. On top of Microwindows the toolkit
provides FLNX, a version of the FLTK application development
environment modified to target Nano-X rather than X. This may sound
complex, but the result is simple: most applications developed for
the Microwindows Development Toolkit will target the FLTK API.”