Multi Tasking with Palm OS?

[Ben S]

One example of an app that mimics multitasking on a PalmOS device is AeroPlayer. The latest betas allow you to play music while running other applications.

The closest approximation to multitasking the PalmOS can handle is roughly equivalent to the old DOS TSR (Terminate and Stay Ready). That's how system extensions like McPhling work.

Of course, because of the way the PalmOS is designed, multitasking in the literal sense isn't needed in most applications[*]. Properly written applications suspend when you leave them and resume -- unchanged -- when you return to them.
[*] I admit it might be nice in a e-mail app though.

[palm_fjk]

additional questions to the above:

entering "MAIL", I am baffled that the email addresses have to be entered character by character without a lookup support to the addressbook ...

or am I missing something?

[Gary Wells]

...itself is a multitasking operating system but in the current generations it only has a single user interface thread for running applications (such as the datebook) and no support for creating new threads in the APIs for writing Palm software.

[palm_fjk]

Dear Gary:

is it possible to have more user interface threads for running applications (some time in the future)?

is palm working on such an operating system?

kind regards
Franz-Josef

[Gary Wells]

Only Palm know about the future direction they will take the OS in...

As the OS supports (and uses) multitasking (for timers, low battery warnings etc.) I would think it would be possible for Palm to add support for multi threading to a future version, i.e. where you can launch more than one app and have them run simultaneously and where programs themselves can 'spin off' threads to do background tasks.

The reason the current generations are limited to a single user thread is probably resource driven...more tasks equals more memory, equals more processor load etc.

[Jennifer S]

I think Palm will be moving in that direction with OS 6.

I think that multithreading will become more important as Palms become more connected, either through GPRS, Bluetooth, or WiFi.

For example, I would like to check my e-mail while still running my IM and IRC clients when I'm on a wireless connection. VeriChat has solved the IM problem, but if I leave the IRC client, I'm logged off.

I would like to keep the address book open and copy some info into an appointment in the calender (and vice versa), for example ...

Some people use Pop-Up applications to handle these things.

entering "MAIL", I am baffled that the email addresses have to be entered character by character without a lookup upport to the addressbook ...

The built-in Mail app is very basic - there are third-party apps that do this.